This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 at 7:45 pm and is filed under Diet, Nuts and Seeds. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
After window shopping at my local health food store I happened to notice the popularity of the plain tasting pumpkin seed (aka pepitas - Beeble). Of course I just had to delve deeper and find out if these small seeds actually provide us with any nutritional benefit or if it is just one of those fads like so many others in the diet world.
Nutrients are based on 100 grams
- Calories: 519 kcal
- Protein: 33 grams
- Carbohydrates: 14 grams
- Fibre: 3.86 grams
- Fat Saturated: 7.89 grams
- Fat Mono unsaturated: 12.98 grams
- Fat Polyunsaturated: 19.12 grams
- Calcium: 42.1 milligrams
- Phosphorus: 1166.66 milligrams
- Potassium: 801.75 milligrams
- Zinc: 7.37 milligrams
- Iron: 14.91 milligrams
- Magnesium: 531.58 milligrams
- Vitamin A: 38.6 micrograms
- Vitamin B1: 0.21 milligrams
- Vitamin B2: 0.316 milligrams
- Vitamin B3: 1.75 milligrams
- Vitamin B6: 0.088 milligrams
- Vitamin C: 1.75 milligrams
- Vitamin E: 0.99 micrograms
- Folate (folic acid): 57.75 micrograms
(A pumpkin is not just for Halloween! - Beeble)
What do these figures mean?
Like with a lot of the seeds and nuts I have been testing, the calories are obviously very high. However for you “calorie counting” lot out there take a look at the fats and you will notice that the saturated fat level is fairly low and is nicely balanced against high unsaturated fat levels. The figures also show how good the simple pumpkin seed is on mineral content, beating the peanut’s nutrients in several areas. It should also be noted that 100 grams of pumpkin seeds is a lot and you do not need to consume this much to gain the benefits. 10 grams a day should be sufficient as a snack. Finally, like other seeds and nuts you will also notice that they have high protein content which is good for vegetarians who can’t get their protein from meats.
Pumpkin Seed Benefits
The strengths of the pumpkin seed means that they are excellent for prostate health and that the 10 grams daily could help prevent kidney stones. There have also been reports that pumpkin seeds can help deter intestinal parasites such as tapeworms. The seeds are also a great source of omega-3 and omega-6 the essential fatty acids. They are known as essential acids because the body cannot produce them itself and therefore you can only get these acids through your diet. These seeds are also essential as they can reduce the chance of coronary heart disease. One gram of the seeds contain as much L-tryptophan in its protein as a full glass of milk. This basically means that it could have treatment possibilities for anxiety disorders, depression and other mental problems. By the sound of things if you are planning on giving up smoking the pumpkin seed could make an inexpensive replacement for the nicotine patches and gum.
Summary
If you are a regular reader then I hope like me that your intake of nuts and seeds has gone up, because there is no doubt that they have huge benefits to our health. Pumpkin seeds do probably taste nicer when they are roasted and salted, however I would recommend having them untainted as possible and certainly not salted. They may not taste as great but if you have them at the same time as a piece of fruit that would make a great combination for taste and your health.
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