1. It gives your immune system a pre-flu season boost. A � cup serving of pumpkin delivers a war chest of immune-boosting vitamins and nutrients, including alpha and beta-carotene, vitamin C, iron, and enough vitamin A to last you three days!
2. It fills you up for very few calories. A � cup of Libby's canned 100% pumpkin puree packs in 5g of stomach-satisfying fiber (20% of your daily intake) for only 40 calories. By comparison, a slice of whole-wheat bread has 2g of fiber and costs you 70 calories.
3. It's got the goods to protect your vision. Pumpkin delivers a duo of sight-saving carotenoid antioxidants (lutein and beta-cryptoxanthin) that reduce the risk of age-related cataracts and sight-stealing macular degeneration.
4. It keeps your body humming. Pumpkin is a great source of potassium, which keeps your cells, nerves, and muscles running smoothly. Healthy potassium levels also help keep blood pressure in check and can lower the odds of stroke and heart disease.
5. It could cut your cancer risk. A diet high in carotenoids can lower the risk of breast cancer, and beta-cryptoxanthin, a carotenoid that's particularly plentiful in pumpkin, may help protect against lung cancer. Aim to get your beta-carotene from foods like pumpkin, since supplements don't offer the same cancer protection.
6. It gives your bones a little extra love. You'll also pick up a little extra bone-building calcium with each serving. Plus beta-cryptoxanthin defends against joint-destroying rheumatoid arthritis.
P.S. Wondering about canned versus fresh pumpkin? Canned is a little less sweet but, surprisingly, it's a little more nutritious. It has more fiber, beta-carotene, potassium, iron, and folate than fresh. It also wins huge points for convenience! And all that filling fiber pays off in more ways than appetite control: Eating a high-fiber diet can make your RealAge up to 3.5 years younger.
I make a pumpkin custard a lot. My family never liked pie.. so, I just used the recipe for pumpkin pie filling, add a couple of extra eggs, and use stevia (and I up the spice a little). pour it into a corningware pan or baking pan, and cook just like pie.
delicious!
and the seeds, you can just bake. Yum!
also, canned pumpkin is a food where I can really taste a difference between organic and regular (like Libby's). the organic you can practically eat straight out of the can (I've tasted it straight out of the can.. I checked the label to see if they had added sugar.. NOT.. just pumpkin )
My wife's grandfather used to feed raw pumpkins to his cattle as a dewormer. I had never heard of it being used that way, but farmers are not inclined to use methods that do not produce results.
WHEN the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,
And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,
And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens,
And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;
O, it's then the time a feller is a-feelin' at his best,
With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,
As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.
Just remember not to eat too much as it does contain a lot of omega 6 and it will throw off your omege 3/6 ratio.
I don't think that the best way to maintain the balance is to minimize Omega-6 intake. I eat pumpkin with almost every meal, but since I also consume a lot of Omega-3 each day, I get the nutrients without sacrificing the ratio.
I eat pumpkin daily also - I mix it into a hot cereal. I am diabetic and I heard it can somehow help the pancreas too! I'm glad to read all these great other things it is good for. Wish I could think of more low carb ways to eat more of it! I even started giving it to my dog on several recommendations as it helps their digestive system and avoids problems with them.
I am diabetic and I heard it can somehow help the pancreas too! I'm glad to read all these great other things it is good for. Wish I could think of more low carb ways to eat more of it!
I'm not sure how many low-carb uses there are for tomato sauce (I'm a pasta fiend myself), but adding pumpkin works wonderfully. And if you use those low-carb baking products, pumpkin is an excellent replacement for milk, eggs and oil. I often make cake and cookies by just combining spice cake mix with a can of pumpkin (coconut oil is a great topper).
I don't know if you're vegetarian, but this information might be helpful if you're trying to manage diabetes through your diet. "Non-insulin-dependent (adult-onset) diabetes can be better controlled and sometimes even eliminated through a low-fat, vegetarian diet along with regular exercise. Such a diet, low in fat and high in fiber and complex carbohydrates, allows insulin to work more effectively. The diabetic person can more easily regulate glucose levels. While a vegetarian diet cannot eliminate the need for insulin in people with type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes, it can often reduce the amounts of insulin used. Some scientists believe that insulin-dependent diabetes may be caused by an auto-immune reaction to dairy proteins" (https://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/v...ian_foods.html).
Precious Zoe - thank you for that link - I will check it out. I am adult onset type 1 and do use insulin (it is autoimmune) - never heard of a link with dairy ... I eat very little dairy - no milk. Just yogurt and I do have low-carb ice cream as a treat. You mean to add pumpkin to tomato sauce? Hmmm - never thought of that but willing to try it. Thanks again.
[QUOTE=scorpiotiger;14943]I make a pumpkin custard a lot. My family never liked pie.. so, I just used the recipe for pumpkin pie filling, add a couple of extra eggs, and use stevia (and I up the spice a little). pour it into a corningware pan or baking pan, and cook just like pie. /[QUOTE]
Sound good--would you post the recipe?
Thanks, Mari
Edit: Why does the quote show up this way? What did I do wrong?
Medical Gal: No problem. However, most of the studies addressing the effects of a vegetarian or vegan diet on diabetes focus on type 2, so I'm not really sure how much it would help someone with type 1. It couldn't hurt to try, though, if you ever get the inclination.
Yeah, add pumpkin to tomato sauce. I actually dislike the taste of pumpkin, so I generally keep at least a 2:1 ratio to hide it. If you do like the pumpkin flavor, you might want to experiment with larger amounts. I hope you like it!
Pumpkin - A Nutritional Powerhouse
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