“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 scary, funny, goofy images
for Halloween and puree it up for a Thanksgiving pie! Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation
is playing with the pumpkin’s plight and confesses
to liking the pumpkin fun while also valuing
its edible, healthy features for our
Tonawanda chiropractic patients who are being treated for back pain or neck pain and their supportive families.
RESPECT FOR THE NUTRITIOUS PUMPKIN
Respect for the pumpkin keeps growing! 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 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, etc.
(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 healthful. (3) All this in the beautiful
fall fruit we cut into jack-o-lanterns that young
and old alike appreciate…including Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation and our Tonawanda
chiropractic families!
AGE MATTERS
Age is of importance in the pumpkin's and the human's lifespan! For the
pumpkin, the mature stage of its ripening – as opposed to 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 generates increasingly more
molecular injury to cells in response 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 bunch of useful
cytoprotective – cell-protecting - properties related to the prevention
of age-related diseases brought on
by oxidative stress. (6) Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation is in favor of
protecting cells and the health of our Tonawanda
chiropractic clients.
CONTACT Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. James Cox on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he
illustrates the importance of controlling
inflammation as well as chiropractic spinal manipulation treatment with The Cox® Technic System of
Spinal Pain Management.
Make your Tonawanda chiropractic
appointment soon. Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation respects
the pumpkin for all its nutritional value. And we still anticipate the annual cutting, decorating, and cooking!