“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 scary, funny, silly images
for Halloween and mash it up for a Thanksgiving pie! Hollstrom & Associates Inc
is playing with the pumpkin’s plight and confesses
to liking the pumpkin fun while also valuing
its tasty, healthy features for our
Largo 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 grows
and grows! The commonly known 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 favorable functional
properties known today are wound healing, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory,
antioxidative, anti-ulcerative, spermatogenesis-enhancing, and more.
(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 nutritious. (3) All this in the pretty
fall fruit we cut into jack-o-lanterns that young
and old alike appreciate…including Hollstrom & Associates Inc and our Largo
chiropractic families!
AGE MATTERS
Age counts in the pumpkin's and the human's lifespan! For the
pumpkin, the mature stage of its ripening – versus the
young and ripened stages – had the greatest
phenolic and flavonoid content (33 compounds!), the highest
antioxidant activity, and the greatest antibacterial activity. (4)
For the human, aging brings more and more
molecular injury to cells in reaction to
oxidative stress due to environmental, lifestyle, and disease factors.
A key to proper diet as we age is an adequate
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 eaten daily! (5) Our aging cells would appreciate that! In
a study of extracted seed oils like pumpkin, melon, and black cumin,
researchers discovered a cornucopia of useful
cytoprotective – cell-protecting - properties related to preventing age-related diseases brought on
by oxidative stress. (6) Hollstrom & Associates Inc is all about
protecting cells and the health of our Largo
chiropractic patients.
CONTACT Hollstrom & Associates Inc
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. James Cox on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he
illustrates the importance of containing
inflammation as well as chiropractic spinal manipulation treatment with The Cox® Technic System of
Spinal Pain Management.
Schedule your Largo chiropractic
appointment now. Hollstrom & Associates Inc respects
the pumpkin for all its nutritional benefit. And we still anticipate the annual cutting, decorating, and baking!