Pumpkins, along with cucumbers and melons, belong to the gourd family -- Cucurbitaceae. Pumpkins produce flat, dark green seeds that, in some varieties are covered with a thin fibrous husk and in others are without a husk. Folk medicine from many traditions use pumpkin seeds for their reputed health benefits, including kidney stone prevention and anti-parasite treatment. Modern science supports the use of pumpkin seeds in some conditions.
Prostate Health
Pumpkin seeds' essential fatty acid content makes them a valued addition to the diet of men wanting to reduce their risk of prostate cancer. Benign prostatic hypertrophy -- a condition that can lead to prostate cancer -- has been shown to be reversed with the introduction of pumpkin seed oil. A 2006 study in the Journal of Medicinal Food fed rats pumpkin seed oil at 2mg/100g and 4mg/100g body weight for 21 days. Previous to the pumpkin seed oil, the rats had been induced to have prostatic hypertrophy via daily testosterone injections for 20 days. The researchers observed a reduction in prostate size at both levels of pumpkin seed oil, with the greater amount having a more pronounced effect.
Bone Health
Pumpkin seeds provide 17 percent of the daily value for zinc in 1/4 cup. Zinc is an essential element in bone formation and is found to be deficient in many elderly bone-fracture patients. A 2004 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at the association between zinc deficiency and bone loss in men between the ages of 45 and 92 over a four-year period, by comparing blood levels to dietary intake. Both dietary intake and plasma concentrations were lower in men with history of osteoporosis. Men with the lowest plasma zinc levels had the lowest bone-mass densities. Somewhat paradoxically, however, plasma zinc levels were not a predictor for bone loss over the four-year time frame.
Cholesterol Lowering
Phytosterols present in pumpkin seeds have dramatic cholesterol-lowering properties, according to the World'sHealthiestFoods.com. A 2005 Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry study found pumpkin seeds to contain 265mg/100g total sterol content, making pumpkin seeds on par with pistachio nuts and sunflower seeds, which contain 270 to 289mg/100g. Phytosterols are similar in chemical composition to cholesterol and have a cholesterol-lowering effect and are the ingredient added to butter substitutes that claim to have the ability to lower cholesterol. Phytosterols work by enhancing excretion of cholesterol, interfering with cholesterol synthesis, and blocking absorption of cholesterol by competing for cholesterol acceptor sites in the intestinal walls, according to the DietaryFiberFood.com.
References
- National Institutes of Health: Inhibition of Testosterone-induced Hyperplasia of the Prostate of Sprague-dawley Rats by Pumpkin Seed Oil
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: Zinc Intakes and Plasma Concentrations in Men With Osteoporosis: The Rancho Bernardo Study
- National Institutes of Health: Phytosterol Composition of Nuts and Seeds Commonly Consumed in the United States
- Dietary Fiber Food: List of Foods (with High Phytosterol) That Help Lower Serum Cholesterol
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