Pumpkins and sweet potatoes can help with blood pressure, blood sugar and cancer risk
In South Florida, the leaves don’t turn orange but the entrance to the supermarket is bursting with color. Pumpkins are everywhere, backed by sweet potatoes and butternut squash.
These colorful fall foods are great choices for bountiful nutrition.
Pumpkins are carved for Halloween, but for holiday baking most people reach for a can of pumpkin puree.
Read the label to be sure you are getting pure puree. Pumpkin pie mix contains spices, which is convenient, but more sugar than you might use in your recipes.
One cup of pumpkin puree has 50 calories, 3 grams of fiber and 250 percent of your daily value for vitamin A. A pumpkin’s bright orange color screams antioxidant activity. Pumpkins contain alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin and other carotenoids, which may protect your cells against damage by free radicals. Less free radical damage lowers risk for cancer.
Pumpkin is also one of the best sources of lutein and zeaxanthin, two plant compounds linked to lower risks of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts.
Pumpkin seeds, also known as pepitas, are another way to add pumpkin goodness to your intake. Pumpkin seeds are high in magnesium, manganese, iron and copper. In the United States, around 79% of adults have a magnesium intake below the recommended daily amount. Magnesium is important for hundreds of body functions including controlling blood pressure, reducing heart disease risk, and controlling blood sugar levels.
For more orange, reach for sweet potatoes. I hope you are enjoying these delicious root vegetables year round. A medium sweet potato has 5 grams of fiber. These orange tubers might have sweet in their name but they have a low glycemic index, meaning they don’t spike blood sugar levels.
Their color indicates a high concentration of diseasereducing carotenoids. They are an excellent source of potassium for blood pressure control as well as vitamin C and niacin. Orange is a good color for food.
Sheah Rarback is a registered dietitian nutritionist in private practice in Miami. srarback@hotmail.com