Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Health Benefits of Pumpkin Seeds

We carve pumpkins for Halloween each year and usually I throw away the pumpkin seeds. But this year I'm going to roast them in the oven. It's really easy, you just need some salt and butter. (See the recipe for roasted pumpkin seeds).

Pumpkin seeds have a lot of nutritional health benefits. A quarter of a cup of pumpkin seeds provides you with about 52% of the daily recommended amount of manganese. You may not have heard of manganese, but high-manganese foods will

* Help your body utilize several key nutrients such as biotin, thiamin, ascorbic acid, and choline
* Keep your bones strong and healthy
* Help your body synthesize fatty acids and cholestorol
* Maintain normal blood sugar levels
* Promote optimal function of your thyroid gland
* Maintain the health of your nerves
* Protect your cells from free-radical damage

That same quarter cup of pumpkin seeds also provides 46% of the daily recommended amount of magnesium, 40% of phosphoros, 28% iron and 16% protein. See all about the health benefits of pumpkin seeds here.


Pumpkin seeds, raw
0.25 cup
34.50 grams
186.65 calories
NutrientAmountDV
(%)
Nutrient
Density
World's Healthiest
Foods Rating
manganese1.04 mg52.05.0very good
magnesium184.58 mg46.14.5very good
phosphorus405.03 mg40.53.9very good
tryptophan0.11 g34.43.3good
iron5.16 mg28.72.8good
copper0.48 mg24.02.3good
vitamin K17.73 mcg22.22.1good
zinc2.57 mg17.11.7good
protein8.47 g16.91.6good


The above pumpkin poster is by Diane Pedersen.

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