Medically reviewed by Grant Tinsley, Ph. Pumpkin is a favorite autumn ingredient, but you may wonder pumpkin bread it’s healthy.
Indeed, pumpkin is very nutritious and low in calories. Plus, it’s more versatile than you may think. It can be cooked into savory and sweet dishes alike. This article reviews the nutritional properties of pumpkin and its various uses and benefits. Pumpkin is a type of winter squash that’s in the same plant family as cucumbers and melons. It’s technically a fruit since it contains seeds. Yet, in terms of nutrition, it’s more like a vegetable.
Pumpkins are usually round and orange, although the size, shape, and color can vary depending on the variety. They have a thick outer rind that’s smooth and ribbed, as well as a stem that connects the pumpkin to its leafy plant. Inside they’re hollow, except for ivory-colored seeds coated with stringy flesh. These squash are native to North America and play a big role in two holidays. They are carved into jack-o’-lanterns for Halloween and cooked into pies for Thanksgiving dessert in the United States and Canada. However, they’re also grown around the world on every continent except Antarctica.
Their seeds, leaves, and flesh are all edible. Most of the pumpkin that’s sold in the United States is canned. Interestingly, the variety of pumpkin that’s most typically canned looks more similar to a butternut squash than a jack-o’-lantern. The distinction between pumpkin and other types of squash can be a bit fuzzy, as there are many different but closely related varieties. Pumpkin is an incredibly nutritious food.
It’s nutrient dense, meaning it has lots of vitamins and minerals and relatively few calories. It also contains smaller amounts of several other nutrients. The vitamin A contained in pumpkin is actually in the form of vitamin A precursors beta carotene and alpha carotene. Pumpkin seeds are low in carbs but high in fat, making them an ideal snack for people who follow low carb or plant-based diets. Summary Pumpkins are loaded with a variety of nutrients, including fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Most of a pumpkin’s health benefits come from its vitamins and minerals, along with its low sugar and high fiber content.
While there aren’t many studies on pumpkin specifically, it’s high in several nutrients that have established health benefits. Second, the combination of other vitamins and minerals in pumpkin may protect against age-related macular degeneration. While that study used a supplement, you can find all of these nutrients in pumpkin, although in smaller amounts. These include beta carotene and vitamins C and E.
Eating foods with beta carotene may also help improve the appearance and texture of your skin. Vitamins C and E also have antioxidant properties. They’re often used as an ingredient in skin care products, but they may even help boost skin health when eaten. What’s more, pumpkin contains specific nutrients that are good for heart health. However, your overall dietary pattern is much more important for your health than simply occasionally eating pumpkin.
Pumpkin is popular in pancakes, pies, custards, and muffins, but it also works well in savory dishes. You can cook it into a soup or roast it with other vegetables. Canned pumpkin can be combined with coconut milk and spices to make a creamy curry base. You can also eat other parts of the pumpkin plant.
Its seeds are roasted for a crunchy snack or salad topping, while its flowers are often battered and fried. But don’t bother cooking that jack-o’-lantern. The large pumpkins used for carving have a stringy texture and are less flavorful than pie pumpkins. Plus, for food safety reasons, you don’t want to eat something that has been cut open and sitting around. For the healthiest versions, try using it in savory dishes like soup or as a roasted vegetable. Drinking pumpkin spice lattes, for example, doesn’t offer any of the health benefits of eating an actual pumpkin. What’s more, many pumpkin-spice-flavored sweet treats don’t even have any pumpkin in them — only pumpkin pie spice.