Pensacola Spinal Rehab Center 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 spooky, funny, silly images for Halloween and puree it up for a Thanksgiving pie! Pensacola Spinal Rehab Center is making light of the pumpkin’s plight and admits to enjoying the pumpkin fun while also valuing its edible, healthy aspects for our Pensacola 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 well recognized pumpkin or squash of the cucurbita moschata species of fruits is hot tolerant and resistant to insects and disease…as well as the essential ingredient for tasty pumpkin pies! (1) Well-known for 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. Some 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 Pensacola Spinal Rehab Center and our Pensacola 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 – versus the young and ripened stages – proved to have the greatest phenolic and flavonoid content (33 compounds!), the greatest antioxidant activity, and the greatest antibacterial activity. (4) For the human, aging brings increasingly more molecular damage to cells in reaction to oxidative stress from environmental, lifestyle, and disease factors. A key to proper diet as we age is an appropriate intake of antioxidants. The cucurbita fruits (types of pumpkin/squash) are high in these antioxidants as well as in zinc and copper. Researchers even proposed that these should be eaten daily! (5) Our aging cells would appreciate that! In a study of extracted seed oils like pumpkin, melon, and black cumin, researchers found a bunch of useful cytoprotective – cell-protecting - properties related to preventing age-related diseases precipitated by oxidative stress. (6) Pensacola Spinal Rehab Center is all about protecting cells and the health of our Pensacola chiropractic patients.

CONTACT Pensacola Spinal Rehab Center

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes the importance of managing inflammation as well as chiropractic spinal manipulation treatment with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.

Schedule your Pensacola chiropractic appointment soon. Pensacola Spinal Rehab Center appreciates the pumpkin for all its nutritional value. And we still look forward to the annual carving, decorating, and cooking!

Pensacola Spinal Rehab Center respects the pumpkin for its decorative and nutritional benefits especially the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant!
 
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"This information and website content is not intended to diagnose, guarantee results, or recommend specific treatment or activity. It is designed to educate and inform only. Please consult your physician for a thorough examination leading to a diagnosis and well-planned treatment strategy. See more details on the DISCLAIMER page. Content is reviewed by Dr. James M. Cox I."