Benefit for Richmond Degenerated Discs from Pumpkin Leaves
Every year around this time, pumpkins are everywhere! We like them for décor, but they offer so much more! News of late focuses on the benefits of their leaves to reduce the speed of disc degeneration and even possibly encourage regeneration. That’s news to your Richmond chiropractor’s ear…and surely to our Richmond back pain and neck pain patients’ ears, too!
THE DISC – Healthy and Degenerated
Most treatments of back pain focus on easing the pain and returning function without a thought about how to reduce the speed of the degenerative process and/or encourage regeneration. The intervertebral disc is made up of an inner core (nucleus pulposus) made of proteoglycans and a layered outer rim (annulus fibrosus) rich in collagen. Together, these two work as a shock absorber and stabilizer for the spine. Treatment choices for the degenerated disc come from being aware of the processes that lead to degeneration in order to help alleviate discogenic pain more effectively. (1) Your chiropractor expores these mechanisms a lot!
PUMPKIN LEAVES AND CAROTENOIDS
It's well-known that pumpkin products and by-products (like leaves!) contain major carotenoids - β-carotene, α-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin – with β-carotene being the main one in most pumpkin varieties. The total content of carotenoids rests on many factors, one is the extraction process. Functional foods are advanced from carotenoids which are said to add significantly to the numerous health benefits of the foods. (2) Nutrition can plan a role in disc health. Let’s put our Richmond pumpkins and their by-products to work for us!
PUMPKIN LEAVES AND COLLAGEN AND PROTEINS AND DISC CELLS
A unique way to put pumpkins to work for us is described in a recent study about how the leaves of pumpkins may help. The acetone extract from Violina pumpkin (curcurbita moshata) leaves brought about a significant rise in extracellular matrix components like aggrecan and collagen type II in addition to other proteins and stress response regulators in the degenerated intervertebral disc cells removed from degenerated disc tissues of spinal surgery patients. Markers indicating the presence and activity of stem cells were significantly increased as well. This news excited the researchers to declare that the hypothesis about how enough stimuli can support resident cells to repopulate the degenerated discs was thus sustained. The report overall determined that data point to the discovery of molecules that may effectively reduce disc degeneration using a part of the pumpkin that most of us throw in the trash as waste – the leaves! (3) Johnson Chiropractic bets you will look at the pumpkin leaves differently this season!
CONTACT Johnson Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes how nutrition may slow and possibly stop degeneration and stimulate regeneration via ingredients like chondroitin sulfate based on years of research done already and how nutrition in combination with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management decrease and control spine pain. We’ll keep watching the pumpkin leaves’ research as it evolves!
Schedule your Richmond chiropractic appointment today to see us this pumpkin season!
