Health Benefits and Nutrition info

Pumpkin seeds are a sources of many vitamins, minerals and essential anti-oxidants that enhance and help keep your good health.

Apart from the fact that they are deliciously crunchy they are also high in calories (about 559 calories per 100 g). Their high calorific value mainly comes from the protein and fats like oleic acid which helps lower bad cholesterol and increases good cholesterol in your blood. Due to their natural phytoestrogens they can also decrease blood pressure, hot flashes, headaches and other menopausal symptoms in postmenopausal women.

Pumpkin seeds are a good source of magnesium which is responsible for the good health of you heart as well as benefit your blood pressure and prevent cardiac arrest, heart attack and stroke.

Pumpkin seeds are also evidently beneficial to men’s health and more specifically prostate health due to the high concentration of zinc. Zinc is an important mineral to your body as in helps immunity, sleep, mood, senses of taste and smell, eye and skin health, insulin regulation and male sexual function.

Description

Pumpkin seeds come from the fruit pumpkin which is a squash-like gourd in the Cucurbitaceae family of vegetables native to Mexico. You can also find it under its scientific name Cucurbita pepo which originated from the Greek word Pepon which means large melon.

History

Pumpkin seeds where used in America even before the arrival of Europeans explorers. Native Americans used the sweet flesh of this fruit roasted, baked or dried to keep them going in the cold winter as well as the seeds as medication for the treatment of many illnesses.

How to enjoy

The ideal way to eat pumpkin seeds and keep all their nutrients is raw. If you don’t like this you can easily enjoy them roasted but note that roasting time for this seed should not exceed 20 mins as this might cause alteration in the fat of the seed.

Here is a list of our recipes using Pumpkin Seeds:

Arugula Salad with Pumpkin Seeds

Summer seed salad with beetroot

Ways of use and more

• Healthy snack (raw or roasted)
• Preparation of granolas, biscuits, breads or any other baked goods
• Used in salads especially in fruit/vegetable salads (our favorite)