Pumpkin seeds help fight cancer cells, enlarged prostate

Choose pumpkin SEEDS over pumpkin SPICE

It’s almost autumn, and that means the days are getting shorter, the nights are getting colder, and pumpkin spice aficionados are busy pumping the popular flavor into everything you can imagine.

It’s not just the pumpkin spice latte everybody goes crazy for. Pumpkin-flavored teas, cereals, pastas, cookies, yogurt, and more have already started popping up on grocery store shelves and restaurant menus.

And while these sugary treats might be a bit too sweet for some of us, that doesn’t mean we should drop pumpkin from our diets altogether.

Research shows that if you haven’t been trying the many varieties of pumpkin out there — and if you’ve been throwing out the seeds — you’re missing out on important health benefits!

Last October, I told eTips readers about a study that found pumpkin seed extract has tremendous medicinal value for enlarged prostates, and it can even slow cancer progression.

In the study, researchers found that pumpkin seed extract reduced prostate size by up to 20 percent — which is A GODSEND if you’re one of the half of all men over age 60 with benign prostate hyperplasia, a.k.a. an enlarged prostate.

In a lab dish, pumpkin seed extract was able to slow the progression of breast, prostate, and colon cancer cells by nearly half.

This is likely because of the plant sterols, a.k.a. phytosterols, which were shown to slow cancer cell growth and reproduction.

Now, this study did focus on the extract from the Styrian pumpkin, which produces those hulless, green “pepitas” and not the pumpkins you see on a doorstep.

But, of course, that doesn’t mean you need to ignore the innards of the bright orange version your kids or grandkids are eager to carve.

The seeds and guts of carving pumpkins are loaded with beta-carotene, a super antioxidant found in foods with an orange hue (like carrots) that can help keep cancer at bay.

The beta-carotene is good for your eyes, too. So are the vitamins A and E that you’ll also find in pumpkin.

Pumpkins are also rich in potassium, and a 2011 study in rats showed that pumpkin seed extract significantly reduced blood pressure after just six weeks. As long as it’s not used in those sugary lattes, pies, or other unhealthy treats, pumpkin’s high-fiber content makes it a great tool to promote weight loss.

You can replace oil or butter with pumpkin puree in almost any baking recipe, or you can mix it with your yogurt or morning power smoothie with other potassium-rich foods (like banana, pineapple, and orange) to get a nutrient boost.

The seeds alone are also a delicious snack when toasted. When you and the grandkids finish carving, just clean the seeds, drizzle with some olive oil, and bake on a cookie sheet for a tasty snack!

You can get pepitas in the bulk department of your local grocery store or ethnic food market. They’re great in salads and stir fry — and they “pop” when you heat them up in a pan. Or get the benefits by using pumpkinseed oil, which is extracted from the seed of the Styrian pumpkin.

Just limit your intake of those sugary sweets I mentioned earlier, or the scariest thing about your Jack-O-Lantern will be its wasted health benefits!