Pumpkin seeds are enjoyable year round. Not just at Halloween. Chewy and slightly sweet, pumpkin seeds have a nutty flavor. They are delicious and nutritious!
Did you know that you can enjoy pumpkin seeds in healthy sautéed vegetables, mixed with green salads, or ground and chopped into salad dressings and cereal? Some people even enjoy them ground and added to vegetable, turkey or beef burgers.
Another bonus is that, unlike other nuts and seeds, pumpkin seeds are not generally known to be an allergenic food. Nutritionally, pumpkin seeds function best as an antioxidant and mineral nutrient.
Pumpkin seeds contain a vast number of antioxidant phytonutrients and healthy phytosterols. Pumpkin seeds also provide a wealth of phosphorus, magnesium. Manganese and copper are also found in the seeds, as well as zinc and iron. Additionally, pumpkin seeds are protein-rich.
Beyond the primary benefits, pumpkin seeds have been shown to help in other ways, as evidence by tests conducted in animal experiments.
Diabetes
Laboratory animals reveal that ground pumpkin seeds, pumpkin seed extracts, and pumpkin seed oil improve insulin regulation, allowing for sustained kidney health and a decrease in health-destroying oxidative stress.
Antimicrobial Benefits
Pumpkin seeds, pumpkin seed extracts, and pumpkin seed oil have significant antimicrobial benefits, including antifungal and antiviral qualities. This is related to its protein and lignans.
Cancer-related Benefits
Oxidative stress seems to aid the development of some cancers too. Because pumpkin seeds are uniquely comprised of antioxidant nutrients, and that there is some evidence of decreased cancer risk with pumpkin seed consumption is not particularly surprising. Still, it is too early in the research to tell how helpful pumpkin seeds really are in the fight against the disease and its many forms.
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)
Pumpkin seed extracts and oils are often used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), non-cancer enlargement of the prostate gland. Nutrients in pumpkin, including their phytosterols, lignans, and zinc also appear to be beneficial.
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