Ok. Now that we know Beyonce wasn’t talking about carrying an actual bottle of hot sauce in her bag, what are we going to do with all these bottles of hot sauce we purchased after “Formation” snatched the Super Bowl bald?
Well, before you trade in your Louisiana Hot Sauce for a Louisville Slugger bat, take a second to consider the health benefits of the ingredients contained in most hot sauces:
Capsaicin
Capsaicin, one of the active ingredients in peppers, has antioxidant, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. According to Time.com, the hotter the pepper, the more capsaicin it may contain. But, what you pair it with could make a huge difference. Capsaicin is a fat-soluble molecule. So, pairing it with an oil, versus a raw vegetable, will draw out more of its benefits.
“The bottom line is that any kind of vegetable material you consume will improve your health… But hot peppers are really beneficial for you, if you can take the spice,” said David Popovich in a Time.com article.
Capsaicin is often used in pain-relieving creams for its analgesia properties.
Capsinoids
As crazy as this might sound, many nutritionist have encouraged their clients to add hot peppers and hot sauce (with low sodium and low sugar) to their diet. This is because capsinoids, an active ingredient found in red chili peppers (also found in Tabasco), helps to activate “brown fat,” or a healthy fat that aids in burning calories according to research.
Spicy peppers are also known to decrease the appetite and increase the metabolism.
Vitamin C
Peppers are loaded with vitamin C. One ounce of sliced jalapeño peppers contains 40 milligrams of vitamin C or 66% of your daily vitamin C requirement. As you may already know, vitamin C works wonders for the immune system. It can also lessen the duration of colds and cold symptoms. In fact, many people use hot peppers or hot sauce in their cold remedies.
Put the right hot sauce in your bag…swag!
The ideal hot sauce contains peppers, vinegar and garlic. Try to stay away from hot sauces that are high in sugar and sodium.
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