Hot and Healthy: The Red Chilli Powder

2. Red, hot and full of passion. Red chillies can evoke so many emotions, culinary and otherwise. Red chilli powder is prepared by the process of drying and pulverizing the fruit of one or more varieties of chilli pepper. It is used in the preparation of most of the Indian dishes. Using red chilli powder: It is used in a variety of preparations like hot chilli sauce and chilli powder blend which includes other ingredients like cumin, oregano, garlic powder, salt, etc. It is used to add hot aroma, red colour and flavour to almost all Indian dishes. It is used as a seasoning agent in soups, chilli sauce etc. It is also used in the preparation of vegetable curries, snacks, and pickles. The Capsaicin found in chilli pepper is used as the main constituent of pepper spray which acts a non-toxic weapon.

3. Nutritional value: Chilli peppers are rich in various vitamins and minerals like Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Vitamin K1, Potassium, Copper, Vitamin A, etc. They also contain bioactive plant compounds like Capsanthin, Violaxanthin, Lutein, Capsaicin, Sinapic acid, Ferulic acid,etc. But as they are usually eaten in small amounts, so they do not contribute significantly to the daily micronutrient intake. Health benefits: • It has a good quantum of Vitamin C which acts as a water-soluble antioxidant. It helps in wound healing. • It also contains vitamin B, carotene, and minerals like potassium, iron, and magnesium. • It contains Capsaicin which helps to improve metabolism and blood circulation. • Capsaicin also acts as an anti-bacterial, and a pain reliever.

4. Health benefits: • It helps clear congested respiratory system. • It hastens digestion and metabolism thus promoting weight loss. • It reduces LDL cholesterol. • It increases the ability of the body to dissolve fibrin which plays an important role in the formation of blood clots during an injury. • It contains vitamins A, B, and C thus helps to improve the immune system of the body. • The Capsaicin in red chillies has anti-inflammatory action, thus helping in the treatment of arthritis, psoriasis, etc. • The Capsaicin exhibits anticancer activity due to its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory property.

5. Precautions to take: • Pregnant women should avoid excessive usage of red chilli as it can increase the possibility of premature birth. • Consumption in high amounts causes severe pain, inflammation, swelling, redness and over the time, regular • xposure to capsaicin may cause certain pain neurons to become insensitive to further pain. • Over consumption of red chillies have reported problems associated with stomach cancer. • It can be adulterated with Sudan-I, II, III, IV, para-Red, and other illegal carcinogenic dyes. • Some carcinogenic agents like Aflatoxins and N-nitroso compounds are frequently found in chilli powder. • Excess ingestion of chilli may provoke gastroesophageal reflux (GER).

6. Looking at the likely negative adulteration of red chilli powder, it is advisable always to use organic red chilli powder from authentic organic producers. Thank You...