Today’s Wellness Wednesday Tip is going to be all about Pumpkin Seeds!
Did you know that all those seeds you are throwing away are packed with health benefits?! There are over four thousand studies on pumpkin seeds/oil! We should probably start savings those seeds!
Let’s start with the men:
Pumpkin seed oil may be supportive for men who are losing their hair! Supplementing with 400mg of pumpkin seed oil per day was shown to increase hair count by 30-40% after 3 months! Thats an impressive statistic. Pumpkin seed oil can also prevent and even support benign prostatic hyperplasia. This is a huge problem for men. Saw Palmetto is the gold standard herb that men will use to prevent BPH but not everyone is able to supplement with herbs to their potency. This is great news that there are safe alternatives! Talk to your doctor! There is a growing body of research on this topic!
Now for the Ladies:
Pumpkins seeds are high in iron making it a wonderful supplement for women who suffer from iron deficiency anemia. It may even be good to increase consumption around your menstrual cycle! The Brains are even looking at pumpkin seed oil as an effective supplement for menopause due to the content of phytoestrogens.
For everyone:
Pumpkin seed oil supplementation has been shown to be protective of the liver, reduce cholesterol, and lower blood pressure. We need stuff like this! How many people are on cholesterol and blood pressure medication?? Its crazy! We need more things like this so that we can take charge of our own health!
It is widely known that chemo drugs are toxic to the liver and can cause damage to the DNA. The problem is, they don’t have other options at this point. Pumpkin seed oil may be able to reduce the toxicity of common chemo drugs that are also used in low doses for autoimmune conditions and organ transplants. Pumpkin seed oil increased antioxidant activity in the liver and showed a significant decrease in DNA damage. This could be really important for people who have to be on these types of drugs long term!
To save on space I will stop there but just know that the list can go on and on!
Here is how to get more pumpkin seeds and oil into your diet:
Toast pumpkin seeds with some oil, cinnamon, and maple syrup for a delicious sweet treat.
Sprinkle toasted seeds in salads or soups
Use pumpkin seed oil as a salad dressing
There are pumpkin seed oil supplements available if your really want to get crazy.
Wegmans sells a pumpkin seed oil for 10.99 a bottle. That’s a bit expensive but you only need a tsp in most recipes. A little goes a long way!