The Remarkable Healing Properties of Pumpkin Seed

Pumpkin seeds, like all edible seeds, pack an immense nutritional  and medicinal punch. After all, they contain future worlds within their compact structure. As Emerson said, "the creation of a thousand forests is within one acorn."

In order to prepare their "babies" for survival outside the pumpkin, Nature equips these seeds with an extremely dense source of organically-bound nutrients, including exceptionally high levels of key, health-promoting minerals.

For example, a one cup serving (64 grams) of pumpkin seeds has 44% daily value (DV) of zinc, 22% of copper, 42% magnesium, 16% manganese, 17% potassium, and enough iron (17% DV) to improve iron-deficiency associated anemia.

But beyond the obvious nutritional virtues of the seed, recent scientific investigations have revealed that pumpkin seed meal, as well as its pressed oil, may have great value in alleviating the following conditions:

Prostate Growth: pumpkin seed has been studied for its ability to inhibit testosterone-induced prostate growth, a common causative factor in benign prostatic hyperplasia.[i] [ii]

Postmenopausal Symptoms: Women supplemented with 2,000 mg of pumpkin seed oil over the course of 12 weeks were found to have reduced blood pressure, increased HDL cholesterol, as well as reduction in the severity of hormone insufficiency associated symptoms, e.g. hot flash, headaches and join pain.[iii]  Additional experimental research indicates that adverse cardiovascular changes associated with estrogen deficiency, such as blood pressure and lipid abnormalities, can be mitigated with pumpkin seed oil. [iv]

Calcium-Oxalate Kidney Stones: According to a study performed in 1987 and published in theAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition, children with calcium-oxalate crystals in their urine responded favorably to the supplementation of their diet with pumpkin seeds.[v]

Cardiovascular and Liver Disease: A mixture of flaxseed and pumpkin seed was found to have heart-protective and liver-protective properties in an animal study from 2008 published in the Journal of Food Chemistry & Toxicology.[vi]

Drug & Chemical Toxicity: The protein isolate of pumpkin seed has been shown to alleviate acetaminophen (Tylenol) toxicity on the liver,[vii] and as methotrexate-induced small intestine damage in an animal model.[viii] It has also been studied to protect against carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury.[ix]

Arthritis: Pumpkin seed oil was found to compare favorably with the NSAID drug indomethacin in an experimental model of arthritis, but without causing liver damage, in a study published in 1995 in the journal of Pharmacological Research.[x]

Hypertension: Animals fed pumpkin seed oil were found to respond more favorably to conventional drug-treatment with Ace-inhibitors and  Calcium Channel Blockers, likely because of its beneficial antioxidant properties.[xi]

Parasites: A preclinical canine study has shown that pumpkin seeds have significant activity against canine intestinal parasites.[xii]

Insomnia/Anxiety:  Pumpkin seeds contain a high level of tryptophan (22mg/gram of pumpkin seed protein), the amino acid precursor to serotonin – which is itself converted to melatonin, the "sleep hormone," in the evening. Research published in 2007 in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology found that when de-oiled pumpkin seed  was taken in combination with glucose, a clinical effect similar to that of pharmaceutical-grade tryptophan was achieved.[xiii]  A 2005 study published in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience found that pumpkin seed sourced tryptophan in combination with carbohydrate was as effective as pharmaceutical tryptophan in reducing awake time during the night.

These, of course, are only some of the experimentally confirmed beneficial properties of pumpkin seed. Like all foods, there are likely countless properties which within the right context, the right timing, and the right amount, fulfill Hippocrates' age-old and timelessly true proclamation that food can be our medicine.

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[i] Inhibition of testosterone-induced hyperplasia of the prostate of sprague-dawley rats by pumpkin seed oil.  QJM. 2008 Mar;101(3):167-79. Epub 2008 Jan 25. PMID: 16822218

[ii] Pumpkin seed oil and phytosterol-F can block testosterone/prazosin-induced prostate growth in rats.  Urol Int. 2006;77(3):269-74. PMID: 17033217

[iii] Improvement in HDL cholesterol in postmenopausal women supplemented with pumpkin seed oil: pilot study. Climacteric. 2011 May 5. Epub 2011 May 5. PMID: 21545273

[iv] Supplementation with pumpkin seed oil improves plasma lipid profile and cardiovascular outcomes of female non-ovariectomized and ovariectomized Sprague-Dawley rats. Phytother Res. 2008 Jul;22(7):873-7. PMID: 18567058

[v] The effect of pumpkin seeds on oxalcrystalluria and urinary compositions of children in hyperendemic area.  Am J Clin Nutr. 1987 Jan;45(1):115-21. PMID: 3799495

[vi] Hypolipidemic and hepatoprotective effects of flax and pumpkin seed mixture rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in hypercholesterolemic rats. Food Chem Toxicol. 2008 Dec;46(12):3714-20. Epub 2008 Oct 1. PMID: 18938206

[vii] In Vitro antioxidative activity of pumpkin seed (Cucurbita pepo) protein isolate and its In Vivo effect on alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase in acetaminophen-induced liver injury in low protein fed rats. Phytother Res. 2006 Sep ;20(9):780-3. PMID: 16807884

[viii] Protective effect of ellagic acid and pumpkin seed oil against methotrexate-induced small intestine damage in rats. Indian J Biochem Biophys. 2011 Dec ;48(6):380-7. PMID: 22329239

[ix] Effect of pumpkin seed (Cucurbita pepo) protein isolate on the activity levels of certain plasma enzymes in CCl4-induced liver injury in low-protein fed rats.  Phytother Res. 2005 Apr ;19(4):341-5. PMID: 16041732

[x] Effect of pumpkin-seed oil on the level of free radical scavengers induced during adjuvant-arthritis in rats. Pharmacol Res. 1995 Jan;31(1):73-9. PMID: 7784309

[xi] Pumpkin-seed oil modulates the effect of felodipine and captopril in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Pharmacol Res. 2000 May;41(5):555-63. PMID: 10753555

[xii] [Preclinical studies of cucurbita maxima (pumpkin seeds) a traditional intestinal antiparasitic in rural urban areas]. Rev Gastroenterol Peru. 2004 Oct-Dec;24(4):323-7. PMID: 15614300

[xiii] Protein-source tryptophan as an efficacious treatment for social anxiety disorder: a pilot study. Can J Physiol Pharmacol. 2007 Sep;85(9):928-32. PMID: 18066139

Got Prunes? Drop the Milk for This Exceptional Bone Builder

Ask anyone to name the one food that is best for building strong bones and you will, of course, hear overwhelmingly that it is milk. But not so fast - when it comes to improving bone health in postmenopausal women — and people of all ages for that matter — one researcher says prunes are a superstar for preventing fractures and osteoporosis.

Bahram H. Arjmandi, a Florida State professor and chairman of the Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences, tested 100 postmenopausal women over a 12-month period. 

One group of 55 women was instructed to consume 100 grams of dried plums (about 10 prunes) each day. Second control group of 45 women was told to consume 100 grams of dried apples. 

All of the study's participants also received daily doses of calcium (500 milligrams) and vitamin D (400 international units).

The results of the study published in the British Journal of Nutrition showed that the women eating prunes had significantly higher bone mineral density in the ulna (one of two long bones in the forearm) and spine, compared to the dried apple group. Arjmandi attributes the effect in part to the ability of prunes to suppress the rate of bone resorption, or the breakdown of bone, which tends to exceed the rate of new bone growth as people age.

Arjmandi recommends eating up to 10 prunes a day.  After years of comparing them to other fruits including figs, dates, strawberries and raisins, he says prunes are exceptional in their effect on bone mineral density.  That's not a surprising statement considering that his research was funded in part by the California Dried Plum Board.  But is it really true?   

The real bone magic in prunes is their high concentration of polyphenols.  These are powerful antioxidants that can help reduce bone loss.  And prunes are a good source of boron and copper, two trace minerals important in the formation of bones.

But many other fruits are also rich in polyphenols including apples, blackberries, cantaloupe, cherries, grapes, pears, pomegranates, raspberries, and strawberries.

And some of them might be better than prunes for another reason.  Prunes (along with cranberries and blueberries) are one of the few fruits that tend to shift your blood pH from alkaline to acid.  When that happens too much and acid levels are too high, your system can leach calcium from your bones to bring itself back to a healthy acid/alkaline balance. 

That's not to say that you shouldn't eat prunes, cranberries or blueberries.  It's all about moderation and balance.  Bone health requires a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables, as well as bone-building fish, meat and stocks. 

So, yes, prunes are good for your bones.  But keep in mind that just eating 10 prunes a day, even if you love them, is not a quick fix for building a strong skeleton. 

   

For more about feeding your bones a healthy diet, research the hundreds of natural compounds that have been studied to support bone health, and read Dr. Annemarie Colbin's The Whole-Food Guide to Strong Bones: A Holistic Approach.