Are you willing to stand in long queues in doctor’s clinic, and consume lot of harmful allopathic medicines? Why not spare a little time to prepare yourself these nutrient-rich super foods for your optimum health while strengthening your immune system?
Pumpkin is a good source of fiber, vitamin C and E, copper, potassium, magnesium, manganese and phosphorous, iron, protein and zinc. A cup of cooked pumpkin provides you about 3g fiber and 50 calories, five times the USRDA for vitamin A, 10% of the minimum requirement for potassium, making it the perfect healthy addition to your daily diet. Besides, pumpkin is chock full of beta carotene, lutein and caratenoid pigments like alpha-carotene. Apart from that, its pulp is rich in pro-vitamin A, vitamin E and C, carbon hydrates, salt and minerals. Its seeds contain resines and enzymes with antihelmintic properties, while its core contains lecithin, peporesine, tyrosine, phosphorus, vitamins B and A which help the body in regeneration process and delaying the aging process. According to USDA nutrient database, 100 g (about 3.5 oz) of raw pumpkin contains the nutrient as follow:
Winter crookneck squash, field pumpkin, butternut squash, cushaw squash, cucumber, gourds, zucchini, scallop summer squash, giant pumpkins, and etc.
Recommendations
Take one serving for every 2-3 days. ½ cup of cooked winter squash or pumpkin is considered one serving. As pumpkin juice is high in acidity which might have indulged ulcer, you are recommended to drink it three times a day. It should be taken half an hour before each meal. The pumpkin seeds should be eaten raw instead of being roasted as the roasting may have weakened lots of its nutrients. Alternatively, the whole seeds can be added to salads, cereals, cookies, and steamed vegetables, while its ground seeds can be added to burgers.
Health benefits
Lowering the risk of getting variety types of cancers, including lung, colon, bladder, cervical, and breast cancer; protecting against heart disease; being useful in cases of dyspepsia, menopause disorder, hormonal disorder, intestinal parasites or sexual hyper-excitability and constipation; soften the skin, diminishing the inflammatory processes of mucous
Reasons and evidence
A research suggests that pumpkin can inhibit benign prostate growth. It was reported that pumpkin has the healing properties with regards to arthritis. Unlike the drug, pumpkin does not increase the level of damaged fats (lipid peroxides) in the linings of the joints, a side effect that leads to the progression of arthritis. Phytonutrients in the pumpkin helps to keep the skin looking younger while protecting it from the sun damage. The pumpkin juice is also useful in cases of insomnia or other sedative conditions.
Warnings
Excessive intake of pumpkin seeds may cause a stomach upset, but are otherwise extremely safe if they are taken in an appropriate amount. There is also no reason for the pregnant or breast-feeding mother to avoid eating pumpkins as it provides densely packed nutrients during this period without causing any harmful or toxicological consequence if it is consumed moderately.
Tips
Choose the ripe pumpkins which have hard, shiny skins with no soft or rotten spots. Make sure that the stem end has no soft spots to avoid the whole pumpkin from being spoiled easily. If you purchase the canned pumpkin, be sure to choose the cans that have no bulges, dents or are free of rust. Pumpkin should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator 4 to 5 days but more than months as it will lose its freshness. You can also store it at room temperature in a cool and dry spot for up to a month or two, or in the refrigerator for up to three months. However, you are advised not to store it for too long as it might have lost its value of nutrition. Similarly, canned pumpkin should be stored in a cool and dry cabinet and make sure that it is kept away from any heat sources.
If you are planning on cooking rather than carving it, do not trouble yourself to peel off its skin. You can cook the pumpkin together with its skin which is rich in calcium but make sure you remove its seeds. If you are planning to mash the pumpkin, just boil the cut pieces of pumpkin in water for about 20 minutes. After all the pieces have been completely boiled, drain the water and either you mash the pieces by hand or puree them with a blender, or incorporated into soup. For baking, choose butternut, hubbard or acorn as it provides good texture, color, moisture but less in calories.
Soybeans
Soybeans have long been regarded as wonder foods that help lower cholesterol levels while promoting general health. One cup of soybeans provides 250 to 300 calories, 2.2g saturated fat, 57.2% protein, well-absorbed iron, magnesium and essential amount of omega-3 fatty acids. Soy milk, tofu, tempeh, and miso are some of the traditional soy foods that provide 30 to 40mg sources of isoflavones (the estrogen-like hormones that help you stay young and healthy) per serving. However, isoflavones is not found in soybean oil and soy sauce. Generally, genistein concentration is found to be 223mg per gram in fermented bean curb; 193mg per gram in tempeh; and 93mg per gram in nonzukuri miso. In addition, soybeans are an excellent source of protein, manganese, soluble and insoluble fiber, carbohydrates, vitamins, copper, potassium, phosphorus, molybdenum and more.
