Seeds to enjoy all year 'round

When my children were small, I used to love when we’d carve out all those pumpkins during the upcoming weeks.  I love the taste and smell of roasted pumpkin seeds.  Up until the past five to ten years, you did not easily find pumpkin seeds on the shelves of your local store all year round, but fortunately thing have changed.

Pumpkin seeds, also known as pepitas, offer nutritional benefits that should not be passed up.  They have a delicately sweet and chewy texture.  Although the shells are quite edible, some prefer the varieties without shells.

Native Americans were among the first to notice the health benefits of pumpkin seeds. They referred to them as cucurbita and used them to treat kidney problems and to eliminate parasites from the intestines.

For those concerned with urinary and prostate conditions, pumpkin seeds appear to improve bladder function and difficulty with urination.  People who have suffered from kidney stones will be glad to hear that they prevent calcium oxalate stone formation, which is the most common form of kidney stone.

Depression?  Pumpkin seeds contain L-tryptophan, which has been effective in treating depression. Because pumpkin seeds are high in zinc, they are a natural protector against osteoporosis and your immune system will benefit from this as well.

Some form of inflammation affects many individuals.  Pumpkin seeds have a natural anti-inflammatory (omega-3) affect as well as containing magnesium.  Just ? cup of pumpkin seeds contains 92% of your minimal daily need for magnesium.  Most Americans are extremely deficient in magnesium as evidenced by symptoms of nighttime muscle cramping and constipation.

These nutritional wonders also contain phytosterols, which have been shown to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol but only when eaten raw roasted.  In addition, they may be effective in the prevention of many different forms of cancer.

As a colon therapist I am privileged to see intestinal parasites on a regular basis.  I commonly recommend pumpkin seeds, as parasites hate them.

Mostly females will suffer from chronic anemia.  Pumpkin seeds may help alleviate this condition as they contain iron.  A half cup provided you with half your daily dose of iron and is much easier to tolerate that those pills.

Pumpkin seeds are a high-protein (10g in ? cup of raw), low calorie snack that also provides the body with manganese, phosphorus, calcium copper, some of the B vitamins and Vitamin K.  They also contain the essential omega-3 fats. Many individuals pay to take these supplements in synthetic forms.  Vitamins and minerals that have been created in a lab are far less efficient than getting them from food sources.  Your body actually knows what to do with them when they come from foods, they are much more efficient and require less of a dose.

Pumpkin seeds can be added to salads, cereals or can just be eaten plain.  Although many prefer to eat them roasted, the benefits of eating them raw are worthy to note.  Eating them raw does not mean eating them wet — they are just dehydrated at temperatures no higher than 105 degrees Fahrenheit in order to preserve the beneficial enzymes.  Some individuals add tamari, some just add a small amount of hand harvested sea salt.

I hope you might now consider adding pumpkin seeds to you diet year round and just not this time of year.  I hope some of you decide to carve out a few extra pumpkins this year in order to stock up!