Vitamins and minerals are essential for a healthy body, and pumpkin is a rich source of many of them. Buy a whole pumpkin and bake or boil it. Or, you can buy canned pumpkin. According to MayoClinic.com, both types of pumpkin can be healthy. MayoClinic.com advises that you choose lower-sodium cans of pumpkin to decrease your salt consumption. Including pumpkin in your diet can help increase your intake of a variety of important nutrients to build and maintain a healthy body.
Vitamin A
Pumpkin is a good source of vitamin A. Vitamin A plays an important role in maintaining proper vision, a healthy immune system, and normal growth and development. The recommended daily intake for this vitamin is 900mcg for males and 700mcg for females. A 1/2-cup serving of canned pumpkin can supply you with 953mcg of vitamin A, meeting your daily needs for the vitamin.
Potassium
Pumpkin is a rich vegetable-source of potassium. Both canned and fresh pumpkin are good sources of this mineral. Potassium plays an important role in maintaining proper heart function and skeletal muscle function. In addition, it aids in normal digestive and muscular processes. A 1/2 cup serving of canned pumpkin contains 253mg of potassium, and a 1/2 cup of cooked pumpkin contains 283mg of potassium. According to the Linus Pauling Institute, the adequate daily intake for potassium is 4,700mg for adults.
Vitamin C
A 1/2 cup serving of pumpkin provides you with 5.8mg of vitamin C, about 10 percent of the daily recommended intake. MayoClinic.com says that both canned and fresh pumpkin offer a rich source of vitamins and minerals and both can be healthy choices. Vitamin C is important to increase your immune system and fight against infection and disease.
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