101 Foods That Could Save Your Life

Did you know … the heaviest pumpkin in the world weighed in at 1,469 pounds?

Pumpkin comes from the Greek word “pepon” or “big melon”. Cantaloupe melon, cucumber and squash are also related to the pumpkin. Pumpkins best suited for carving on Halloween are not necessarily the best for making pumpkin pie. In fact, there are basically two different categories of pumpkin: “tinning” pumpkins and carving pumpkins. And orange is not the only colour choice, either. There’s white, Australian Blue, and a red variety from Europe called Rouge D’Etant.

Pumpkin seeds found in Mexico were estimated to be at least 7,500 years old. Pumpkins were a mainstay in Native American culture and, in fact, the entire pumpkin was used not only for food, but Native Americans would also make mats and other products from the shell. The first pumpkin pie was made by early settlers by filling a hollowed-out pumpkin shell with honey, milk and spices and then baking it.

The biggest producers of pumpkins include the United States, India, China and Mexico. The “Pumpkin Capital of the World” is in Morton, Illinois, where Libby’s pumpkin processing plant is located.

Pumpkin is a good source of fibre, potassium, selenium, vitamin A, beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin and lutein. Pumpkin seeds are a good source of omega-3 fats and an excellent source of phytosterols, which may benefit enlarged prostate glands. In fact, the use of pumpkin seeds for enlarged prostate dates back over 100 years. Plant phytosterols are helpful in lowering cholesterol, too.

Folk medicine suggests consuming pumpkin seeds for reducing enlarged prostate glands. Pumpkin is one of the traditional Chinese medicines used to alleviate some of the complications and chronic diseases caused by diabetes. Eating unroasted pumpkin seeds with the onset of nausea helps alleviate motion sickness.

CANCER: A long-term Japanese study involving 1,988 gastric, 2,455 breast, 1,398 lung and 1,352 colorectal cancer patients and 50,706 non-cancer outpatients showed that frequent consumption of pumpkin was associated with decreased risk for all four types of cancer.

PROSTATE CANCER: A correlation study found that those subjects who consumed pumpkin regularly had a decreased risk of developing prostate cancer.

DIABETES: A Japanese case-control study involving 133 participants with a history of diabetes mellitus found that those who ate a good amount of pumpkin had better blood glucose control.

HYPERTENSION: Hypertensive rats that were treated with pumpkin seed oil had reduced progression of hypertension.

ASTHMA: Diets high in omega-3 fatty acids, like those found in pumpkin seeds, may be beneficial to asthma sufferers.

• For baking, look for “pie pumpkin” or “sweet pumpkin”, which are sweeter and less watery than jack-o’-lantern pumpkins.

• Choose one that is heavy and has a good shape.

• Store in a cool, dry place. But once cut, pumpkin must be cooked that same day.

• Remove the stem with a sharp knife and cut the pumpkin in half.

• Remove all of the seeds and stringy mess (save the seeds to roast later, if desired).

• Boil or steam: cut the pumpkin into large chunks, rinse them, place them in a large pan with approximately 8fl oz/240ml of water (the water doesn’t need to cover the pieces), cover, and boil for 20 to 30 minutes until tender, or steam for 12 minutes.

• Oven: after you have cut the pumpkin in half, rinse with cold water, place the cut side down on a large baking tray, and bake at 350F/180C° for one hour until tender.

• Microwave: cut pumpkin in half, place cut side down on microwave-safe plate, microwave on high for 15 minutes until tender.

• Dice pumpkin, steam and sprinkle nutmeg on it.

• Purée pumpkin and carrots, sliced onions, leeks and chopped celery and parsley for a simple soup.

• Roast pumpkin seeds by first rinsing seeds well and then spreading them on a baking tray. Roast at 375°F/190°C for 20 to 30 minutes until dry; cool and serve. Sprinkle on salt, if desired.