As Autumn approaches, your thoughts turn to crunchy leaves underfoot, brisk hikes through brilliant red, orange, and yellow forests, kids in costumes, wool sweaters and scarves, Thanksgiving dinners, and soups simmering away on the stove. Oh, and pumpkins. Pumpkin everything. Pumpkin spice lattes. Jack-o-Lanterns. Pumpkin pie. Decorative pumpkins, culinary pumpkins, that Charlie Brown pumpkin movie. And yet pumpkins as a source of nutrition remain a bit of an after thought. People don’t really think to eat pumpkins unless it’s in pie or spice form. Few are making pumpkin soup, roasting pumpkin seeds, or sautéing pumpkin slices. But recall that pumpkins are an incredibly ancient American food that, as a member of the winter squash family, they formed one of the “Three Sisters” that many Amerindian populations used as staple crops, the other two being beans and corn. Today, I’m going to explain the health benefits of eating pumpkin and its various products, including the flesh, the seeds, and the oil from its seeds. Yes, yes, pumpkin seeds are seeds, and pumpkin seed oil is a seed oil, which we normally try to avoid, but these are not industrial products. A pumpkin seed is obviously full of oil. You press it and oil comes out. No hexane or other industrial solvents required. But I’m getting ahead of myself. More to come on that. What Are the Benefits of Pumpkin? Pumpkin is far lower in carbs and far higher in nutrients than you think. A full cup and a half of pumpkin flesh has just 12.8 grams of digestible carbohydrates and under 70 calories, with around 3 grams of prebiotic fiber that can nourish and feed your healthy gut biome. For that small dose of carbs and calories, you also get: Over 700 mg of potassium (notoriously hard to get in the modern diet) A huge amount of carotenoids 21% of your riboflavin requirements—which we need to metabolize nutrients and generate cellular energy 35% of your copper requirements A nice healthy dose of manganese, vitamin C, vitamin B5, and vitamin E Numerous polyphenols, which provide a hormetic stimulus to our antioxidant system Pumpkin offers a quick and easy way to get loads of nutrients, including ones many low-carb, keto, or otherwise carnivorous eaters have trouble getting, like potassium, manganese, and vitamin C, without incurring a big carb or calorie load. Other winter squashes are just as good, if not even better. A cup and a half of cubed butternut squash flesh: 123 calories 22 grams digestible carbs, 10 grams fiber 18% of daily thiamine, 19% of niacin, 22% of B5, 22% of B6, 15% folate, 52% vitamin C Tons of carotenoids 22% of daily magnesium, 23% of manganese, 22% copper, 19% (873 mg) potassium Polyphenols Very low in carbs for what you get, right? A cup and a half of cubed acorn squash: 170 calories 31 grams of digestible carbs, 13.5 grams of fiber 43% of daily thiamine, 17% of niacin, 31% B5, 35% B6, 15% folate 29% copper, 31% magnesium, 32% … Continue reading “The Benefits of Pumpkin and Pumpkin Seeds”
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