Peppers, those lovely bright colored fruits(that's right fruit), have many wonderful properties, one that most will be familiar with is the burning sensations certain peppers impart.

Peppers grow all over the world and are part of the genus Capsicum. There are five major species of peppers so the variety you can find is stunning.

First lets discuss their spicy secret: Capsaicin. Capsaicin is the chemical responsible for the ?heat? of a pepper.  The more Capsaicin the pepper has in it, the hotter it will feel when you eat it.  When you chew peppers you release the Capsaicin, and it quickly binds to a receptor in the mouth called the vanilloid receptor subtype 1 (VR1).  Capsaicin binding to this receptor causes the same sensation as high heat, thus we feel a burning sensation proportional to the amount of Capsaicin.

The "heat" of a pepper is measured on the Scoville scale.

Health Benefits

While the health impact of Capsaicin is debatable, peppers also contain a good variety of vitamins and minerals that are definitely beneficial to your health.

Some of the healthy contents in peppers :

• Vitamin C
• Vitamin A
• Beta Carotene
• Zinc
• Magnesium
• Phosphorus
• Sulfur (Sulphur)
• a variety of B Vitamins
• Selenium

Are hotter peppers better for health?

Not necessarily, although some studies show that Capsaicin does have some cancer fighting potential.  Keep in mind that to get the amount of Capsaicin used in the study you would need to eat between three and eight Habanera peppers a week.

Hot Pepper Ingredient Kills Prostate Cancer Cells