Top Health Benefits of Pumpkin Seeds

Known as “Power house of nutrients”, pumpkin seeds have lots of health benefits including heart health, controls blood sugar and improves fertility.
Consuming small amount of pumpkin seeds provides with the essential amount of fats, zinc and magnesium. Although small on size, pumpkin seeds are fully packed with valuable nutrients that helps to improve prostate health and protects against certain cancers. So its small amount should be incorporated in daily life.

Here are some health benefits of pumpkin seeds that are scientifically proven .

Pumpkin seeds are enriched with fats, energy, fiber and protein. Monounsaturated fats found in pumpkin seeds are good for health. Other vitamin like B1 ,B2 ,B3 ,B6, and vitamin c, E and k are also found in pumpkin seeds. They are laden with minerals like calcium, iron, potassium, zinc, phosphorus and magnesium.

They are a powerful source of antioxidants due to having vitamin E in it. These antioxidants reduce inflammation and protect our body against the damages of free radicals. They prove like a shield against number of diseases.

The antioxidants content in pumpkin seeds protects against heart diseases. Magnesium found in pumpkin seeds lowers blood pressure and cholesterol level. Fibre also controls cholesterol and protect heart.

Scientifically proven that pumpkin seeds contain plant compounds that give protection against certain cancers and their growth studies prove that it reduces the risk of breast cancer in women going through postmenopausal stage. Lignans found in pumpkin seeds play a vital role in prevention and treatment of breast cancer. It also helps in slowing down the growth of prostate cancer cells.

Among the best natural sources of magnesium is pumpkin seed. Magnesium is a mineral that are body requires for more than 600 chemical reactions. It controls blood pressure, maintains heart health, forms bone health and regulates blood sugar.

Researches shows that pumpkin in all forms like pumpkin seeds, its powder and juice help in reducing and maintaining blood sugar level. Pumpkin seeds with high magnesium content has positive effect on blood sugar level. People consuming pumpkin seed have 15 % lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Diet enriched with fibre improves digestive health. It is also associated in reducing the risk of heart disorder and obesity.

If you are facing insomnia, don’t forget to eat pumpkin seed before going to bed. Tryptophan, an amino acid, helpful in better sleep found in seeds. However we should not exceed the quantity of six oz (170g) of pumpkin seed to acquire the needed amount of tryptophan. As given above, pumpkin seeds are enrich in magnesium that also promotes good sleep. Taking magnesium not only improves quality of sleep but also decreases the time to fall asleep.

We can easily add pumpkin seeds to our diet if we want to avail its benefits. People use them as a snack, salted or unsalted , raw or roasted. You can add them in your smoothies, yogurt and in salads. You can even use them in baking bread and cakes.