It’s finally the autumn in Japan, season of apples, pears, and, of course, pumpkins! Halloween came to Japan from America and became one of the most favorite holidays here. Last week of October, shops, schools and preschools are decorated with orange pumpkins and different heroes this holiday. The beautiful orange color pumpkin is a symbol of autumn and goodness. If you want to be healthy, try to eat pumpkin as much as you can do (raw of course)! About the health benefits of pumpkins I can write and write, but I think the most important 8 benefits are:
- Rich Iron Source. It is really important to get enough iron so that your body can make new red blood cells, and too little iron can lead to anemia. Only 15% of the iron we consume is absorbed by our bodies. If you consume 15mg of iron per day, your body is actually only absorbing about 2.25mg of iron. Taking vitamin C will help the body absorb more iron. Pumpkin has vitamin C, but it’s better to eat pumpkin with some citrus such as orange, lemon and grapefruit.
- Pumpkins’ bright orange color may make them a good substitute for traffic cones, but the real power behind their hue is beta-carotene, a provitamin that is converted to vitamin A in the body. Known for its immune-boosting powers, beta-carotene is essential for eye health and has also been linked to preventing coronary heart disease . The beta-carotene in foods helps prevent many diseases, including lung cancer.
- Moreover, pumpkin has a high content of vitamin D as well as minerals like copper, iron and phosphorus. All of know how important is Vitamin D for our kids and their growth.
- Pumpkins also have a very rare vitamin T. It is good in improving fading memory and enhances the concentration towards anything and also helps in blood coagulation and in the formation of platelets in the blood. It combats Anemia and Hemophilia. Basically, it strengthens your red blood cells. More strength = more oxygen. It is the only vitamin, which regulates the metabolism of protein, carbohydrates and fats. Vitamin T helps keep the brain and the nervous system energized. Vitamin is very much required for the breaking up of carbohydrates to release energy. Vitamin T is very important for the various tedious works that we have to perform in our day to day schedule. In spite of its health benefits in the body very little information is known about it.
- Pumpkin contains potassium as well. You need adequate amounts of potassium to support healthy digestion. The potassium in pumpkin may help reduce the risk of high blood levels in the body . Potassium can support smooth metabolism. This is important in maintaining the balance of water and electrolytes (acid-base) in the cell body.
- Also, pumpkin has a Calcium. The compound alpha-karotein, vitamin A, C and zinc in pumpkin acts as a natural remedy to slow the aging process, prevent wrinkles and smooth the skin.
- One cup of raw pumpkin provides 2.1 g of fiber. Pumpkin seeds also contain some fiber, about 1.1 g in 1 oz. of seeds. Fiber is an important part of digestive health and can also reduce your risk for serious conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.
- Pumpkin seeds are real madicine! High in Omega 3s, pumpkin seeds has been shown in studies to reduce the incidence of benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH)—a condition in which the prostate gland becomes enlarged.
Pumpkin seeds are toxic to Harmful Organisms. The US Pharmacopeia listed pumpkin seeds as a remedy for intestinal, harmful organisms until 1936. Does that mean it really didn’t work? Not quite, researchers in China tested pumpkin reported positive results when testing pumpkin seeds against tapeworms. People use them against all parasites very successfully.
I can still continue to write about pumpkin benefits, but better for us simply to remember that this miracle-berry is very good for the health. However, when you are in raw food diet, many of us forget about this miracle, simply do not know how to eat it raw. There are many delicious recipes with pumpkin, such are soups, smoothies, salads, desserts and of course juices. Pumpkin Juice is not very tasty, so I add usually some apples and/or carrots with lemon. Pumpkin Pie is very quickly and tasty dessert. And today, I want to share with you my favorite Pumpkin Smoothie recipe! This is a very simple recipe, delicious and healthy. Please watch our video how we made this pumpkin smoothie with my son 😉 And sorry for my poor english, its not easy to speak in english for me 😉
Recipe
Ingredients:
raw pumpkin- 300gr. (1/4 of a small pumpkin) (it is better to select sweet varieties) filtered clean water – 2 cups
dates – (5-6 or to your taste) or other your favorite sweetener
ripe bananas – 3-4
persimmon – 1 (preferably very ripe)
lemon – 1/5
Mаса powder (optional) – 1 tbls
vanilla beans (or a little vanilla extract)
Himalayan salt – pinch
Clean pumpkin peel and cut the flesh into small pieces. Warm the water to a temperature not higher than 40C. Place the pumpkin in warm water for a few hours. Water must be extant coat pumpkin (2-3 cups). In water pumpkin become softer (this is not required, if you don’t have the time). Put pumpkin with water in a blender and blend until smooth. Add all the remaining ingredients and blend well. Taste it, you may want to add more sweetener or water. Garnish with pumpkin seeds or other (poppy, chia, flax, sunflower seeds).
Bon appetite!