Benefit for Fernandina Beach Degenerated Discs from Pumpkin Leaves
This time of year, pumpkins are all over the place! We enjoy them for décor, but they offer so much more! News of late highlights the benefits of their leaves to reduce the speed of disc degeneration and even possibly support regeneration. That is news to your Fernandina Beach chiropractor’s ear…and surely to our Fernandina Beach back pain and neck pain patients’ ears, too!
THE DISC – Healthy and Degenerated
Many back pain treatment approaches focus on easing the pain and returning function without a thought about how 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 options for the degenerated disc come from understanding the processes that lead to degeneration so as to help relieve discogenic pain more effectively. (1) Your chiropractor expores these mechanisms all the time!
PUMPKIN LEAVES AND CAROTENOIDS
It's recognized that pumpkin products and by-products (like leaves!) contain 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 procedure. Functional foods are advanced from carotenoids which are said to add significantly to the multiple health benefits of the foods. (2) Nutrition can plan a role in disc health. Let’s put our Fernandina Beach 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 about how the leaves of pumpkins may help. The acetone extract from Violina pumpkin (curcurbita moshata) leaves induced a significant increase in extracellular matrix components like aggrecan and collagen type II as well as other proteins and stress response regulators in the degenerated intervertebral disc cells removed from degenerated disc tissues of spinal surgery patients. Markers noting the presence and activity of stem cells were significantly higher, too. This news motivated the researchers to state that the hypothesis about how enough stimuli can support resident cells to repopulate the degenerated discs was thus reinforced. The report overall determined that data point to the discovery of molecules that may effectively reduce disc degeneration using a part of the pumpkin that most of us throw in the trash as waste – the leaves! (3) Amelia Chiropractic Clinic thinks you will look at the pumpkin leaves differently this season!
CONTACT Amelia Chiropractic Clinic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he illustrates how nutrition may slow and possibly avert degeneration and stimulate regeneration via ingredients like chondroitin sulfate based on years of research done already and how nutrition combined with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management decrease and control spine pain. We’ll keep watching the pumpkin leaves’ research as it grows!
Make your Fernandina Beach chiropractic appointment today to visit us this pumpkin season!
