Johnson 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 scary, fun, silly looks for Halloween and mash it up for a Thanksgiving pie! Johnson Chiropractic is making light of the pumpkin’s plight and confesses to liking the pumpkin fun while also valuing its edible, healthy aspects for our Richmond chiropractic patients who are undergoing chiropractic care for back pain or neck pain and their supporting families.
RESPECT FOR THE NUTRITIOUS PUMPKIN
Appreciation for the pumpkin keeps growing! The well recognized 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) 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. A few of its most favorable functional properties known today are wound healing, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, anti-ulcerative, spermatogenesis-enhancing, and more. (2) The scent, flavor, and color qualities 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 Johnson Chiropractic and our Richmond chiropractic families!
AGE MATTERS
Age counts in the lifespan of the pumpkin and the human! For the pumpkin, the mature stage of its ripening – versus the young and ripened stages – exhibited the greatest phenolic and flavonoid content (33 compounds!), the highest antioxidant activity, and the highest antibacterial activity. (4) For the human, aging brings increasingly more molecular damage to cells in reaction to oxidative stress due to environmental, lifestyle, and disease factors. 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 proposed that these should be consumed every day! (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 linked to preventing age-related diseases triggered by oxidative stress. (6) Johnson Chiropractic is in favor of protecting cells and the well-being of our Richmond chiropractic patients.
CONTACT Johnson Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he illustrates the importance of containing inflammation as well as chiropractic spinal manipulation treatment with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
Schedule your Richmond chiropractic appointment soon. Johnson Chiropractic appreciates the pumpkin for all its nutritional benefit. And we still anticipate the annual cutting, decorating, and cooking!
