What Is Pumpkin?
Pumpkin is a member of the cucurbitaceae family and is one of hundreds of species of plants more commonly called gourds. Its relatives include watermelon, cucumber, and squash.
Pumpkins are highly nutritious, containing proteins, carbohydrates, carotenoids, vitamins, and minerals. As a healthy and versatile food ingredient, pumpkin improves many recipes with its taste and is a pop of color on your plate.
Is pumpkin a fruit or a vegetable?
Technically, a pumpkin is a fruit because it comes from the seed-bearing part (ovary) of a flowering plant, but many people treat it as a vegetable because of its more savory taste.
You can eat both the hearty flesh and delicious seeds of this large fruit. Pumpkins are often combined with spices, such as nutmeg and cinnamon, to flavor desserts and seasonal beverages.
In the autumn months, pumpkins are readily available in stores and at farms. They’re also available year-round as a canned puree. Canned pumpkin offers the same health benefits as fresh pumpkin, making it quick and easy to add pumpkin to recipes year-round. Pumpkin seeds are typically roasted and sold separately as a snack or topping.
Pumpkin benefits for skin
Pumpkin is a food rich in nutrients beneficial for skin health and moisturization, including minerals, fiber, vitamin C, carotenoids, and essential oils. Pumpkin contains beta-carotene, which reduces inflammation and may help prevent skin cancer caused by sun exposure. Plus, alpha-carotene in pumpkin may help slow down the aging process.
Research has also shown that taking pumpkin extract by mouth or applying it to the skin may, along with other therapies, treat contact dermatitis — an inflammatory skin disorder — tied to depression. More research is needed, though, to see how well pumpkin works for this disorder.
Pumpkin oil is a traditional remedy for eczema to reduce skin damage. Recent research suggests it can be used with betamethasone, a steroid medication for inflammatory skin disorders, to treat chronic hand eczema. Combining pumpkin oil with betamethasone also reduces the amount of betamethasone needed, reducing the medication’s side effects.
Is pumpkin good for weight loss?
Pumpkin is low in calories and high in fiber, which may help with weight loss. Fiber can help you feel full, reduce appetite and food intake, encourage regular bowel movements, reduce blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and improve mineral absorption in the gut, all of which may benefit weight management.
Though much research hasn’t been done on pumpkin and weight loss, you can add pumpkin to a balanced diet.
May improve eye health
While beta-carotene guards cells from free radicals, your body is changing it into vitamin A. The body then uses vitamin A to make a protein needed for your eyes to work properly. Vitamin A also supports other parts of the eye such as the cornea, which focuses light so you can see clearly.
Not only that, but vitamin A is important for healthy skin, bones, lungs, and kidneys. Both beta-carotene and vitamin A are best obtained from foods like pumpkin, not pills.
Supports heart health
Pumpkin is recommended as part of a heart-healthy diet that may help lower your risk of heart disease. It offers a long list of nutrients that protect and support the heart, such as vitamins A, B1, B6, and C, copper, fiber, folate, and manganese.
Pumpkin provides calcium, potassium, and magnesium, which can help keep your heartbeat regular and your blood pressure low.
The fiber in pumpkin can also play a part in lowering blood pressure as well as cholesterol.
May boost immunity
Pumpkin contains immune-promoting nutrients like vitamins A, E, and C, omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, selenium, iron, magnesium, and beta-carotene.
Consuming pumpkin may help manage immune-related diseases, reduce how often you fall sick, and help you recover faster from infections.
Credit: webmd.com
