Your Spicy or not so Spicy Health Food

Whether your pepper comes in small fiery chilli form, or as a sweeter, larger proposition, it will provide you with a super-healthy does of vitamins.

Not content with the honorable distinctions of being a cancer-fighter and immune-system booster, this righteous vegetable has one attribute few other can lay claim to – it's both a noun and a verb. It may not sound much of an accolade, but we thought it was worth mentioning – because if you pepper you dishes with peppers, you get immediate and impressive health benefits. They're rich in vitamin A, and antioxidant that combats free-radical damage, thereby protecting you against cancer and heart disease; are an excellent source of lycopene, which helps protect your prostate; and, gram for gram, contain more than three times the amount of vitamin C as oranges. The C vitamin is a nutrient your body can't store, so you need a daily intake – it's used for tissue growth and repair, as well as healthy gums, making peppers a must-eat.

Cooking with different colored foods helps ensure a varied diet, and peppers come in a range of shades – from red, orange, yellow and green to a deep purple-black. Along with their hot cousins, the chilli peppers, sweet peppers are members of the capsicum vegetable family, and their color gives you a clue to their flavor. 'I prefer red or orange peppers,' says one of the editors who just past my desk. 'Green peppers have a youthful, rather bitter taste and while I'm not their biggest fan, some dishes, work well with them.

Another key advantage to peppers is they're a fast food: soaking, simmering or boiling simply isn't necessary – you can eat them raw with beef steak or tuna, stir-fry them or simply chuck them under the grill or BBQ. If you've got a few minutes, roasting or sautéing will really enhance their flavor, making them a perfect accompaniment to a good pasta sauce. And there's no better way to prepare 'roasted peppers' than with a cook's blow-torch. Spark your flame and blacken the pepper's skin until you can peel it off easily, revealing soft flesh underneath – perfect for your salads. If you haven't already, get with it and pepper up your life (hard to believe in Thailand) – your body will thank you for it.