Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries Shares Pumpkins Nutritional Benefits

“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 spooky, funny, silly images for Halloween and puree it up for a Thanksgiving pie! Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries is playing with the pumpkin’s quandry and confesses to liking the pumpkin fun while also valuing its edible, healthy features for our Manchester chiropractic patients who are being treated for back pain or neck pain and their supporting families.

RESPECT FOR THE NUTRITIOUS 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 essential ingredient for great pumpkin pies! (1) Recognized for its 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. Some of its most promising functional properties known 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 Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries and our Manchester chiropractic families!

AGE MATTERS

Age is significant in the pumpkin's and the human's lifespan! For the pumpkin, the mature stage of its ripening – versus the young and ripened stages – proved to have the greatest phenolic and flavonoid content (33 compounds!), the greatest antioxidant activity, and the highest antibacterial activity. (4) For the human, aging brings increasingly more molecular injury to cells in reaction to oxidative stress from environmental, lifestyle, and disease issues. A key to proper diet as we age is an appropriate intake of antioxidants. The cucurbita fruits (types of pumpkin/squash) are great in these antioxidants as well as in zinc and copper. Researchers even suggested that these should be eaten 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 treasure trove of beneficial cytoprotective – cell-protecting - properties linked to the prevention of age-related diseases brought on by oxidative stress. (6) Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries is all about protecting cells and the health of our Manchester chiropractic patients.

CONTACT Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries

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 Manchester chiropractic appointment today. Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries appreciates the pumpkin for all its nutritional value. And we still look forward to the annual cutting, decorating, and cooking!

Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries respects the pumpkin for its decorative and nutritional benefits especially the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant!
 
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"This information and website content is not intended to diagnose, guarantee results, or recommend specific treatment or activity. It is designed to educate and inform only. Please consult your physician for a thorough examination leading to a diagnosis and well-planned treatment strategy. See more details on the DISCLAIMER page. Content is reviewed by Dr. James M. Cox I."