Some people love eating spicy foods. They love adding spicy ingredients like peppers on their dishes to add an extra punch or kick into its taste. The spicy and tingly sensation that people get from eating hot peppers just like the poblano pepper, as some say, is more than delicious. In fact, it may also be beneficial for the health. I mentioned poblano pepper, well, that is what we are going to talk about in this article. The health benefits of poblano peppers are so many, this includes boosting the immunity, aiding in weight loss, and fighting cancer. If you want to know more about this astounding pepper, give this article a read.
Poblano Pepper: What is this?
The poblano peppers are dark green-colored, thick chili peppers, which are named after their origin, Puebla. This is actually a state in Central Mexico. The poblano peppers have the tendency to have a wide top, yet a pointy bottom. Furthermore, these mild to medium hot chili peppers have a measurement of about 1000-2000 Scoville heat units.
Moreover, the dried poblano peppers are called the ancho chilies. These are far way different from the chipotle peppers, or the dried and smoked jalapeno peppers. According to some, the smoked poblano peppers are branded as chipotles. Nevertheless, the term chipotles must only be used for the smoked and dried jalapenos.
In terms of heat, the poblano pepper is an amusingly earthy pepper, which is between the jalapeno and banana pepper. It is also the chili used in the chile relleno, and has a lot of amazing nutrients in each serving. Additionally, it is hot enough to contain the cancer-fighting power of the capsaicin even without burning the mouth and has antioxidants, which are beneficial to make the body happy.
Furthermore, some people also confuse the poblano peppers with the pasilla peppers. This is due to their similar taste, nothing more, and nothing less. The pasilla peppers are narrower and longer than that of the poblano peppers.
More often than not, people roast the poblano peppers in order to bring out its natural flavor. Nevertheless, it may also be a good addition to salad dressings, stews, and chilies. You may also sauté it with garlic and onion to make a salsa blend.
Nutritional Profile of Poblano Pepper
The poblano pepper is one of approximately 27 varieties of peppers, which belong to the Capsicum annuum family. Sometimes, they call it by its scientific name, Capsicum annuum poblano L.
As per its nutritional content, the poblano peppers are amazing, especially for something that is not the main dish. In fact, just a medium-sized pepper or about 4.5 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide, has about ¾ of the daily value needs of vitamin A, and a quarter of vitamin B2 you must consume every day.
A serving of about 17 grams of poblano pepper may contain the following:
| Principles | Amount | % Daily Value |
| Calories | 48 | – |
| Carbohydrates | 8.7grams | – |
| Protein | 2 grams | – |
| Fat | 1.4 grams | – |
| Fiber | 3.7 grams | – |
| Vitamin A | 3474 International Unit | 70% |
| Vitamin B2 | 0.38 milligrams | 23% |
| Potassium | 410 milligrams | 12% |
| Iron | 1.86 milligrams | 10.3% |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.6 milligrams | 10% |
| Vitamin B3 | 1.09 milligrams | 5.4% |
| Magnesium | 19.2 milligrams | 4.8% |
| Copper | 0.09 milligrams | 4.3% |
| Phosphorus | 34.2 milligrams | 3.4% |
| Vitamin B5 | 0.34 milligrams | 3.4% |
| Folate | 11.7 micrograms | 2.9% |
Health Benefits of Poblano Peppers
Here are some of the health benefits of poblano peppers:
- Helps in keeping the eyes healthy. The vitamin B2 in the poblano pepper is beneficial in preventing eye conditions like keratoconus, cataracts, and glaucoma. It also has antioxidants in it, which is beneficial in protecting the eye health.
- Helps in reducing inflammation. Peppers like the poblano pepper is essential in reducing the chronic inflammation as it has antioxidants in it that targets inflammation. Moreover, the vitamin A in it is beneficial in reducing the overall inflammation in the body.
- May help aid and prevent diabetes. There are only a few calories and a lot of essential nutrients in the poblano peppers. This is beneficial in improving the lipid profile and serve in preventing metabolic conditions like diabetes and obesity.
- Helps provide a pain relief. The nutrients in the poblano are essential for working together to provide a natural, powerful pain relief. Due to the quercetin content of the pepper, it is beneficial in reducing inflammatory pain, like prostate infection and arthritis.
- Helps in boosting the immunity. The poblano peppers may help in boosting the strength of the immune system. Specifically, the vitamin A in it is important in the body’s immune response, especially to malaria, cold, and flu.
- Rich antioxidant properties. The poblano pepper has a lot of antioxidants in it, which are all beneficial for the health. These antioxidants are beneficial for fighting the effects of free radicals in the body.
- Has cancer-fighting nutrients. Various major nutrients in the poblano pepper are beneficial in fighting against certain kinds of cancer. One of which is the riboflavin, which acts as an antioxidant against cancer cells. This is also important in glutathione production. It is also an anti-cancer antioxidant. This is one of the best health benefits of poblano peppers.
