From Livestrong.com Andrea Cespedes October 3, 2017
Jalapeño peppers provide more than a kick of flavor to your nachos and tacos. These small, fiery green peppers provide multiple vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to support a healthy body. Jalapeños may also help you manage your weight. Choose fresh Jalapeños and add them to mashed avocado, eggs, salsas, dips and meatloaf to provide extra nutrition and spice.
Vitamins
With 109 mg of vitamin C, one Jalapeño provides more than a day’s worth of this important nutrient. Vitamin C is essential to healthy tissue repair, and it acts as an antioxidant to help with immunity and to fight the effects of aging. One Jalapeño also provides 6.4 micrograms of vitamin K and 530 international units of vitamin A. Jalapeños are also a minor source of vitamin E and most of the B complex of vitamins.
Minerals
A Jalapeño contains a lot of potassium considering its petite size. In one pepper weighing 45 g, you get 153 mg of potassium – or about 7 percent of the 2,000 mg you need daily. Jalapeños also provide iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper and manganese. These minerals all play a role in promoting healthy red blood cells, strong bone development and nervous system function.
Antioxidants
Jalapeños provide antioxidants in addition to vitamins C and E. Antioxidants are phytochemicals that can scavenge free radicals in the body that you acquire through exposure to pollutants in the air, food and water. Antioxidants can help prevent the onset of disease. Fresh peppers have greater antioxidant content than canned or jarred versions, as found a study in the “Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry” in January 2011.
Weight Control
A substance in Jalapeños known as capsaicin may help boost your metabolism slightly – helping with weight loss. According to a June 2008 study in the “Journal of Biological Chemistry,” capsaicin – which gives Jalapeños and other peppers their heat – can raise the core body temperature, leading to an increased metabolic rate. While the metabolism-boosting effects of capsaicin are mild, the hot flavor of the peppe