6 Reasons You Should Eat More Pumpkin

Have Another Piece of Pumpkin Pie!

Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cupcakes…the number of yummy recipes you can make with pumpkin is endless!

And for good reason, because adults and kids alike LOVE pumpkin. It’s so sweet, creamy and delicious and fills the room with an irresistible aroma when baked.

And if you’re looking for an amazing pumpkin recipe, check out this Healthy Pumpkin Whoopie Pie Recipe.

Health Benefits of Pumpkin

As if this isn’t enough reason to eat more pumpkin, here are 6 more that you may not be aware of:

Cancer Prevention – like their orange cousins the sweet potato, the carrot and the butternut squash, pumpkins are loaded with the antioxidant beta-carotene, which is linked to cancer prevention, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Fiber to Fill You Up – Most people should consume between 20 and 35 grams of fiber each day, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, but many people don’t get more than 15 grams. Fiber helps you digest your food efficiently, which helps your body absorb the nutrients from your food. One cup of pumpkin puree provides you with 7.1 grams of dietary fiber.
Digestion Support – Pumpkin puree contains about 10 percent of your daily requirement for potassium as well. You need adequate amounts of potassium to support healthy digestion.
Weight Loss – Pumpkin is a very low calorie vegetable and contains only 80 calories and one gram of fat. This makes it great for people watching their waist line.
Better Vision – A cup of cubed pumpkin contains almost twice the recommended daily intake of vitamin A, which promotes good vision, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Heart Health – Pumpkin seed oil is full of phytoestrogens, which is beneficial for preventing hypertension. When researchers fed rats a diet supplement with the oil, they found that it helped lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in just 12 weeks.

How to Buy Pumpkin

Now don’t think you have to go grow your own pumpkin to get to the good stuff, but you do have to be selective on which packaged pumpkin you purchase. Say that three times fast.

Choose plain canned pumpkin since a cup of canned pumpkin puree with salt can contain over 500 milligrams of sodium!

Be aware that pure canned pumpkin is different than canned pumpkin pie mix, which is a less healthy product because of its high sugar content. A cup of canned pumpkin pie mix contains 71 grams carbohydrates, with many of them from added sugars, while a cup of pure canned pumpkin has 20 grams of total carbohydrates and no added sugars. Each cup of canned pumpkin pie mix contains 281 calories on average.

Are you looking for healthy, easy recipes that your whole family will enjoy? Try my paleo, anti-inflammatory recipe program for free for 30 days!

Leann Forst, MBA, CHC, CEOC — Holistic Health Practitioner

Leann is a Board Certified Holistic Health Practitioner and Certified Essential Oils Coach. She holds a Master’s degree from Drake University and a Bachelor of Science from Upper Iowa University. Accredited by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners, Leann is an award winning author of 2 books “How to Get Your Kids to Beg for Veggies” and “100 Ways to Lose Weight”.

Born and raised as an Iowa farm girl, she moved to Texas in 1998 where she lives with her husband and 2 kids.

As a wife of a brain cancer survivor, Leann has a special interest in anti-cancer nutrition and detoxification. She works with individuals and groups, and speaks regularly at hospitals, schools and organizations. Leann’s goal is to teach people how to attain optimal health by getting to the root cause of chronic and inflammatory conditions, while using healing modalities such as essential oils. Click here to get Leann’s free report, “37 Cancer Facts You Should Know…But Probably Don’t”

Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links.

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6 Reasons You Should Eat More Pumpkin