8 Reasons to Include Pumpkin in Your Diet as You Age

Whether it’s the fall season or just another day during the year, when it comes to taking care of your health as you age, pumpkin should be one of the foods included in your diet.

Containing a large amount of fiber, which can aid in digestion and improved detoxification, they are easily digestible which helps with constipation and bowel concerns. This vibrant fruit can also aid in boosting your immune system, increasing joint health and strengthening aging bones. Additionally, because of their high mineral content, pumpkin seeds can be helpful for assisting with prostate problems and kidney concerns such as kidney stones.

Read on, for a further look into the number of benefits that pumpkin can play in men and women’s aging health.

1. Helps Support Digestion

As previously mentioned, pumpkins are high in fiber, which aids in lowering cholesterol, improving digestion and promoting regular bowel movements, making pumpkins especially helpful assisting those who have a sluggish or overactive colon.

Thus, they are highly recommended for those who need help maintaining a healthy digestive tract as they can help improve the body’s ability to process foods.

2. Boost Your Immunity

Pumpkins are an excellent source of vitamin A, a natural antioxidant. Antioxidants are known to be good for the immune system as they can boost your body’s ability to fight diseases by protecting the cells around your body from free radicals that can damage cells.

Pumpkin seeds, in addition, are a great source of antioxidants and powerful health-boosting vitamins that help protect not only the immune system, but also protect against heart disease, cancer, arthritis and other diseases.

3. Pumpkins Fight Inflammation

Inflammation is a natural and normal process, but too much of it can lead to many health problems. Inflammation has been linked to heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, cancer and even Alzheimer’s disease. Additionally, it is a key player in premature aging.

Pumpkin seeds contain powerful anti-inflammatory nutrients that help protect against the above conditions and prevent inflammation-based concerns from developing. Magnesium and omega-3 fatty acids found in pumpkin seeds have the ability to regulate inflammation levels, and also promote full-spectrum health by keeping your cells healthy and preventing them from becoming damaged.

4. Boost Heart Health

Rich in potassium and low in sodium, pumpkin seeds can help you maintain healthy blood pressure levels. Studies show that a diet rich in potassium not only aids in bone health, and regulating calcium levels in the body, it can also help lower your risk of stroke and heart attack.

Additionally, pumpkin seeds are also a good source of magnesium, which, not only has anti-inflammatory properties, but is necessary for optimal heart health. Magnesium regulates the body’s use of calcium, which keeps blood pressure regulated and prevents the calcification of blood vessels.

This in combination with the cholesterol-lowering benefits of the fiber found in the fruit can have significant impacts on maintaining a healthy heart as you age.

5. Helps with Weight Loss

That’s right. Those extra pounds that add up as a result of aging can help be fought off with the right nutrition and one cup of roasted pumpkin seeds serves as a great snack when needed. One cup of pumpkin seeds has only 184 calories and is a great source of essential amino acids that keep your body healthy and reduce hunger pangs so you can snack and maintain the feeling of satiety.

Pumpkin seeds can also help promote weight loss because they are rich in fiber and amino acids, which are key nutrients for losing weight. Additionally, they contain tryptophan, which helps convert food into serotonin, a neurotransmitter that boosts your mood and can curb the desire to overeat.

To learn more about other Seeds for Cultivating Aging Health, click here.

6. Regulate Metabolism

On track with promoting weight loss, pumpkin seeds are a good source of protein, which is required for the healthy function of many organs and systems within the body. In fact, every cell in the body requires protein for its growth and repair. If the body does not get enough protein, it can begin breaking down muscle tissue to use as a replacement.

Thus, including foods that contain significant healthy protein sources in your diet can have substantial benefits as inactive muscle can lead to loss of muscle mass, contribute to obesity, and ultimately lead to other health concerns such as diabetes.

7. Sharpen Your Sight

You’ve no doubt heard about carrots for promoting healthy vision, but did you know that pumpkins are a helpful candidate too? Pumpkins are a rich source of vitamin A and beta-carotene. The vitamin A found in pumpkin is essential for healthy eyesight and vision at night, and keeps the protective coating of the eyes from breaking down and leading to eye disease.

Likewise, beta-carotene, serves as a powerful antioxidant that helps remove free radicals from the body which damage cells, causing accelerated aging and contribute to eye disease and age-related macular degeneration.

8. Anti-Aging Benefits

In addition to the above-mentioned nutrients and vitamins, pumpkin enzymes and high levels of carotenoids, which give it its bright orange hue, provide antioxidants that protect the skin from aging and UV damage that can drastically break down elastin and collagen. Ultimately providing amazing benefits when it comes to soothing the skin, to reduce fine lines and wrinkles.  They also contain iron, which helps to prevent anemia by transporting oxygen to red blood cells.

Additionally, research has found that carotenoids provides a multitude of benefits when it comes to women’s health.

Click here to read how A Diet Rich in Carotenoids Could Improve Women’s Health

There are various benefits of incorporating pumpkin into your anti-aging diet. From being a great source of dietary fiber, protein and vitamins, pumpkins are high in antioxidants, such as beta-carotene, for collagen formation and skin repair and the seeds, which are high in iron and fat-soluble vitamins, can be enjoyed for a variety of benefits as well.