Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn Shares Pumpkins Nutritional Benefits
“Respect the pumpkin! Respect the pumpkin!” Pitiful thing! The pumpkin wants to share its healthy gifts with us! What do we do? We carve it into scary, funny, goofy images for Halloween and puree it up for a Thanksgiving pie! Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn is playing with the pumpkin’s quandry and confesses to enjoying the pumpkin fun while also appreciating its edible, healthy features for our Ashburn and Herndon chiropractic patients who are undergoing chiropractic care for back pain or neck pain and their supportive families.
RESPECT FOR THE HEALTHFUL PUMPKIN
Respect for the pumpkin grows and grows! The well recognized pumpkin or squash of the cucurbita moschata species of fruits is insect-, disease-, and hot-tolerant…as well as the most common ingredient for great pumpkin pies! (1) Recognized for its being nutrient-full and recipe-flexible, the pumpkin is said to be a potent source of proteins, metabolites, carbohydrates, monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, tocopherols, carotenoids, tryptophans, sterols, and more. A few of its most favorable functional properties recognized today are wound healing, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, anti-ulcerative, spermatogenesis-enhancing, and more. (2) The scent, flavor, and color traits of the pumpkin - terpenoids (oxygen-containing metabolites that contribute to aromatic scent and flavor and even color) and carotenoids (tetraterpenoids responsible for color) - are quite nutritious. (3) All this in the beautiful fall fruit we cut into jack-o-lanterns enjoyed by young and old…including Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn and our Ashburn and Herndon chiropractic families!
AGE MATTERS
Age is significant in the pumpkin's and the human's lifespan! For the pumpkin, the mature stage of its ripening – versus the young and ripened stages – exhibited the highest phenolic and flavonoid content (33 compounds!), the highest antioxidant activity, and the highest antibacterial activity. (4) For the human, aging brings increasingly more molecular damage to cells in response to oxidative stress from environmental, lifestyle, and disease issues. A key to proper diet as we age is an adequate intake of antioxidants. The cucurbita fruits (types of pumpkin/squash) are great in these antioxidants as well as in zinc and copper. Researchers even suggested that these should be consumed daily! (5) Our aging cells would appreciate that! In a study of extracted seed oils like pumpkin, melon, and black cumin, researchers found a bunch of useful cytoprotective – cell-protecting - properties linked to preventing age-related diseases precipitated by oxidative stress. (6) Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn is in favor of protecting cells and the well-being of our Ashburn and Herndon chiropractic patients.
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 the importance of managing inflammation as well as chiropractic spinal manipulation treatment with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
Make your Ashburn and Herndon chiropractic appointment soon. Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn appreciates the pumpkin for all its nutritional benefit. And we still anticipate the annual carving, decorating, and baking!
