“Respect the pumpkin! Respect the pumpkin!” Poor
thing! The pumpkin wants to share its healthy gifts with us! What do we do? We cut the pumpkin into spooky, funny, goofy looks
for Halloween and mash it up for a Thanksgiving pie! Most Chiropractic Clinic
is playing with the pumpkin’s plight and confesses
to liking the pumpkin fun while also appreciating
its tasty, healthy aspects for our
Murfreesboro chiropractic patients who are being treated for back pain or neck pain and their supportive families.
RESPECT FOR THE NUTRITIOUS PUMPKIN
Appreciation for the pumpkin grows
and grows! The commonly known pumpkin or squash of the
cucurbita moschata species of fruits is insect-, disease-, and hot-tolerant…as well as the essential ingredient for tasty
pumpkin pies! (1) Recognized for its being nutrient-full
and recipe-flexible, the pumpkin is described as a potent
source of proteins, metabolites, carbohydrates, monounsaturated fatty acids,
polyunsaturated fatty acids, tocopherols, carotenoids, tryptophans, sterols, and
more. A few of its most promising functional
properties recognized today are wound healing, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory,
antioxidative, anti-ulcerative, spermatogenesis-enhancing, and more.
(2) The scent, flavor, and color traits of the pumpkin
- terpenoids (oxygen-containing metabolites that contribute to aromatic scent
and flavor and even color) and carotenoids (tetraterpenoids responsible for
color) - are quite nutritious. (3) All this in the pretty
fall fruit we cut into jack-o-lanterns that young
and old alike appreciate…including Most Chiropractic Clinic and our Murfreesboro
chiropractic families!
AGE MATTERS
Age counts in the pumpkin's and the human's lifespan! For the
pumpkin, the mature stage of its ripening – versus the
young and ripened stages – proved to have the greatest
phenolic and flavonoid content (33 compounds!), the highest
antioxidant activity, and the highest antibacterial activity. (4)
For the human, aging generates increasingly more
molecular damage to cells in reaction to
oxidative stress from environmental, lifestyle, and disease factors.
A key to proper diet as we age is an adequate
intake of antioxidants. The cucurbita fruits (varieties of pumpkin/squash)
are great in these antioxidants as well as in zinc and copper. Researchers
even proposed that these should be eaten daily! (5) Our aging cells would appreciate that! In
a study of extracted seed oils like pumpkin, melon, and black cumin,
researchers found a cornucopia of beneficial
cytoprotective – cell-protecting - properties related to preventing age-related diseases triggered
by oxidative stress. (6) Most Chiropractic Clinic is all about
protecting cells and the health of our Murfreesboro
chiropractic patients.
CONTACT Most Chiropractic Clinic
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. James Cox on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he
describes the importance of managing
inflammation as well as chiropractic spinal manipulation treatment with The Cox® Technic System of
Spinal Pain Management.
Make your Murfreesboro chiropractic
appointment today. Most Chiropractic Clinic respects
the pumpkin for all its nutritional benefit. And we still anticipate the annual cutting, decorating, and cooking!