Pumpkin - a healthy fall food.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, you may be enjoying some leftovers like pumpkin pie or some sweet potato casserole.  Fall is a great time to enjoy some fall foods and many of these foods, like pumpkin, are loaded with good nutrition.  


Pumpkin – a very healthy, nutritious food.  So, enjoy that pumpkin pie or pumpkin pudding.  Pumpkin is loaded with beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A.  The beta-carotene gives pumpkin its orange coloring. Beta-carotene is super healthy as it helps prevent cancer, protects against asthma and for older folks helps reduce the risk of getting macular degeneration.  Additionally, pumpkin adds fiber to your day and many Americans aren’t getting enough fiber.  Besides pie, there are many other ways to enjoy pumpkin: pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, and some even make pumpkin pancakes.  WebMD has a great article, 6 Surprising Health Benefits of Pumpkin.  These include:

  • Weight loss – because pumpkin provides fiber, it helps slow digestion and keeps you filling full longer.  It is also low in calories.  Yes, when you turn pumpkin into pie, pudding, etc., you do add sugar but pumpkin itself is a low-calorie food.
  • Sharper vision – vitamin A and beta-carotene are good for your eyes.  In addition to beta carotene, pumpkin has the healthy substances lutein and zeaxanthin.  Both are antioxidants that help prevent cataracts and as noted above may reduce the risk of macular degeneration.
  • Immunity – lots of people are concerned about immunity right now and pumpkin can boost your immunity. How?  Because the beta-carotene turns into vitamin A which helps fight infections, fights viruses and fights off infectious diseases.  Besides beta-carotene, pumpkin has vitamin C which also helps fight infections.
  • Healthy skin – who doesn’t want younger, healthier looking skin?  Why would pumpkin promote healthy skin?  Once again, it is the beta-carotene.  I always tell my students, if they want healthy skin, eat foods rich in beta-carotene or vitamin A. Beta-carotene acts like a sun screen as it helps prevent wrinkles when exposed to sunlight.
  • Lower your cancer risk – How does beta-carotene lower your risk of some cancers?  Because pumpkin has both beta-carotene and vitamin C, these “are both antioxidants, and they act as shields for your cells against cancer-causing free radicals”.
  • Diabetes – what is the good news about pumpkin and diabetes?  Some studies have found that pumpkin may be beneficial to people with diabetes as pumpkin can lower blood sugar levels. Of course, once you turn that pumpkin into pumpkin pie or pumpkin pudding, then you have the added sugar.  It would be interesting to learn if pumpkin pie is better for diabetics as a treat than other pies like lemon meringue pie.
  • Blood pressure – who would think that eating pumpkin would have anything to do with blood pressure?  But pumpkin is rich in the mineral potassium.  A study in 2017 found that diets rich in potassium can help reduce blood pressure.  Even pumpkin pie or pudding would be good in this regard as both are low in sodium but rich in potassium.  
Libby pumpkin pie.
  
If you have any leftover pumpkin pie or pumpkin pudding, enjoy it and tell everyone you are eating “healthy” as you enjoy your dessert.  MedicalNewsToday suggests making a “quick treat of pumpkin chocolate yogurt by combining Greek yogurt, pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin, honey, cinnamon, and cocoa powder”. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Stay Hydrated This Summer

Image
At long last, SUMMER!!    With the heat and humidity, we need to focus on staying hydrated.   Water is always a good choice for hydration.    MSN has an interesting article on  5 Easy Ways to Stay Hydrated This Summer .   Stay away from the sugar sweetened beverages loaded with sugar and calories.   Yes, enjoying some lemonade is fun but it is not a juice and it is loaded with added sugar.    What are some ways to stay hydrated?   How do you know you need hydration?   Thirst is the first sign of becoming dehydrated.   Your body is telling you to drink more fluids.   Eight cups is a good goal but you may need even more when exercising outside or being outside in the heat. Unsweetened Coffee – most people think coffee dehydrates you, but coffee is a fluid and can count towards your daily fluid intake.   And coffee can help you feel more alert and keep you energized.     Unsweetened Ice Tea – ic...
Read more

Get Ready for New Food Labels!

This week the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced proposed changes in our food labels.    Major changes in the food labels appearing on everything from chips to soup haven’t changed much in 20 years.   So what are some of the proposed changes? Serving sizes – ever look at the serving size on ice cream.   It states one half cup is the serving size, yet who eats only one half cup?   In teaching my nutrition class, I show a video in which the dietitian notes the one half cup serving size on ice cream.   The students are always surprised it is so low.   When I told my husband, he insisted that one half cup was too low and went to the freezer to prove it.   Of course, the ice cream container verified that one half cup is the serving.   So one of the proposed food label changes is to increase the serving size on foods such as ice cream to reflect what people actually eat.   Thus, for ice cream the serving size will increase fro...
Read more

Easy food habits to adopt for a healthier you in 2023.

Image
So many people develop New Year’s Resolutions focusing on giving up things or on losing weight.   Why not focus on adopting some healthier habits in 2023 and some healthier lifestyle changes?   Last year I discussed some recommendation by a   nutritionist in London, Kate Llewellyn-Waters, on how you can adopt a healthier lifestyle.   Below are some of her easy-to- adopt suggestions and I have added some suggestions of my own. Protein at every meal – Protein is filling and helps stave off those hunger pains between meals.   What are some high quality protein foods?   All animal foods provide high quality protein.   Focus on lean proteins like chicken breasts.   Chicken and other lean meats, provide not only high-quality protein but also many nutrients like iron, zinc, selenium and many B vitamins.   B vitamins are known as the energy vitamins as they help your body produce the energy needed for all your activities.   A top-rated pro...
Read more