Are peppers bad for you?

[beatle]

A friend recently said she heard that peppers (as in the salad vegetable- red peppers, green peppers, etc.) are not good for you for some reason. I thought red peppers especially were full of anti-oxidants and very good for you. Anyone (MOW, for example) know anything about this?

[slightlysuze]

Are peppers bad for you?

Look, I'm getting freaked out by the synchronicity on this board LOL :bonkers: (second thread in a row that is about a food issue I've just been thinking about.....)

I have just started eating them again after mostly avoiding them for a while because I'd read that they aggravate arthritis (which I have a bit in my feet). I think it's the alkaloids in them....they're part of the same family group as deadly nightshade (highly toxic), as are potatoes, aubergines and tomatoes.

I wasn't sure if stopping them helped so I thought I'd try 'em again as they're nice.......

Oh, heck, I don't know WHAT to do! :H


Suze x

[satori]

Are peppers bad for you?

Yep - my understandnig as well - they can tend to exacerbate inflammatory conditions - arthritis etc, but - they ARE chock full of vitamins and antioxidants too.

Personally I love them and eat loads - but then - I din't have arthritis!



Satori

xxx

[Going Strong]

Are peppers bad for you?

darlin! get a grip!!!
Sorry I am not sure if you know the aussie way but..................
if you eat a balanced diet all should be OK! darling you are smart bigtime but just balance it!
OMG it took me ages to get this out out coz my pet bird has picked off alot of my keys!!! (he does hate competion!)

[lorisunshine]

Are peppers bad for you?

Beatle, I think the benefits outweigh the perceived danger. I love them and eat tons of them. People in the Balcan eat a diversity of peppers on a daily basis all their lives and they seem to get older than us.

Shar... just admit it, it's the bird that does all the typing...

[beatle]

Are peppers bad for you?

Shas, honey, I know about balanced diets and I personally eat a very good, balanced, vegetarian diet. However, try as I might, my childrens' reperetoire remains highly limited. My dear son loves raw red peppers, but they are the only raw veg I can get him to eat. So he eats one every night before dinner. Then a friend said she heard they are bad for you in large amounts. So, dilemma... but seeing as the lad does not have arthritis and is healthy (after doing this for about 4 years), I guess I'll just let well enough alone. Interesting, though, about the arthritis. I'll have to tell my mum about that.

p.s. maybe your pet bird is trying to tell you something...

[beatle]

Are peppers bad for you?

lori, I think the people in the Balkans eat pickled peppers, not raw ones. Maybe the pickling preservatives help preserve their bodies too...?

Which reminds me (though this is a tangent), I think macrobiotics includes pickles with every meal (as do Japanese, and Indians, and probably many other ethnic foods). There is something good about them that works together with other foods, but I can't recall what.

[Cinders]

Are peppers bad for you?

Beatle,

I am not sure but hubby's mom grew up in the Grand Tetons of Wyoming during the turn of last century. Nutrition was difficult to maintain back then, their growing season was short, very short for veges, etc. and this was before mass transportation. As a matter of fact, she said the first greens they could eat in the spring (May for them) were dandelion greens!! She loved salads made from those.

She always said it was imperative to have vinegar around and make sure you ingested some vinegar daily (at least a tablespoon). It helped keep you healthy.

Do all pickled products contain vinegar?

Often there is some truth in the "old wives" tales.

Cindi

[lorisunshine]

Are peppers bad for you?

Beatle, yes they do pickle them as well, but it is only one form of how they eat them. They were mainly dried in the olden days. They use them in sauces, stews and as a paste, that is added to just about any meal during the day.

[MyOwnWoman]

Are peppers bad for you?

Yup, it's the nightshade issue with peppers (and tomatoes and egglplant...). I'd say don't worry about your kids. For yourself, if you have any joint issues, don't eat them at all for 2-3 weeks (or any other nightshade) then introduce back into your diet and see if you get symptoms.
Another note about peppers I just remembered - I don't know about over yonder, but here in the States peppers are on the top 10 list of foods with the most pesticide residue (if they are not organic). That's why I rarely eat them (good thing too, as I do have joint issues). Organic peppers here can cost 3-5 bucks a piece!!

Pickles - there are those (most common) that are pickled in vinegar. Then there are those that are fermented naturally with just salt and seasonings (garlic, dill). These are the ones that are truly good for you. There is something about the fermentation that provides good stuff for your digestion and such. Just as with true sauerkraut and kim chee. I get a brand of natural pickles "Bubba's" I think it is - and there's no way I could go back to vinegar pickles again!!! They have such a "true" flavor.

From my understanding, the vinegar that is really good for you is raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar "with the mother".

[beatle]

Are peppers bad for you?

Thanks for lots of interesting info, MOW. I love kim chee and Japanese pickles (although the store-bought stuff is full of nasty preservatives). Both kim chee and Japanese pickles (all kinds) are extremely easy to make. You don't even need recipes.

lori, you made me remember those yummy grilled red peppers in a jar from the balkans. Here is a tip for vegetarians who miss bagels with lax: Substitute the drained, roasted red peppers from a jar for the lax. It is not exactly the same, of course, but together with the bagel and cream cheese it is very similar and fulfils a similar sensory sensation.

And when you say red pepper paste, I guess what you mean is avjar (is that what it's called?) You can get that in varying degrees of hotness, and I use it in soups and stews. It sure perks them up.

[HopefulNow]

Are peppers bad for you?

Interesting posts.

I'd never before heard the link between peppers and arthritis/joint problems. Then again, I might just have missed it as I don't personally have arthritis (yet).

I ADORE red bell peppers (thoroughly washed, natch, to get rid of any pesticide nastiness). The green ones, though? An abomination, IMNSHO. Ugh. Make everything taste God-awful, methinks.

-HopefulNow

[Determinator]

Are peppers bad for you?

Red bell peppers contain a ton more vitamins than their green sibling FYI.

and in regards to peppers....I love ALL peppers. I'm a chilie-head to coin a term from the fiery world of hot sauce lovers. so i sure hope they are healthy.

[bloggy]

Are peppers bad for you?

Of course they are not bad for us, or they would not look so inviting! Nature has it's mysterious ways...!
A red pepper has I think, 3 times as much Vit C as an orange. I eat them very regularly and am sure they are part of the reason I can still function and look OK inspite of imbibing poison.
The only thing I can think off that a pepper may be described as 'bad' is eating green or yellow peppers, which are actually under-ripe red peppers, at least in my part of the world, and therefore not an optimal food, but I doubt in small dosis would do you any harm either.

Red peppers are a big part of the Mediteranean diet which is said to be very healthy- and indeed where I live (Catalonia in Spain) has one of the highest longetivity rates in the world.

[trixietrack]

Are peppers bad for you?

db2fromala;230386 wrote: Beatle,

I am not sure but hubby's mom grew up in the Grand Tetons of Wyoming during the turn of last century. Nutrition was difficult to maintain back then, their growing season was short, very short for veges, etc. and this was before mass transportation. As a matter of fact, she said the first greens they could eat in the spring (May for them) were dandelion greens!! She loved salads made from those.

She always said it was imperative to have vinegar around and make sure you ingested some vinegar daily (at least a tablespoon). It helped keep you healthy.

Do all pickled products contain vinegar?

Often there is some truth in the "old wives" tales.

Cindi

some pickling involves very salty water and herbs.
sauerkraut is fermented cabbage, so is kimchee. enzymes make it taste pickly