“Respect the pumpkin! Respect the pumpkin!” Pitiful
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! Manahawkin Chiropractic Center
is making light of the pumpkin’s plight and confesses
to liking the pumpkin fun while also valuing
its tasty, healthy features for our
Manahawkin chiropractic patients who are undergoing chiropractic care for back pain or neck pain and their supportive families.
RESPECT FOR THE NUTRITIOUS PUMPKIN
Appreciation 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 most common ingredient for great
pumpkin pies! (1) Well-known for being nutrient-dense
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 promising functional
properties recognized today are wound healing, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory,
antioxidative, anti-ulcerative, spermatogenesis-enhancing, and more.
(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 beautiful
fall fruit we cut into jack-o-lanterns enjoyed by young and old…including Manahawkin Chiropractic Center and our Manahawkin
chiropractic families!
AGE MATTERS
Age is significant in the lifespan
of the pumpkin and the human! For the
pumpkin, the mature stage of its ripening – as opposed to the
young and ripened stages – exhibited the highest
phenolic and flavonoid content (33 compounds!), the greatest
antioxidant activity, and the greatest 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 bunch of useful
cytoprotective – cell-protecting - properties linked to the prevention
of age-related diseases triggered
by oxidative stress. (6) Manahawkin Chiropractic Center is all about
protecting cells and the well-being of our Manahawkin
chiropractic patients.
CONTACT Manahawkin Chiropractic Center
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 Manahawkin chiropractic
appointment today. Manahawkin Chiropractic Center respects
the pumpkin for all its nutritional value. And we still look
forward to the annual carving, decorating, and cooking!