The color of bell peppers reflects their ripeness. Some varieties of bell pepper begin as green peppers, and then turn yellow, orange and finally red as they ripen. Bell peppers' nutritional content also changes as the pepper ripens, which means that a red pepper offers different nutritional benefit than, for example, a yellow bell pepper. Yellow peppers do lose some vitamin C content as they turn red. However, both types of pepper provide a rich source of vitamin C.

Importance of Vitamin C

Vitamin helps maintain tissue strength. It plays a role in the production of collagen, a protein found in your bones, cartilage, skin and connective tissue that helps to hold your tissue together. Together with vitamin E, vitamin C also protects your cells from oxidative damage caused by free radicals, a group of toxic compounds that cause genetic mutations. Vitamin C also indirectly benefits your circulation -- it helps you absorb iron, a mineral your body needs to make healthy red blood cells.

Vitamin C in Yellow and Red Peppers

Yellow pepper is an excellent source of vitamin C. A large, yellow pepper contains 341 milligrams of of the vitamin. This provides much more than your daily vitamin C requirements -- 90 or 75 milligrams for adult men or women, respectively, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements. An equivalent serving of red pepper contains 209 milligrams of vitamin C. While much less than the vitamin-C content of yellow peppers, a large red pepper still provides more than your entire daily vitamin C requirement.

Other Nutritional Differences

Red pepper also offers another nutritional benefit over yellow pepper -- its vitamin A content. A large, red pepper contains 5,135 international units of vitamin A, which is more than your entire daily vitamin A requirement, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements. Your body uses this vitamin A to help guide cell development, as well as to maintain healthy vision and promote immune function. A large, yellow pepper contains just 372 IU of vitamin A, which is about 16 and 12 percent of the daily vitamin A requirement for women and men, respectively.

Eating More Bell Pepper