Here are Eight Reasons that Chiles are Good for You*:
- Assists prevention of diabetes (of course, eating lots of veggies is good for you!)
- Good for Heart Health (yes, veggies are good for you!)
- Assists with Weight Loss (eating more veggies and less junk food will do that!)
- Anti-inflammatory (unless you eat a Carolina Reaper, then your mouth will be inflamed!)
- Clears congestion (have you ever ate something spicy to de-congest? It works!)
- Boosts immunity
- Pain Reliever (or pain inducer, depending on the chile heat level! ;)
- Makes your mouth happy. ;)
Ripe red peppers such as cayenne peppers or red chile, whether they are dried, powdered or fresh – contain a ton of vitamins. Peppers are particularly rich in Vitamin A which is helpful for our eyes, organs, and immune system. Roughly each half cup of raw red pepper provides you with about 47% of vitamin A and 159% of your vitamin C recommended for the day. Wow!
*While we don't guarantee that chiles can keep you living forever or cure any or all your ails, we do know that they're good for you! Chile peppers can have 7 times the amount of vitamin C than an orange! They also can help fight sinus congestion, aid in digestion and even can help relieve migraines and muscle, joint and nerve pain. Chile peppers are also a great source of vitamins A and E, beta-carotene, folic acid and potassium – go for red chiles and get the extra Vitamin A and beta-carotene! Read how Chiles have saved lives »
Growing Organically: Growing peppers organically also ensures that you have clean, healthy peppers that are free of pesticides or synthetic chemicals. It is also said that organically-grown veggies have more vitamins and minerals than ones grown with pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. We love using homemade compost for our chile pepper plants, and grow some huge peppers using just compost, soil and sunshine – no fertilizer needed! Learn more about how Compost helps grow Huge Chiles »
Growing peppers from seed is easy!
All peppers are very nutritious, though if you let them ripen to their fully mature color they will pack even more health benefits and flavor. You can grow any of the hundreds of chile pepper varieties by growing them from seed, so you're not just limited to just the types of peppers you can get at your garden nursery. Sandia Seed sells all sorts of easy-to-grow Hatch chile seeds, green chile seeds, red chile seeds, hot pepper seeds, sweet pepper seeds and even Heirloom tomato seeds! Learn more about how to grow peppers »
and grow some New Mexico to your garden.
Let them turn red for maximum vitamins and flavor!
All of our Hatch chile varieties green or red will eventually turn red if left to fully ripen on the plant. Typically the first round of green chile pods are picked for the first harvest, then many growers will leave the second big harvest of pods to turn red on the plants at the end of the season. Red peppers are more flavorful and are more rich in vitamins and nutrients, so letting them fully ripen is ideal! They are also best for drying and crushing for pepper flakes or powders. You can't often get fresh red chile at grocery stores or farmers markets as it's perishable, so you're more likely to find green chile pods for this reason. Growing them yourself is the solution!
View all of our Hatch Chile seeds »