Amelia Chiropractic Clinic Shares Pumpkins Nutritional Benefits
“Respect the pumpkin! Respect the pumpkin!” Poor thing! The pumpkin wants to share its healthy gifts with us! What do we do? We carve it into spooky, funny, silly looks for Halloween and puree it up for a Thanksgiving pie! Amelia Chiropractic Clinic is making light of the pumpkin’s quandry and confesses to liking the pumpkin fun while also appreciating its edible, healthy features for our Fernandina Beach chiropractic patients who are being treated for back pain or neck pain and their supportive families.
RESPECT FOR THE HEALTHFUL PUMPKIN
Respect for the pumpkin keeps growing! The commonly known pumpkin or squash of the cucurbita moschata species of fruits is hot tolerant and resistant to insects and disease…as well as the most common ingredient for tasty pumpkin pies! (1) Well-known for being nutrient-dense 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 promising functional properties recognized today are wound healing, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, anti-ulcerative, spermatogenesis-enhancing, and more. (2) The scent, flavor, and color qualities 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 pretty fall fruit we cut into jack-o-lanterns enjoyed by young and old…including Amelia Chiropractic Clinic and our Fernandina Beach chiropractic families!
AGE MATTERS
Age is of importance in the lifespan of the pumpkin and the human! For the pumpkin, the mature stage of its ripening – as opposed to the young and ripened stages – exhibited the greatest phenolic and flavonoid content (33 compounds!), the greatest antioxidant activity, and the highest antibacterial activity. (4) For the human, aging brings more and more molecular injury to cells in reaction to oxidative stress from environmental, lifestyle, and disease factors. The right intake of antioxidants is important as we age. The cucurbita fruits (types of pumpkin/squash) are great in these antioxidants as well as in zinc and copper. Researchers even proposed that these should be eaten every day! (5) Our aging cells would be grateful! In a study of extracted seed oils like pumpkin, melon, and black cumin, researchers found a cornucopia of beneficial cytoprotective – cell-protecting - properties related to preventing age-related diseases brought on by oxidative stress. (6) Amelia Chiropractic Clinic is in favor of protecting cells and the health of our Fernandina Beach chiropractic patients.
CONTACT Amelia Chiropractic Clinic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he illustrates the importance of containing inflammation as well as chiropractic spinal manipulation treatment with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
Make your Fernandina Beach chiropractic appointment soon. Amelia Chiropractic Clinic appreciates the pumpkin for all its nutritional value. And we still anticipate the annual cutting, decorating, and baking!
