Fiber, Vitamin A, few calories - what a terrific fruit! Yep, pumpkin is a fruit! Try it in soup, seeds on salads, on the run, while at rest. The flesh is yummy, and the seeds and oil are really healthy!
For most of us, including us at Rosenberg Wellness Center, we look to the pumpkin pies and breads and seeds to enjoy the efforts of the pumpkin farmers. As the pumpkins transform into Jack-o-Lanterns around Halloween and grace our New York City front porches, many New York City residents saved the seeds to roast and enjoy. Did you know that was a healthy choice? Good for you!
Then, Thanksgiving rolls around New York City, and the pumpkin pies roll out. Interestingly, early pumpkin pies were actually made in pumpkins! Like we do today, early American settlers would cut the top off and remove the seeds, but they would then stuff the pumpkin with milk, spices, and honey and bake the whole thing. Granted, there was no crust, but it was a healthier version of pumpkin pie!
Healthy pumpkin benefits are numerous! It's no wonder that the Native Americans used pumpkins seeds for food and medicine! (1)
- reduction in arthritis inflammation (2) and heart disease,
- prevention of osteoporosis in men due to the high zinc content - 71% RDA - in pumpkin seeds (3),
- stress reduction and irritability as the amino acid tryptophan in pumpkin seeds converts to GABA (an anti-stress neurochemical) in the brain (4),
- inhibition of benign prostatic hyperplasia in men (5),
- anti-oxidant protection from free radicals floating around in New York City due to the beta-carotene conversion into vitamin A (6) (Don't you just love the bright orange color beta-carotene gives the pumpkin!),
- support of good vision, eye and skin health, and a strong immune system due to the 246% Vitamin A content one serving offers (6), and
- improvement in postmenopausal women's issues taking pumpkin seed oil like an increase in HDL cholesterol (the good kind) and decrease in blood pressure, hot flashes, headaches and joint pain (7)
From the flower to the inner flesh to the seeds, the pumpkin gives us its all! The flower is edible. The flesh is yummy in so many ways - pies, breads, smoothies. The pumpkin seeds are easy to make and fun to eat! Share some with your New York City friends and family!
