OrthoIllinois Chiropractic 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 cut the pumpkin into scary, funny, silly looks for Halloween and mash it up for a Thanksgiving pie! OrthoIllinois Chiropractic is playing with the pumpkin’s plight and admits to liking the pumpkin fun while also valuing its tasty, healthy features for our McHenry chiropractic patients who are being treated for back pain or neck pain and their supporting families.
RESPECT FOR THE NUTRITIOUS PUMPKIN
Appreciation for the pumpkin grows and grows! The commonly known pumpkin or squash of the cucurbita moschata species of fruits is insect-, disease-, and hot-tolerant…as well as the most common ingredient for tasty pumpkin pies! (1) Well-known for being nutrient-dense and recipe-flexible, the pumpkin is described as a potent source of proteins, metabolites, carbohydrates, monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, tocopherols, carotenoids, tryptophans, sterols, and more. Some of its most favorable functional properties known 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 healthful. (3) All this in the beautiful fall fruit we cut into jack-o-lanterns enjoyed by young and old…including OrthoIllinois Chiropractic and our McHenry chiropractic families!
AGE MATTERS
Age counts 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 greatest phenolic and flavonoid content (33 compounds!), the greatest antioxidant activity, and the greatest antibacterial activity. (4) For the human, aging generates increasingly more molecular damage to cells in response to oxidative stress due to environmental, lifestyle, and disease factors. A key to proper diet as we age is an adequate intake of antioxidants. The cucurbita fruits (types of pumpkin/squash) are high in these antioxidants as well as in zinc and copper. Researchers even suggested that these should be consumed every day! (5) Our aging cells would appreciate that! In a study of extracted seed oils like pumpkin, melon, and black cumin, researchers discovered a cornucopia of useful cytoprotective – cell-protecting - properties linked to the prevention of age-related diseases brought on by oxidative stress. (6) OrthoIllinois Chiropractic is all about protecting cells and the health of our McHenry chiropractic clients.
CONTACT OrthoIllinois Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he illustrates the importance of managing inflammation as well as chiropractic spinal manipulation treatment with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
Make your McHenry chiropractic appointment soon. OrthoIllinois Chiropractic appreciates the pumpkin for all its nutritional value. And we still look forward to the annual cutting, decorating, and baking!
