Benefit for Ashburn Degenerated Discs from Pumpkin Leaves

Every year around this time, pumpkins are everywhere! We like them for décor, but they offer so much more! Recent news highlights the benefits of their leaves to reduce the speed of disc degeneration and even possibly encourage regeneration. That is news to your Ashburn chiropractor’s ear…and surely to our Ashburn back pain and neck pain patients’ ears, too!

THE DISC – Healthy and Degenerated

Most treatments of back pain focus on easing the pain and returning function without consideringa way to slow the degenerative process and/or promote regeneration. The intervertebral disc is made up of an inner core (nucleus pulposus) made of proteoglycans and a layered outer rim (annulus fibrosus) rich in collagen. Combined, these two act as a shock absorber and stabilizer for the spine. Treatment choices for the degenerated disc come from being aware of the processes that lead to degeneration in order to help relieve discogenic pain more effectively. (1) Your chiropractor studies these mechanisms a lot!

PUMPKIN LEAVES AND CAROTENOIDS

It's well-known that pumpkin products and by-products (like leaves!) have major carotenoids - β-carotene, α-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin – with β-carotene being the foremost one in most pumpkin varieties. The total content of carotenoids depends on several factors, one is the extraction process. Functional foods are advanced from carotenoids which are said to add significantly to the many health benefits of the foods. (2) Nutrition can plan a role in disc health. Let’s put our Ashburn pumpkins and their by-products to work for us!

PUMPKIN LEAVES AND COLLAGEN AND PROTEINS AND DISC CELLS

One way to put pumpkins to work for us is described in a recent study regarding how the leaves of pumpkins may help. The acetone extract from Violina pumpkin (curcurbita moshata) leaves provoked a significant rise in extracellular matrix components like aggrecan and collagen type II in addition to other proteins and stress response regulators in the degenerated intervertebral disc cells removed from degenerated disc tissues of spinal surgery patients. Markers indicating the presence and activity of stem cells were significantly increased, too. This news excited the researchers to declare that the hypothesis about how enough stimuli can support resident cells to repopulate the degenerated discs was thereby reinforced. The report overall determined that data point to the discovery of molecules that may effectively slow disc degeneration using a part of the pumpkin that most of us throw in the trash as waste – the leaves! (3) Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn bets you will look at the pumpkin leaves differently this season!

CONTACT Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes how nutrition may decelerate and possibly avert degeneration and stimulate regeneration via ingredients like chondroitin sulfate based on years of research done already and how nutrition in combination with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management decrease and manage spine pain. We’ll keep watching the pumpkin leaves’ research as it grows!

Make your Ashburn chiropractic appointment soon to see us this pumpkin season!