Health Benefits

• The most impressive aspect of a habanero pepper's nutrition is its vitamin C content. A single habanero pepper contains more than 100 percent of your recommended daily intake of vitamin C. The same pepper also contains a bit of vitamin A – 9 percent of your recommended intake – plus 4 percent of your recommended potassium intake, 3 percent of your recommended iron intake and a scant 1 percent of your recommended daily calcium intake

• Although habaneros are spectacularly rich in vitamin C and they no longer reign as the world's spiciest pepper (although for years, a variety of habanero did hold that title), spiciness remains their defining quality. That spiciness comes from capsaicin, and an ever-increasing body of research shows that people who regularly eat spicy foods – that is, foods rich in capsaicin – live longer than those who don't, and they're less likely to to die from cancer, heart disease and respiratory disease. So next time you get a runny nose or find yourself weeping openly from the sheer spiciness of your favorite habanero-heavy foods, take heart: Those might be signs of a long life to come.

Nutrition Details

• Vitamin C
  • Amount per serving: >100%
  • Serving size: 1 pepper

• American Botanical Council
• BBC Good Food
• Life Extension
• Natural Health Research Institute

• Ask Dr. Nandi
• Health Line
• Medical News Today
• Pub Med