Cayenne pepper – description of the spice. Health benefits and harms

Description

Cayenne pepper is a hot spice with many health benefits. Cayenne pepper can brighten up the taste of many dishes and add a particularly piquant aroma to dishes. Not everyone knows that many medicinal qualities are inherent in this leguminous vegetable.

In order for the use of pepper for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes to give exceptionally positive results, you need to familiarize yourself in detail with its features, learn about the healing qualities, contraindications for use.

Cayenne pepper grows wild in the South American tropics. The colonial Europeans quickly appreciated the burning fruits of the wild bush Capsicum annuum, consumed by the aborigines. Over time, the plant was brought to Spain, India, Pakistan, China, where it was cultivated.

Today the cultivation of varietal hot peppers is practiced in different climatic zones around the world. In our country, it grows in hotbeds, greenhouses and even in pots on windowsills, which makes it possible to use a healthy vegetable for everyone.

Cayenne pepper bushes grow to a height of 1.5 m. They are covered with elongated oval light green leaves. Flowers bloom on the stems, most often they are white, but there may be other shades: yellowish, purple. If the culture is provided with good growing conditions, it is able to bloom and bear fruit throughout the year.

The shape of the fruit can be very different: spherical, conical, proboscis, etc. The color of unripe pods is purple or green. As the peppers ripen, they acquire a characteristic red color (they can also be white, yellow, black).

Chemical composition and calorie content of Cayenne pepper

Pepper pods owe their characteristic pungent flavor to the high amount of capsaicin. It is noteworthy that the percentage of this substance is 40 thousand times higher in comparison with ordinary paprika. In addition, the ripe pepper fruit is characterized by the presence of a whole spectrum of nutrients:

• vitamins (A, B, C);
• trace elements (sulfur, phosphorus, calcium, iron);
• essential oils;
• fatty vegetable oils;
• carotenoids;
• steroidal saponins;
• piperidine, haficin.

During the first week, the amount of vitamin C in the cut pepper pods increases. This phenomenon is considered rare, it is not observed in most plants.

• Caloric value: 93 kcal.
• Energy value of the product Cayenne pepper:
• Proteins: 0.2 g.
• Fat: 0.2 g.
• Carbohydrates: 22.3 g.

Where to buy Cayenne pepper

Spice lovers should find out that it is quite difficult to acquire ground cayenne pepper in its pure form. Domestic and foreign trade outlets sell spice mixtures, they are united by the name “chili”.

The composition of such mixtures contains different ingredients (in addition to cayenne, other types of hot peppers with the addition of salt, garlic, oregano, cumin are also included).

Pure cayenne pepper is an expensive, rare ground product. So that the acquisition of the spice does not subsequently become a cause of disappointment, you should responsibly approach the choice of the seller. Regular supermarkets offer customers a condiment called cayenne pepper.

As a rule, this is a fake, in fact, a mixture of spices. To buy a real fresh or dried product, you should contact a popular online store with an impeccable reputation and numerous reviews from satisfied customers.

Benefits of cayenne pepper

The use of hot pepper makes it possible to improve the condition and function of the digestive organs, increase immunity. Spices have the ability to relieve pain and relieve inflammation. For this reason, the spice often plays the role of an active component of medicinal ointments.

Capsacin prevents pain signals from reaching the brain, which relieves joint, muscle, lumbar, and postoperative pain. Hot peppers can be used as a remedy to heal a whole range of ailments:

• Cold ailments.
• Ulcer, problems with the duodenum.
• Oncological diseases (prevention, slowing down of tumor growth).
• Diseases of the heart, blood vessels.
• Solving problems with male infertility, infertility.
• Acceleration of wound healing processes.
• Improving the state of the nervous system.
• Disinfection of the oral cavity.
• Providing a general tonic effect on the body.
• Help in losing weight.

Overview of contraindications

The use of pepper seasoning is not recommended for those who suffer from:

• nervous disorders;
• periodic seizures, epileptic seizures;
• pressure surges;
• aggravated intestinal, gastric ailments.

Preparations with a spice are forbidden to be used externally for people with increased skin sensitivity, varicose veins, a tendency to manifest allergic reactions, pregnant women, nursing mothers.

ATTENTION! An eaten whole pod can severely burn the gastric mucosa, lead to ulcers, and negatively affect the liver and kidneys.

The use of this valuable spice in reasonable doses will help to get rid of many ailments, will allow you to maintain good health for years to come, will become the key to interesting taste experiments for true gourmets.

Cooking use

Cayenne pepper is one of the most commonly used ingredients in Eastern, Mexican and African cooking. This pepper can be used as a stand-alone product or mixed with other spices. The use of this vegetable helps to diversify the taste and aroma of many dishes, as evidenced by numerous positive reviews about it.

For example, it is added to fish and meat dishes, as well as to eggs, cheese, vegetables, beans, poultry, etc. Cayenne pepper is added to various sauces, flour, and crackers. Such a product allows you to create very tasty and savory dishes.

Cayenne pepper Use in cosmetology

The oil extract of the fruit contains piperine, piperolongumin, silvatin, pipreolonguminin, filfilin, cytosterol, methyl piperate and a series of piperine-like compounds, a complex of vitamins: folic, pantothenic acid, vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6 and C, which is red extract has a warming effect on the skin, dilates blood vessels, activates local microcirculation.

Taken together, these reactions initiate the process of breaking down fat, accelerate the metabolism in the subcutaneous fatty tissue, and help tighten the skin.

Red pepper is an effective anti-cellulite remedy.

The extract is used for joint pain of various origins, prolonged exertion, heaviness in the legs. With a weakened hair structure, hair loss, dandruff.

Pepper extract stimulates blood flow to hair follicles, helps to reduce hair oiliness, has a beneficial effect on thinned and colored hair, intensively saturates the hair follicles with vitamins and nutrients.