The days are gone when pumpkins were merely seen as fall décor or a piece of deliciously warmed-up pumpkin pie with perfectly chilled ice cream. Pumpkin is so jam-packed with vital nutrients that it is often referred to as a “superfood.”(1)
Believe it or not, the consumption of pumpkin meat provides one with many vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, some of which include:
- potassium
- magnesium
- carotenoids: alpha- and beta-carotenes
- antioxidants: vitamins A, C, E
Pumpkin Offers a Vast Array of Disease-Fighting Nutrients and Health Benefits
Potassium is an important mineral is an electrolyte, which means that it has a small amount of an electrical charge, “essential for body’s growth and maintenance,” according to the American Heart Association.
Potassium plays two roles with regard to response:
- nerve response
- muscle contraction
Approximately 60 percent of the body’s magnesium is contained within the skeleton, and it carries out more than 300 metabolic reactions.(5) The functions that magnesium is involved in include the following:
- essential molecule synthesis;
- bone growth; and
- energy production.(5)
Alpha- and beta-carotene are two carotenoids that are found in pumpkin. Carotenoid-containing foods help protect the body against diseases, such as macular degeneration, cancers, cataracts, and heart disease.
As noted above, the antioxidants beta-carotene and vitamins A, C, E are found in pumpkin. What are the benefits to taking in antioxidants? First, antioxidants play an important role in protecting one’s cells from the damage of free radicals. According to MedlinePlus, “free radicals are molecules produced when your body breaks down food, or by environmental exposures like tobacco smoke and radiation. Free radicals can damage cells, and may play a role in heart disease, cancer and other diseases.”(3)
Pumpkin is Available Year-Round
One need not have to wait for the bright orange fall pumpkins to arrive at their local grocers in order to benefit from them nutritionally. Pumpkin is easily accessible year-round via canned packaging. It is important to note that pumpkin pie filling does not contain the same nutritional properties as pumpkin. Pie filling contains additional sugar and therefore can be seen as being tampered with nutritionally. Therefore, to obtain pumpkin’s nutritional benefits, one should look for canned pumpkin puree. According to SuperFoods Rx, pumpkin puree has more nutritional value than the actual pumpkin itself.(7)
Sources:
- SuperFoodsRx Website. Pumpkin – Overview, accessed October 13, 2010.
- Disabled World Website. Superfoods – Pumpkin, accessed October 13, 2010.
- MedlinePlus Website. Antioxidants, accessed October 13, 2010.
- American Heart Association Website. Potassium, accessed October 13, 2010.
- SuperFoodsRx Website. Magnesium, accessed October 13, 2010.
- SuperFoodsRx Website. Pumpkin as a Super Food http://www.superfoodsrx.com/superfoods/pumpkin/pumpkin-as-a-super-food.html (accessed October 13, 2010).
- SuperFoodsRx Website. Putting Pumpkin in Your Diet, accessed October 13, 2010.
Sarah Mitchell - The author has had the love of the written word since she was a young child, and one could usually find her with a book between her hands. ...
