Gender: Male
Element: Fire
Planet: Mars
Zodiac Sign: Aries
Celtic Zodiac/ Date:
Lunar Month: N/A
Tarot: N/A
Rune: N/A
Ogham: N/A
Crystal: N/A
Deities: Kukulkan
Associated Festival: N/A
Chakras: N/A
Birth Month: N/A
Meaning: N/A
Type: hairless perennial branched shrub
Grows in Zone: 9-11
Plant for Bees?: Yes
Natural pesticide?: No
Poisonous/ Toxic: No
The habanero is a hot variety of chili pepper. Unripe habaneros are green, and they color as they mature. The most common color variants are orange and red, but the fruit may also be white, brown, yellow, green, or purple. Typically, a ripe habanero is 2–6 cm (0.8–2.4 in) long. Habanero chilies are very hot, rated 100,000–350,000 on the Scoville scale. The habanero’s heat, flavor, and floral aroma make it a popular ingredient in hot sauces and other spicy foods.
The habanero chili comes from the Amazon, from which it was spread, reaching Mexico. A specimen of a domesticated habanero plant, dated at 8,500 years old, was found at an archaeological site in Peru. An intact fruit of a small domesticated habanero, found in pre-ceramic levels in Guitarrero Cave in the Peruvian highlands, was dated to 6500 BC.
Today, the largest producer of the Habanero pepper is the Yucatán Peninsula, in Mexico. This pepper grows best in countries that are blessed with sunny weather. With proper attention and the right conditions, habanero can actually produce fruits for years. As long as the weather and the environment are suitable, habanero can produce throughout the year. If it gets too much water, the fruits may not grow very well. To meet the market demands of this pepper, at the moment, there are other countries in South America, aside from Mexico, that have started cultivating habanero. They are now important elements of many cultural dishes, both Mexican-inspired and beyond.
Habaneros are an integral part of Yucatecan food, accompanying most dishes, either in natural form or purée or salsa. Other modern producers include Belize, Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, and parts of the United States, including Texas, Idaho, and California.
The habanero chili was disseminated by Spanish colonists to other areas of the world, to the point that 18th-century taxonomists mistook China for its place of origin and called it Capsicum chinense (“the Chinese pepper”).
The ritual uses of the genus Capsicum range from the innocuous to the murderous, but the fiery pods are always powerful. In astrology, Capsicums fall under the dominion of Mars, ancient god of war, so that should be some indication of respect. Fuentes y Guzmán wrote in 1690 that those who frequently ate red pepper were protected against poison, while the Incas prohibited the use of chilies at initiation and funeral rites. We do not know why the pods were precluded by the Incas. Capsicums were associated with lightning bolts in Incan mythology. Kukulkan Red Habanero peppers originate in Mexico. Kukulkan is the name of a Mayan Snake Deity.
Habanero pepper contains a range of nutrients which provide a myriad of health benefits. They are packed with dietary fiber, vitamins, iron, carbohydrates, potassium, calcium, and protein. Like most of the chili pepper family, habanero also contains capsaicin, a compound that provides a range of health benefits for people.
Habanero peppers contain a significant amount of vitamin C, many more times than a serving of citrus fruit. Vitamin C aids in wound healing and keeps your immune system strong and functioning normally. This water-soluble vitamin is an antioxidant that rids your body of damaging free radicals, compounds that can cause heart disease and certain types of cancer. Unripe green habaneros contain the most vitamin C, but ripe ones supply a generous dose as well. They contain 357% more vitamin C than an orange: green habanero has twice as much as citrus fruit and red ones have three times more, plus an important amount of vitamin A. Moreover, they are a good source of most B vitamins in particular vitamin B6.
Like all other members of the chili pepper family, habaneros contain capsaicinoids, which is why mammals feel a burning sensation when we eat peppers. And because peppers can range in how hot they are when ingested, there is even a scale to measure their power – Scoville Heat Units. Habaneros come in near the top of the list, as far as heat is concerned.
Measuring between 300,000 and 500,000 Scoville units, habaneros are one of the spiciest foods on the planet. We even taste different capsaicinoids differently, and it’s been observed that habaneros provide a delayed, very hot burning sensation at the back of the throat which lingers. Fresh habaneros are less spicy than dried versions, and it is the heat that makes them so beneficial to your health. Adding habanero peppers to your diet provides you with certain healthy benefits that might just outweigh their intense, spicy flavor.
In traditional Chinese medicine, peppers that contain capsaicin are categorized as hot and spicy. Like ginger and cinnamon they are by nature therapeutically warming, promote circulation, and can help relieve pain, depending on how and in what amounts they are taken.
Spicy peppers like habanero can help boost metabolism by generating the thermogenic processes in the body that produces heat. This process makes use of energy, and thereby, burns extra calories. Also, when hot peppers are consumed at breakfast, they suppress appetite for the rest of the day which ultimately helps in weight loss. Habanero can even alter proteins in the body to fight off fat buildup.
Capsaicin, a compound in habanero pepper, is also considered a holistic component for weight loss. Capsaicin is the primary compound in habaneros that offers benefits that protect your health. It selectively destroys nerve fibers that send messages from the stomach to the brain. You might feel hot and sweaty after consuming the pepper. But luckily, it increases the lipid metabolism in the body, so that the body can stop producing fat.
The capsaicin in peppers actually functions as an anti-irritant. Although there is a belief that hot and spicy foods might result in stomach ulcers, studies have shown that peppers are beneficial for people suffering from ulcers. Several studies confirm that capsicum varieties could have an anti-ulcer protective effect on stomachs infected with H. pylori. It is also antifungal. Consumption of peppers fights against 16 fungal strains by reducing fungal pathogens.
The capsaicin in habanero pepper is believed to help prevent diabetes by reducing insulin levels. This is beneficial for obese people, who are mostly at the risk of type 2 diabetes. Habanero also regulates blood glucose and significantly reduce it to prevent and treat diabetes. That habanero pepper does not necessarily cure diabetes. But it prevents and manages diabetes. Habanero pepper works by controlling blood sugar levels if consumed raw. The cooked one may not be as potent as the uncooked one.
Since the capsaicin in peppers contains anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, it is believed to be an effective cancer-fighter. It reduces the growth of prostate cancer cells while leaving normal cells unharmed. Studies have also shown that the consumption of large amounts of peppers protects the body against bladder, pancreatic, and breast cancers. A 2006 study published in “Cancer Research” reports that capsaicin can help slow the spread of cancerous cells and the growth of cancerous tumors associated with prostate cancer.
It also promotes the activity of the circulatory system and prevents heart disease by lowering blood serum cholesterol and reducing lipid deposits. This means that it reverses excessive blood clotting and also dilates the blood vessels to promote blood flow.
Contained in habanero pepper, is the capsaicin that stimulates the body nerves to increase blood flow. The blood vessels then dilate and lower blood pressure. It also increases the insulin-like growth factor IGF-I, which helps the blood cholesterol level to be reduced.
Cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks, stroke, and high blood pressure can be prevented with the consumption of the pepper. It is a natural approach for maintaining healthy blood circulation. In addition, it reverses damage to blood vessels and prevents bad cholesterol from accumulating in the blood vessel.
Hot peppers like habanero are packed with antioxidants and beta carotene that support the immune system and helps it fight off sinusitis, colds, asthma, and the flu. The pepper also soothes the lining of the lungs
Capsaicin stimulates blood flow through the body, which can help relieve the congestion associated with the common cold and sinus infections. According to some studies, nasal sprays that contain capsaicin can significantly reduce congestion. Hot peppers help to increase body temperature and as such, their consumption aid the immune system in combating colds and flu viruses. In fact, the consumption of peppers like habanero protects the body against fungal strains by minimizing fungal pathogens.
With the anti-inflammatory benefits of capsaicin, hot peppers can help prevent symptoms from allergies. Habanero possesses anti-inflammatory abilities to reduce the effects of inflammation effect, such as swelling and pain. This is one reason why the consumption of this pepper is beneficial for fighting arthritis and headaches. This is also a natural way to get rid of migraine and other kinds of pain.
Capsaicin can be used to relieving pain from many several conditions, including fibromyalgia, arthritis, nerve pain, and back pain. Since capsaicin contains powerful pain-relieving properties, it can be applied to the skin to reduce the chemical P, the ingredient that carries pain messages to the brain. Eventually, the pain receptors exhaust themselves by reducing the body’s reserves. Once this happens, the capsaicin functions as a pain-reliever and treatment for neuralgia, a condition in which a pain comes from the nerve that is close to the skin surface.
Side Note: Capsaicin is used in pepper spray. Chemically, it hyper-stimulates sensory nerves which causes the burning sensation on your tongue and other sensitive tissues including your eyes.
However, be aware that it can cause nausea and heartburn. Those who suffer from digestive system issues such as chronic heartburn and irritable bowel syndrome should try to consume yogurt. It helps to give some kind of protection to the stomach to reduce the effect of habanero.
if you have conditions such as colitis or gastritis it is better to avoid or moderate your consumption since being an irritant product, the body could resent excessive amounts of its intake, causing discomfort and gastrointestinal pain.
The pepper also produces a burning sensation in the mouth. To alleviate this, drink milk. This is because dairy products are capable of deactivating capsaicin and eliminating the burning sensation.
Use level: Easy
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