It’s that time of the year - pumpkin everything! However, let’s think beyond the pie crust or spiced lattes and explore the many health benefits of pumpkins.
1. Maintain healthy weight
Pumpkins are actually very low in calories and provide some good nutritional value. For example, 1 cup of cooked pumpkin is only 49 calories but is jam-packed with fibrous carbohydrates (12 g {3g fiber}), protein (2 g) and fat (0.2 g).
2. Build healthy bones
Usually bone health isn't at the top of our list for nutritional considerations, but that doesn't mean it's not important. Pumpkins are high in magnesium with 11% of your referenced daily intake (RDI). Even though we link calcium and Vitamin D to strong bones, magnesium is actually responsible for transporting the calcium in the body.
3. Reduce blood pressure
With high blood pressure affecting 1 in 3 adults, using natural food intake for reduction is a fantastic helpful first step for your health. As we already know, pumpkins are high in magnesium, but they are also high in potassium (16% of RDI), which make this combo great for blood pressure regulation. Applying pumpkins with a low sodium, fruit and vegetable rich diet help to take your blood pressure regulation a step further!
4. Reduce stress
Family and friends make the holidays great, but all of the great foods add to the festive experience! Pumpkin, and other Thanksgiving Day foods such as turkey, contain tryptophan, an amino acid that has been shown to help manage and even reduce stress.
Outside of Thanksgiving, a good approach could be to hit the gym and get a good workout, then come home and pair it with a nice pumpkin dish to help you relax and kickback.
Vitamin B2 (11% of RDI)
5. Reduce your risk of injury
A consistent fitness routine is an essential aspect of a healthy lifestyle. In order to stay consistent, injury prevention is of critical importance. Pumpkin is a great source of Viitamin C (19% of RDI), which boosts collagen production to maintain healthy skin and connective tissues in joints.
6. Boost your heart health
One of the main variables of heart health is managing your LDL or “bad” cholesterol. One great natural way to reduce these levels of LDL are through fibrous fruits and vegetables. As previously mentioned, pumpkins have a great kick of fiber (3g). Although very high, pumpkin does not provide your recommended daily intake completely, so pairing pumpkin with whole grains can be a healthy way to meet those recommendations.
7. Strengthen eyesight
With age comes new worries for our health. One concern is the diminishing eyesight. Pumpkins are here to save the day! They are high in Vitamin A (245% of RDI) which is good for boosting vision health. Vitamin A also helps to reduce the risk of macular degeneration as we age.