In this early 2018, food bloggers and foodies are raving over shishito pepper. They talked about the amazing taste of this green heirloom Japanese pepper. They even start top grow it all over their garden. The most special thing about this pepper is that although shishito is considered into a pepper, it doesn’t taste hot at all.
Well, maybe some, but they say in a scale that only 1 out of 10 shishito peppers is hot. So, you still need to be careful to find the hot one when you pop some sweet shishito into your mouth. Instead, it is sweet and juicy.
People love to roast, grill, or pan fry this pepper to let out the sweetness while adding some smokiness in it. Besides the flavor, surprisingly this Japanese cute pepper also possesses some health benefits of shishito peppers we need to know.
Nutritional Information of Shishito Pepper
The health benefits of shishito pepper mainly contributed by the content of beneficial values in it. Based on a study, shishito pepper own the nutrients value as listed below:
- Carbohydrate
- Dietary fiber
- Protein
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin B1
- Vitamin B2
- Niacin
- Vitamin B6
- Folate
- Pantothenic acid
- Biotin
- Vitamin C
- Sodium
- Potassium
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Phosphorus
- Iron
- Zinc
- Copper
- Manganese
- Selenium
- Chromium
- Molybdenum
Health Benefits of Shishito Pepper
The result of some researches and studies were compiled into this compact list about health benefits of shishito pepper listed as follows:
- Prevent cancer
Shishito pepper is rich of antioxidant which is very good in fighting the main enemy of cancer, the free radicals. By persistently consuming healthy vegetable in a healthy way of cooking you’ll reduce the risk of developing cancer. So, don’t hesitate to include blistered shishito pepper into your daily diet. A study reported that the consumption of shishito pepper is able to lessen the risk of colon cancer.
- Control weight
One of the health benefits of shishito pepper is controlling body weight effectively. This pepper contains good amount of dietary fiber. As we know, consuming food with high fiber content is able to prevent you from cravings as it keeps your tummy full a little longer. This way, you are able to easily control your weight and even los some pounds.
- Prevent constipation
The content of dietary fiber in shishito pepper is not only good in controlling your weight. It is also good for your overall digestive system and prevents you from getting digestive problems. Well, this pepper is able to prevent constipation as it improves the bowel movement.
- Prevent hemorrhoids
The ability of shishito pepper in improving bowel movement may avoid you from developing hemorrhoids. As we know, the main cause of hemorrhoid is the unhealthy lifestyle combined with the lack of dietary fiber intake. In this case, shishito pepper provides you with sufficient amount of dietary fiber to keep you healthy.
- Good for colon
The dietary fiber in shishito pepper would also be a good friend of your colon. It is able to protect the inner lining of your colon and prevent you from microbe, toxic elements and the other unwanted threats for your digestive system.
- Reduce the risk of heart diseases
Not only good for preventing cancer, antioxidants intake from consuming shishito pepper may also help you to reduce the risk of heart diseases. The vitamin C as antioxidant in shishito pepper is able to maintain the healthy heart as it prevents blood clotting which may lead to get heart attack, cardiac arrest, and stroke.Â
- Improve immunity
Shishito pepper is enriched with vitamins and minerals. Some vitamins found in shishito pepper are vitaminB6, vitamin C, and vitamin E. as we know, these vitamins are essential to improve your immune system. Vitamin C aid your fitness, vitamin B6 improve the nervous system, and vitamin E help protect your cells from damage to support the immune system.
- Good for skin
Vitamin C and vitamin E in shishito pepper also contribute to protect your skin health. The vitamins aid the formation of collagen in our skin to keep it firm, healthy, and youthful. As we know, vitamin E protects the skin from damage and quickly repairs the damaged cells.
- Prevent macular degeneration disorders
This green Japanese sweet pepper not only provide good amount of vitamin C and vitamin E. it also provides the health benefits of shishito pepper with vitamin A included. Therefore, the consumption of shishito pepper may improve your eye health as it effectively prevents macular degeneration disorders.
- Treat skin infection
Shishito pepper contains phytonutrients which is very useful in dealing with skin problems. Phytonutrients is known to be able in treating some skin infection such acne, blemishes, and the other. Therefore, it is very good to regularly consume the pepper as the solution for some skin problems.
- Treat asthma
Consuming shishito pepper may aid your respiratory health. Thus, it is good for those with asthma to consume shishito pepper as the pepper is good for relaxing respiratory passage and reduce panting. The health benefits of shishito pepper in aiding the respiratory system is contributed by the content of phytonutrient.
- Anti-inflammatory agent
Just like the other kinds of pepper such Aleppo pepper with its Health Benefits of Aleppo Pepper You Should Know to reduce inflammation, shishito pepper also owns the anti-inflammatory property. Therefore, shishito pepper is able to solve some problems related to the inflammation such reducing pain and relieving swelling.
- Maintain oral health
One of the minerals contained in shishito pepper is calcium. Calcium is very good in maintaining our oral health. Calcium aid the health of our gum while maintaining the strength of our teeth. Such a surprising fact, isn’t it? This health benefits may also be gained by combining peppers with other vitamin C and calcium powerhouse such lemon juice to get the Health Benefits of Cayenne Pepper and Lemon Juice.
- Strengthen bone
Being rich in calcium make it possible for shishito pepper to improve the strength of our bone. All the edible parts of the pepper including the seeds are beneficial for the health of our bone. To add more benefits for bones, we can also include beans into our diet as it is considered to be one of the calcium sources. This health benefits may also be found in Health Benefits of Barlotti Beans  and Health Benefits of Cluster Beans.
- Stimulate hair growth
Surprisingly, this green pepper also contributes some values to aid our beauty. It is not limited to the health benefits of shishito pepper to maintain the health of pour skin, but also the ability of shishito pepper to aid the hair health. It stimulates the hair growth by aiding the blood circulation throughout the scalp and hair roots.
- Prevent hair damage
The consumption of fresh shishito pepper juice will also help you preventing the hair damage. It is possible since the pepper keep our hair follicles from the harmful effect. As the result, we may avoid hair fall, breakage, and split ends. The health benefits of shishito pepper for hair are contributed by the content of vitamin C and iron. The health benefit is similar to the Health Benefits of Green Bell Pepper Juice.
Recommendation in Consuming Shishito Pepper
People love to grill and roast this pepper as it is sweeter those ways. But in japan, where this pepper is originated, people love to make them into tempura. They dip the pepper into batter, and deep fry the pepper for the appetizer. We commonly known tempuras are made of prawn or crab, but this vegetable tempura results a crispy outside yet delicate and sweet pepper inside.
Or else we can also stir fry the shishito pepper and add some ingredients such meat, chicken, or other vegetables. But when you stir frying the pepper, you need to make sure that it is not overcooked, unless it will lose its juiciness. Shishito pepper also goes very well for curry, pickles, or with egg for omelet.
The most interesting is that you don’t need to bother chopping them as the entire part of shishito pepper is edible and it is never been too big for a single pop to your mouth. Such a fun way to get the health benefits of shishito pepper, isn’t it?