PepperVegetable
27
kcal / 100g
33
kcal / 1 cup
1 thing to watch for
Informational only, not medical advice. Always verify against the physical product label — data may be incomplete or out of date.
Nutrition Facts (per 100g)
| Nutrient | Amount | %DV |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 27kcal | — |
| Protein | 1.66g | 3% |
| Total lipid (fat) | 0.45g | 1% |
| Fatty acids, total saturated | 0.048g | 0% |
| Cholesterol | 0mg | 0% |
| Carbohydrate, by difference | 5.35g | 2% |
| Fiber, total dietary | 3.4g | 12% |
| Total Sugars | 1.95g | — |
| Sodium, Na | 13mg | 1% |
Vitamins & Minerals
Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of blood vessels EU register →
Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of bones EU register →
Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of cartilage EU register →
Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of gums EU register →
Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin EU register →
Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of teeth EU register →
Vitamin C contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism EU register →
Vitamin C contributes to normal functioning of the nervous system EU register →
Vitamin C contributes to normal psychological function EU register →
Vitamin C contributes to the normal function of the immune system EU register →
Vitamin C contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue EU register →
Vitamin C contributes to the regeneration of the reduced form of vitamin E EU register →
Vitamin C increases iron absorption EU register →
Vitamin B6 contributes to normal cysteine synthesis EU register →
Vitamin B6 contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism EU register →
Vitamin B6 contributes to normal functioning of the nervous system EU register →
Vitamin B6 contributes to normal homocysteine metabolism EU register →
Vitamin B6 contributes to normal protein and glycogen metabolism EU register →
Vitamin B6 contributes to normal psychological function EU register →
Vitamin B6 contributes to normal red blood cell formation EU register →
Vitamin B6 contributes to the normal function of the immune system EU register →
Vitamin B6 contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue EU register →
Vitamin B6 contributes to the regulation of hormonal activity EU register →
Diet Compatibility
- VeganYes
Yes — Pepper is vegan.
Based on Open Food Facts ingredient analysis. How we set this
- VegetarianYes
Yes — Pepper is vegetarian.
Based on Open Food Facts ingredient analysis. How we set this
- Palm Oil FreeYes
Yes — Pepper is palm oil free.
Based on Open Food Facts ingredient analysis. How we set this
- Gluten-FreeYes
Yes — Pepper is gluten-free.
Based on the ingredient list and allergen data recorded in Open Food Facts. How we set this
- Dairy-FreeYes
Yes — Pepper is dairy-free.
Based on the ingredient list and allergen data recorded in Open Food Facts. How we set this
- Nut-FreeYes
Yes — Pepper is nut-free.
Based on the ingredient list and allergen data recorded in Open Food Facts (covers tree nuts and peanuts). How we set this
- Soy-FreeYes
Yes — Pepper is soy-free.
Based on the ingredient list and allergen data recorded in Open Food Facts. How we set this
- Egg-FreeYes
Yes — Pepper is egg-free.
Based on the ingredient list and allergen data recorded in Open Food Facts. How we set this
- KetoYes
Yes — Pepper is keto-friendly (1.95 g net carbs per 100g, within the ≤10 g net carbs bar). (may not account for sugar alcohols; per-100g basis is a rougher heuristic than per-serving.)
≤5g net carbs per serving — our bar, not a regulatory standard. How we set this
- Low-CarbYes
Yes — Pepper is low-carb (1.95 g net carbs per 100g, within the ≤15 g net carbs bar). (may not account for sugar alcohols.)
≤15g net carbs per serving — our bar, not a regulatory standard. How we set this
- Low-SugarYes
Yes — Pepper is low in sugar (1.95 g sugar per 100g, within the ≤5 g sugar bar).
≤5g sugar per serving — our own criterion; the FDA defines none. How we set this
- High-ProteinNo
No — Pepper is not high in protein (1.66 g protein per 100g, below the ≥10 g protein bar).
≥10g protein per serving — FDA 21 CFR 101.54 (≥20% DV). How we set this
- Low-FatYes
Yes — Pepper is low-fat (0.45 g fat per 100g, within the ≤3 g fat bar).
≤3g fat per serving — FDA 21 CFR 101.62. How we set this
- Low-CalorieYes
Yes — Pepper is low-calorie (27 kcal per 100g, within the ≤40 kcal bar).
≤40 kcal per serving — FDA 21 CFR 101.60. How we set this
Read the sourced research
Both USDA-tested pepper varieties (banana and red bell) show 0µg vitamin B-12 and 0mg cholesterol per 100g — consistent with any plant food, and confirming pepper is vegan and vegetarian by nature. [6]
Sweet red bell pepper has about 3.9g net digestible carbs per 100g (total carbs minus fiber), per USDA data — low enough that typical serving sizes fit easily into a ketogenic macro budget. [7]
Portion size matters more than color here: green bell/capsicum pepper stays low-FODMAP up to about 75g (roughly 1 cup). Red bell pepper's low-FODMAP threshold is smaller — about 43g, roughly 1/3 cup — after Monash retested it.
Note that Monash's own general food-list app separately shows red capsicum as a 'high FODMAP' example food; that's about typical/larger servings, not a contradiction of the smaller safe portion above. [8]
Health Benefits
A large Italian cohort study (Moli-sani, 22,811 adults) found chili pepper eaters — more than 4x/week — had a lower risk of dying from any cause than rare/never eaters (HR 0.77). Cardiovascular death risk was lower too (HR 0.66), with the biggest drop for stroke death (HR 0.39).
The study's own editorial flagged the effect size as unusually large for a single dietary factor, and noted the benefit didn't hold up among people with high blood pressure. [1]A meta-analysis pooling 4 cohort studies (564,748 people total) linked eating chili pepper — at least weekly — to modestly lower all-cause mortality (HR 0.87) versus rarely or never eating it.
Cancer-specific and cardiovascular-specific mortality were both slightly lower too (HR 0.92 and HR 0.89). These remain observational associations, not proof that pepper itself caused the difference. [2]A 2023 meta-analysis of 15 randomized trials (762 people) found capsaicin supplements produced small reductions versus placebo: BMI down 0.25 kg/m2, body weight down 0.51 kg, and waist circumference down 1.12 cm.
The review authors themselves describe these effects as rather modest.
A separate, much larger study of 434,556 adults found the opposite pattern: spicy food intake tracked with higher body-size measures. The authors attribute this to oil-heavy cooking often paired with spicy food, muddying the comparison. [3]Bell peppers register 0 Scoville Heat Units — they contain essentially no capsaicin at all.
That matters for reading the mortality and weight findings above: those studies are about capsaicin-containing chili peppers, not the sweet bell pepper most people eat raw or in salads. [4]
Storage & Buying Tips
UC Davis's postharvest research center found bell peppers keep longest at 7.5°C (45°F) — about 3-5 weeks — and lose water and shrivel faster above that temperature.
Colder storage at 5°C (41°F) works too, for up to about 2 weeks, before chilling injury (pitting, discoloration) starts to show. [5]
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it safe to eat spicy peppers during pregnancy?
Capsaicin itself hasn't been linked to fetal harm, so spicy peppers are generally considered safe for the baby during pregnancy.
For the pregnant person, though, spicy food often makes heartburn, nausea, and stomach upset worse — especially later in pregnancy as the growing uterus pushes on the stomach. If you're not used to heat, start with a small amount and work up gradually.
The old folk claim that spicy food can start labor isn't backed by reliable evidence. [9]
What's actually the difference between a bell pepper and a chili pepper?
Both come from Capsicum plants (mostly Capsicum annuum) in the nightshade family — the split is really about one compound. Bell peppers are a non-pungent cultivar group that makes essentially no capsaicin (0 Scoville Heat Units), while chili peppers are cultivars bred to produce it, in wildly different concentrations.
Allergy-wise, the two are considered closely related — studies on Capsicum allergy usually test both bell and chili extracts on the same patients. Functionally, though, they're worlds apart: heat level and every capsaicin-linked effect covered on this page apply to chili peppers, not bell peppers. [10]
Does cooking destroy pepper's vitamin C content?
Yes, at least partially. Vitamin C is the most heat- and water-sensitive nutrient in peppers, and a 2024 review of the cooking research found every method tested reduced it to some degree.
Boiling and steaming caused the biggest losses, and cooking longer made it worse regardless of method. Stir-frying held up best — one study found no measurable vitamin C loss after 5-10 minutes of stir-frying.
Roasting results were all over the place, from minor losses to as much as 80% in some studies, likely because those studies didn't consistently report the exact time and temperature used. [11]
Why does eating spicy pepper sometimes cause heartburn?
Capsaicin activates TRPV1 receptors lining the esophagus and stomach, and controlled trials show it reliably triggers heartburn in healthy volunteers, with bigger doses causing more burning.
Those same receptors desensitize with repeated exposure, though. That's one reason regular chili-eaters report less heartburn than occasional ones, and why a small trial found 6 weeks of chili eating actually lowered reflux scores in people with non-erosive reflux disease.
People who already have GERD feel more capsaicin-induced heartburn than people without it, and poor sleep makes GERD patients' esophagus even more sensitive to it. [12]
Can pepper (capsicum) interact with blood-thinning medications?
There's a documented, but 'minor,' theoretical interaction. Concentrated capsicum supplements (cayenne pills, not cooking amounts of pepper) may increase fibrinolytic activity and inhibit platelet clumping based on animal and limited human data, which could theoretically add to a blood thinner's bleeding risk.
That said, the interaction database notes no actual bleeding complications have been reported from this combination in practice, and herbal capsicum products vary a lot in strength. Anyone on warfarin or a similar drug who wants a concentrated capsaicin supplement should still run it by their doctor first. [13]
How does a ripe (red/yellow/orange) pepper differ nutritionally from an unripe (green) one?
Green peppers are just the same fruit picked before it fully ripens — left on the plant, it would eventually turn red (or yellow, orange, or purple) and get sweeter as sugars build up.
The bigger nutritional shift is in antioxidants, not basic macros. Red peppers are especially rich in capsanthin (the pigment behind their color) and beta-carotene, while lutein — linked to eye health — shows up more in green, yellow, and orange peppers.
Red peppers also tend to be the most vitamin-C-dense of the bunch, though yellow peppers get singled out for high vitamin C too. [4]
Found in these products
None of the products in our database currently contain Pepper.
Sources & Last Updated
Nutrition data: USDA FoodData Central, “Pepper, banana, raw” (SR Legacy, fdcId 169394), updated 2026-08-27.
Research reviewed 2026-08-27.
- JACC — Chili Pepper Consumption and Cardiovascular Mortality<sup>∗</sup>:
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35038885
- Zhang et al., British Journal of Nutrition (2023-10-31)
- Bell pepper - Wikipedia
- Bell Pepper | Postharvest Research and Extension Center
- Pepper, banana, raw - Nutrients - SR Legacy | USDA FoodData Central
- Peppers, sweet, red, raw - Nutrients - SR Legacy | USDA FoodData Central
- FODMAP Everyday — All About Chile, Chili & Chilli & The Low FODMAP Diet (2022-09-23)
- Healthline — Spicy Food in Pregnancy: Myths and Facts (2020-06-18)
- Takei et al., Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research (2022-04-12)
- Cooking effect on bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity of red pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) (2024-09-14)
- Beneficial effects of dietary capsaicin in gastrointestinal health and disease (2022-08-14)
- Drugs.com — Capsicum + Warfarin: Can You Take Them Together?