In this article, you will learn how you can lose weight by eating red bell pepper, what are the benefits of this vegetable, what are the contraindications to use, and also get acquainted with dietary recipes with bell peppers. Many people dream of losing a few pounds, but it can be very difficult to give up eating the usual food, the same buns and sweets. Most people who went on a diet at least once did not finish the job, continuing to dream of a slender figure. Some of the best weight loss foods are vegetables, including bell peppers. In a week, you can lose more than 5 kg of weight.
The beneficial properties of sweet peppers
Bell pepper, which can be bought in many supermarkets or grown in a summer cottage, should be present, and even in relatively large quantities, in the diet of everyone, especially those people who still cannot lose extra pounds. The fact is that the calorie content of 100 g of a sweet vegetable is only from 20 to 29.5 kcal, there is 1.3 g of protein and 5.3 g of carbohydrates. It should be noted that there is a large amount of vitamin C, which makes this product a leader among vegetables in terms of the content of this vitamin.
People who have cardiovascular diseases should be pleased with the fact that red pepper also contains a rare vitamin R. As for vitamin C, it helps to cleanse blood vessels from cholesterol plaques. The work of these two elements reduces the chance of stroke by 46%. An interesting fact is that by using pepper in the amount of one piece, you can get the daily requirement of vitamin C. A lot of this element is found in the stalk of the vegetable, white pulp and seeds. 100 g of red pepper can provide one third of the daily value of vitamin A, which is responsible for good vision and normal growth of the body.
Group B, which is also found in red vegetables, has a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin and hair. And the presence of potassium, silicon and iodine suggests that by regularly consuming bell peppers, you can increase your chance of getting strong nails and thick hair, as well as normalize your metabolism.
Lycopene and anthocyanins are excellent antioxidants and have a beneficial effect on blood pressure. Red Bulgarian vegetable, which also contains vitamins E and K, prevents the formation of blood clots, indicates help in the fight against stress and insomnia. Bell pepper should be of interest to the elderly and people whose work is related to mental work, as it helps to concentrate attention and improve memory.
Who is contraindicated in bell pepper mono-diets?
Before starting a diet, it is recommended to first determine whether bell pepper was suitable for your body for weight loss or not, because this product has its own contraindications.
Doctors advise to include a Bulgarian product in a smaller amount in the diet in the following cases:
- Hypertonic disease.
- Cardiac ischemia.
- Kidney and liver problems.
- Ulcer and gastritis of the stomach with a high acidity.
Do not self-medicate, so as not to aggravate the situation. Visit your dietitian to find out when and how much bell peppers can be consumed. The fact is that pepper contains a lot of coarse fiber, as well as essential oils, all of which can aggravate the nature of the disease and give an allergic reaction.
How to choose bell peppers
When heading to the grocery store, choose a vegetable with a green bouncy tail. The pepper itself should not have any dents, dark spots and wrinkles, otherwise there is a risk of acquiring a stale product. Leave your choice only on bell peppers with strong pulp with a shiny surface.
You can find red, yellow, orange and green peppers on sale. Red peppers are high in carotene (red-yellow pigment) and lycopene (red pigment). It contains 125 mcg of vitamin A. There is a lot of this substance (105 mcg) in an orange vegetable. But in green and yellow peppers there is little of it, 10 and 18 μg, respectively. It is red pepper that contains a greater amount of vitamin C. If you have a yellow vegetable in front of you, you should know that this pepper has acquired such a shade due to the presence of carotenoids and a minimal amount of red pigment (lycopene). And there is also a lot of potassium, which should please people with heart problems, and phosphorus, which takes part in the formation of the skeletal system. As for green pepper, the least high-calorie, it is marked by phytosterols, the molecules of which are involved in lipid metabolism.
Store the red vegetable in the refrigerator, but not in a plastic bag. If you decide to freeze peppers for the winter, remove seeds and stalks from the product. Remember to wash and dry the peppers. For freezing, the vegetable can be cut into cubes or strips, small or medium-sized red peppers can be frozen whole.
Sweet pepper diet
Bell peppers can help a lot in losing weight. This fact was proven in a study in the United States, where 25 volunteers participated. On the first day, participants began to notice a decrease in appetite for spicy, salty, fatty, and sugary foods.
If you want to lose weight, keep in mind that red bell peppers will take up the bulk of your diet. In this case, the menu will be diluted with other products. The course of the diet is two weeks, it is after this period that you can see the maximum effect.
- The first day of the diet is marked by the fact that his diet contains only vegetables. Vegetables can be very different, but the main part is sweet peppers. The weight of products consumed on this day should not exceed one kilogram. Eat only raw vegetables, as heat treatment loses many of their beneficial properties, leading to an unbalanced diet.
- On the second day, instead of vegetables, you must eat peppers with fruits. The total weight also does not exceed one kilogram. The taboo extends to grapes and bananas.
- The ration of the third and fourth days is identical and consists of 300 g of vegetables, 300 g of fruit and one egg.
- On the fifth, sixth and seventh days, it is allowed to consume pepper, 200 g of boiled meat, 200 g of cottage cheese, drinking yogurt and a mug of tea. Lean meat is an indispensable item on this day, because without it, the body will have nowhere to take a sufficient amount of nutrients.
- In the second week, eat the same as in the first. The only difference is that on the sixth and seventh day, you can use the menu of any day of the diet.
Do not eat this way for more than two weeks. In order to keep in shape and not get better, return to the regular menu gradually. Of course, the amount of sweets and other foods consumed that leads to fat gain should be minimized.
Diet dishes with bell peppers
Red pepper is the basis of traditional dishes in many countries, including Italy, India and China. This vegetable goes well with vegetables, rice and beans, poultry, fish and cheese. One cannot fail to note such a fragrant seasoning as paprika, which is a dried and ground bell pepper powder.
For many overweight people, dieting means depleting their bodies and dreaming of delicious meals. In fact, it is not at all necessary to force yourself into such torments, unless, of course, you are planning to quickly lose many kilograms, you can simply monitor your diet. So the following dietary dishes are prepared from the delicious bell pepper:
- Chicken rolls with pepper. Calorie content - 92 kcal per 100 g, cooking time - half an hour. Take three chicken fillets, rinse and cut lengthwise. Beat the resulting pieces a little, add salt, seasoning and cut in half lengthwise. Rinse the red pepper and cut the vegetable into strips. To get the rolls, take three strips of bell pepper and wrap the meat strip around them. To keep the rolls in shape while cooking, use toothpicks or a thread.
- Grill salad with bell peppers. Calorie content - 107 kcal per 100 g, cooking time - 15 minutes To prepare this dish, you will need 3-4 olives, two peppers (yellow and orange), a tomato, 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar. Rinse vegetables under running water, cut into pieces and place on the grill for 15 minutes, then season with vinegar and stir.
- Chicken with bell pepper. Calorie content - 76, 2 kcal per 100 g, cooking time - half an hour. Prepare one pepper, 1 tablespoon each. olive oil and tomato paste, onion, a clove of garlic, half a kilogram of chicken fillet, 1 tsp. curry spices. On the bottom of a preheated saucepan, place the butter, the onion chopped into rings, and the garlic squeezed through the garlic press, and after a few minutes, the tomato paste and curry. All ingredients must be mixed well, to which add the fillet and curry, cut into cubes. Let simmer slightly over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.
The benefits of bell pepper for weight loss are great, moreover, scientists have proven that this vegetable contains special substances, especially in green fruits, that reduce the risk of cancer.
Video tips on how to lose weight on sweet pepper:
