Pure Chiropractic Shares Pumpkins Nutritional Benefits
“Respect the pumpkin! Respect the pumpkin!” Pitiful thing! The pumpkin wants to share its healthy gifts with us! What do we do? We carve it into spooky, fun, goofy images for Halloween and mash it up for a Thanksgiving pie! Pure Chiropractic is making light of the pumpkin’s plight and confesses to liking the pumpkin fun while also appreciating its edible, healthy aspects for our Concord, NC chiropractic patients who are undergoing chiropractic care for back pain or neck pain and their supporting families.
RESPECT FOR THE HEALTHFUL PUMPKIN
Respect for the pumpkin keeps growing! The commonly known pumpkin or squash of the cucurbita moschata species of fruits is insect-, disease-, and hot-tolerant…as well as the essential ingredient for amazing pumpkin pies! (1) Recognized for its being nutrient-full 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. A few of its most favorable functional properties recognized 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 nutritious. (3) All this in the beautiful fall fruit we cut into jack-o-lanterns enjoyed by young and old…including Pure Chiropractic and our Concord, NC chiropractic families!
AGE MATTERS
Age is of importance in the lifespan of the pumpkin and the human! For the pumpkin, the mature stage of its ripening – as opposed to the young and ripened stages – had the greatest phenolic and flavonoid content (33 compounds!), the highest antioxidant activity, and the greatest antibacterial activity. (4) For the human, aging brings increasingly more molecular harm to cells in response to oxidative stress due to environmental, lifestyle, and disease issues. A key to proper diet as we age is an appropriate intake of antioxidants. The cucurbita fruits (varieties of pumpkin/squash) are great in these antioxidants as well as in zinc and copper. Researchers even suggested that these should be consumed daily! (5) Our aging cells would appreciate that! In a study of extracted seed oils like pumpkin, melon, and black cumin, researchers discovered a treasure trove of beneficial cytoprotective – cell-protecting - properties related to preventing age-related diseases triggered by oxidative stress. (6) Pure Chiropractic is in favor of protecting cells and the well-being of our Concord, NC chiropractic clients.
CONTACT Pure Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes the importance of controlling inflammation as well as chiropractic spinal manipulation treatment with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
Schedule your Concord, NC chiropractic appointment soon. Pure Chiropractic appreciates the pumpkin for all its nutritional value. And we still anticipate the annual carving, decorating, and baking!
