Pumpkin is a favorite fall treat.
As soon as the Halloween season rolls around, pumpkin-flavored products begin to make an appearance — everything from pumpkin beer to pumpkin butter. At the same time, pumpkins appear in the produce department and pumpkin-flavored treats hit the store shelves.
There are hundreds of pumpkin recipes too!
If you’re like me and plan to purchase a pumpkin to make your own Halloween treats this year, remember the seeds can be roasted!
Unfortunately, the first time I tried to roast them, I burned them and couldn’t enjoy the benefits of eating them.
“What benefits?” you ask. Well, when you eat pumpkin seeds, you’re gaining more than just a satisfied belly.
Here are 6 pumpkin seeds benefits to remind you just how healthy this snack is…
#1 – Helps Your Heart
Pumpkin seeds nutrition values include magnesium, which helps regulate your heart rhythm. Magnesium also aids with blood vessel relaxation.
In addition to promoting a healthy heart, magnesium also helps your cells create DNA, RNA, and ATP — all of which are essential to living.
LDL cholesterol lowering effects is due to its high concentration of phytosterols, plant compounds that inhibit cholesterol absorption in the small intestine. 10 Pumpkin seeds have the 3rd highest phytosterol content among nuts and seeds commonly consumed as snacks. Source
#2 – Promotes Healthy Immune System
Pumpkin seeds happen to be an excellent source of zinc.
Zinc helps keep your immune system healthy. It does so in several ways — such as by promoting healthy cell division and sleep.
Zinc is also good for regulating your 5 senses.
Teach your kids about the health benefits of pumpkin seeds when carving pumpkins this Halloween.
#3 – Improves Your Sleep
Surprising as it may seem, pumpkin seeds are great for promoting healthy sleep patterns.
If you’re like me, you might’ve thought that seeds — like nuts and fruits — are an energizing snack.
This is actually not so. Pumpkin seeds are rich in tryptophan, which your body converts into serotonin. The serotonin is then changed into melatonin, which is the hormone that promotes sleep.
TIP: Eat a handful of pumpkin seeds a few hours before going to bed to help combat insomnia!
#4 – Acts As An Anti-Inflammatory
Animal research suggests that the anti-inflammatory benefits of pumpkin seeds work as well as some prescription medications!
Pumpkin seed oil is as potent as the drug indomethacin at relieving chronic rheumatoid arthritis.
If you suffer from arthritis, then you might particularly enjoy the benefits of pumpkin seeds from the anti-inflammatory agents found in pumpkin seed oil.
Nutritionally, pumpkin seeds have:
- an essential fatty acid profile
- rich antioxidant content
- synergistic effects of other minor components
All of these things make pumpkin seeds a really healthy, pain-relieving snack!
#5 – Promotes A Healthy Prostate
The zinc content in pumpkin seeds is important for a healthy prostate — because the prostate contains the highest concentration of zinc in a man’s body.
Pumpkin seed oils may even help relieve an enlarged prostate.
#6 – Alleviates Postmenopausal Symptoms
Phytoestrogens are plant nutrients that act similar to estrogen. Pumpkin seeds contain phytoestrogen.
Pumpkin seeds help to:
- increase good cholesterol
- lower blood pressure
- reduce hot flashes and headaches
- minimize joint pain
Here’s a good list of what you should eat to ease post-menopausal symptoms.
Whether you are a man or a woman, you can benefit from eating pumpkin seeds.
They are rich in nutrients that can keep your body functioning at its very best.
Of course you can buy pumpkin seeds year round. But this fall when pumpkins are everywhere you look, you might want to buy 1 or 2 and use the seeds to make your own fresh pumpkin seed snack.
The best part: you can dive in to a handful of pumpkin seeds without feeling guilty — because you can’t eat too many!
