{"id":1991,"date":"2025-02-18T00:45:37","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T13:45:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/the-benefits-of-bell-peppers-4-reasons-to-include-them-in-your-diet.html"},"modified":"2025-02-18T00:45:38","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T13:45:38","slug":"the-benefits-of-bell-peppers-4-reasons-to-include-them-in-your-diet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/the-benefits-of-bell-peppers-4-reasons-to-include-them-in-your-diet.html","title":{"rendered":"The Benefits of Bell Peppers: 4 Reasons to Include Them in Your Diet"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Bell peppers are crispy, crunchy, and mildly sweet.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re popular in low-carb cooking, and you can find them year-round at your local grocery store (although they taste best when they\u2019re in season during the summer and fall!). But are bell peppers good for you? Yes!<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s go over some of the health benefits of bell peppers and how you can cook with them in tasty, low-carb-friendly recipes.<\/p>\n<h2>Bell peppers are low in calories and carbs<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>A large, whole bell pepper contains just 43 calories and 10 grams of carbs, which is probably welcome news for those who want to lose weight.<\/p>\n<p>So, do bell peppers make you gain weight? In all likelihood\u2026no!<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re better off looking for other culprits in your diet.<\/p>\n<p>Any food in excess can cause weight gain, but the likelihood of eating more than three bell peppers in a sitting is rare (~129 kcals), which is around the typical serving of potato chips.<\/p>\n<p>And when it comes to salty snacks like chips, you\u2019re more likely to eat more than one serving.<\/p>\n<h2>Bell peppers are high in nutrients<\/h2>\n<p>Make no mistake \u2014 bell peppers may be low in calories, but they\u2019re packed with\u00a0nutrients.<\/p>\n<p>They contain vitamin A, C, B6, and folate, as well as potassium and iron. So, which color bell pepper is the healthiest?<\/p>\n<p>According to Brittany Crump, M.P.H., R.D. at\u00a0Savor Nutrition, \u201cIn the case of nutrients, the color of your bell peppers does make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Green bell peppers are picked before they ripen to red. A green pepper already contains\u00a0150%\u00a0of your daily recommended needs for vitamin C.<\/p>\n<p>A red pepper can offer\u00a0350%\u00a0of your daily recommended needs.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s dig a little deeper:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The recommended daily allowance of vitamin C for females is 75 mg per day.<\/li>\n<li>For men, it\u2019s 90 mg per day.<\/li>\n<li>Any type of large bell pepper\u00a0contains 128 mg of vitamin C. So for women, that\u2019s 171% of the RDA and, for men, it\u2019s 142%.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cRed, yellow, and orange bell peppers are higher in lycopene and\u00a0carotenoids\u00a0than immature green peppers,\u201d says Crump.<\/p>\n<p>Carotenoids are plant-based\u00a0antioxidant-like compounds\u00a0that may help protect your cells from the damage of oxidation.<\/p>\n<h2>Bell peppers are a good source of fiber<\/h2>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-139664\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Are-Bell-Peppers-Healthy.600.slices.jpg\" alt=\"Fresh red sweet pepper on a wooden board\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>Bell peppers contain a good amount of fiber compared to the number of calories they add to your diet.<\/p>\n<p>Eating a\u00a0large, whole pepper\u00a0will give you 3.5 grams of fiber, which is 14% and 9% of the\u00a0daily recommended amount\u00a0for women and men, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>Eating enough fiber is especially important for weight loss and overall wellness because it helps make you\u00a0feel fuller\u00a0for longer and keeps you\u00a0regular\u00a0by preventing constipation.<\/p>\n<h2>Bell peppers are mild and easy to eat<\/h2>\n<p>Why choose bell peppers over all the others?<\/p>\n<p>Crump explains, \u201cBell peppers are mild and a good option if you prefer to avoid spicy peppers. For those with heartburn, bell peppers are a good substitute for spicy peppers, which can worsen heartburn.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Unlike chili peppers, bell peppers do not contain\u00a0capsaicin, the substance that gives peppers their burn.<\/p>\n<h2>3 Easy Ways to Cook Bell Peppers<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-101882\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Jack-o-Lantern-Stuffed-Bell-Peppers-Roundup.jpg\" alt=\"stuffed peppers\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>Now that the question, \u201cAre bell peppers good for you?\u201d has been answered, let\u2019s discuss how to cook with them.<\/p>\n<p>No doubt, you can enjoy bell peppers fresh and sliced into snack sticks, but why not get a little more creative in the kitchen?<\/p>\n<h3>1. Stuffed or loaded bell peppers<\/h3>\n<p>Stuffed bell peppers can be a great way to reuse leftovers. The hollow cavity of bell peppers is made for stuffing with ground meats, egg, cheese, beans, rice, or other cooked veggies.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, you can also just load these same ingredients over sliced bell peppers and bake.<\/p>\n<p>Get creative \u2014 it\u2019s all in how you want to slice your bell peppers. Some recipes for inspiration:<\/p>\n<h3>2. Grilled or roasted bell peppers<\/h3>\n<p>Caramelize the sugars in bell peppers to get even more flavor out of your veggies. You can achieve this on a grill (smoky) or in the oven (charred).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>To grill a bell pepper, cut it into quarters, coat it with nonstick cooking spray, and place them directly on the grill grate for 5-10 minutes.<\/li>\n<li>To roast bell pepper, cut it into quarters, coat with nonstick cooking spray, season, and bake at 450 degrees F for 15-20 minutes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Enjoy as-is, or use cooked bell peppers as an ingredient in another dish such as:<\/p>\n<h3>3. Stir-fried bell peppers<\/h3>\n<p>Let\u2019s face it \u2014 bell peppers are key in making any meat and veggie stir-fry dish beautiful to look at as well as making it even more delicious.<\/p>\n<p>They add a pop of red, yellow, or orange to an otherwise sea of greens and browns.<\/p>\n<p>Stir-fries are an easy, healthy dinner option:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Looking for more expert nutrition information? Head over to BODNutrition.com and learn how to eat healthy with the help of our two nutrition programs, 2B Mindset and Portion Fix.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bell peppers are crispy, crunchy, and mildly sweet. They\u2019re popular in low-carb cooking, and you can find them year-round at your local grocery store (although they taste best when they\u2019re in season during the summer and fall!). But are bell peppers good for you? Yes! Let\u2019s go over some of the health benefits of bell [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fitness"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1991"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1995,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1991\/revisions\/1995"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}