Hopegrown Farm: The Health Benefits of Pumpkin

Think of the word pumpkin and pictures of jack-o-lanterns and whipped cream covered Thanksgiving pies will most likely pop right into your mind. Pumpkin is traditionally thought of as holiday food and is a staple in our homes during that festive time of the year. However, did you know that pumpkin has incredible health benefits?

According to Dr. Steven Pratt, author of SuperFoods Rx: Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life, "Well, pumpkin is one of the most nutritionally important foods known to man. Moreover, it's inexpensive, available year round in canned form, incredibly easy to incorporate into recipes, high in fiber, low in calories, and packs an abundance of disease fighting nutrients.”

Just what makes pumpkin so amazing? This orange gourd is nutrient-dense but low in calories, even its seeds offer extreme benefits too. They contain Vitamins A, B-Complex, C, E, potassium, magnesium, manganese, iron, zinc, flavonoid poly-phenolic antioxidants such as leutin, xanthin and a lot more. These effective antioxidants are called carotenoids and provide this food its super status. Carotenoids have the ability to prevent the risk of numerous kinds of cancer as well as cardiovascular disease, in addition to, cataracts and also macular degeneration.