3 reasons you aren’t eating enough pumpkin seeds.
Minute For Your Health #43
I recently read that we should be eating 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds daily 😅
The article stated that this was an American Heart Foundation recommendation but I couldn’t find the original anywhere.
And I’m guessing it was a mis-quote because that would be A LOT of pumpkin seeds!
While it was probably fake news, it did get me thinking that maybe I could be eating more pumpkin seeds than I am. And probably you could be too.
Below are three good reasons to add pumpkin seeds to your meals once in a while.
Sleep glorious sleep.
Between 10 and 30% of adults struggle with chronic insomnia.
About 50% of adults regularly feel tired during the day because of too little sleep.
Most of us wish our sleep was better from time to time.
Well lucky for us pumpkin seeds might improve sleep.
That’s because of their high content of tryptophan (an amino acid our body needs to produce serotonin which improves mood) and magnesium. Both of these have been shown to support relaxation and healthy sleep.
Immunity
After a good two years of global pandemic most of us care about our immune systems.
Pumpkin seeds are high in antioxidants, zinc and vitamin E - all of which help our immune systems function at their best.
Blood sugar
If you’ve worked with me one to one or read this newsletter for a while you will know BLOOD SUGAR MATTERS.
Unstable blood sugar can lead to type 2 diabetes, it affects our mood, anxiety, sleep, weight, immune system and much, much more.
So when I tell you pumpkin seeds help your body regulate blood sugar - that’s amazing news!
Pumpkin seeds are high in fibre and protein, which ensure slow energy uptake from your foods instead of the spikes caused by foods rich in carbohydrates and low in fibre. They are also rich in magnesium, which is important because magnesium deficiency is associated with poorer blood sugar control.
Summary:
Include pumpkin seeds in your snacks, morning cereal or bread (or anywhere else you can think of) to support your sleep, immunity and blood sugar control.
If you’re in the mood to bake you could try out my high protein pumpkin seed oat cakes. I don’t make them often because my husband devours the whole batch in such a short time that it feels futile 😂…but maybe now I’ve written this article I’ll follow my own advice and go make a batch 😉
Know someone who loves pumpkin seeds? Share this article with them.
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REFERENCES AND LINKS:
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/sleep-facts-statistics
https://secure.footprint.net/gatorade/prd/gssiweb/pdf/116_Halson_SSE.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Qamar-Abbas-Syed/publication/336797715_Nutritional_and_Therapeutic_Importance_of_the_Pumpkin_Seeds/links/5db2798b4585155e270005ce/Nutritional-and-Therapeutic-Importance-of-the-Pumpkin-Seeds.pdf