“Respect the pumpkin! Respect the pumpkin!” Poor
thing! The pumpkin wants to share its healthy gifts with us! What do we do? We carve
it into spooky, fun, goofy looks
for Halloween and mash it up for a Thanksgiving pie! Chiropractic Care
is making light of the pumpkin’s plight and admits
to liking the pumpkin fun while also appreciating
its edible, healthy aspects for our
West Palm Beach chiropractic patients who are being treated for back pain or neck pain and their supportive families.
RESPECT FOR THE HEALTHFUL PUMPKIN
Appreciation 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 most common ingredient for amazing
pumpkin pies! (1) Well-known for being nutrient-full
and recipe-flexible, the pumpkin is said to be 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, etc.
(2) The scent, flavor, and color attributes 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 pretty
fall fruit we cut into jack-o-lanterns that young
and old alike enjoy…including Chiropractic Care and our West Palm Beach
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 – had the highest
phenolic and flavonoid content (33 compounds!), the greatest
antioxidant activity, and the highest antibacterial activity. (4)
For the human, aging generates increasingly more
molecular damage to cells in reaction 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 high in these antioxidants as well as in zinc and copper. Researchers
even proposed 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 found a treasure trove of beneficial
cytoprotective – cell-protecting - properties related to preventing age-related diseases triggered
by oxidative stress. (6) Chiropractic Care is in favor of
protecting cells and the health of our West Palm Beach
chiropractic patients.
CONTACT Chiropractic Care
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. James Cox on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he
describes the importance of containing
inflammation as well as chiropractic spinal manipulation treatment with The Cox® Technic System of
Spinal Pain Management.
Make your West Palm Beach chiropractic
appointment now. Chiropractic Care respects
the pumpkin for all its nutritional value. And we still look
forward to the annual carving, decorating, and baking!