Fall and pumpkins seem to go hand in hand, so it comes as no surprise that you’ll want to use more of it during this season. Not only do pumpkins make great jack-o-lanterns, but they have some excellent health benefits.
Pumpkin is delicious and extremely versatile, especially in baked goods, but it is also good for you. Pumpkin is often considered a superfood and includes the following health benefits.
Pumpkin Can Improve Your Vision
If you have been looking for natural ways to improve your vision and reduce vision loss related to the aging process, pumpkin is a great place to look. It has unique healing properties and nutrients that are known to boost vision and eye health, including beta-carotene. This can convert to vitamin A in the body, which is what you really need for
proper eye health. The serving size of pumpkin per day to help with vision and other health benefits is about a cup of pumpkin. The antioxidants in pumpkin may also help with preventing cataracts and macular degeneration.
Pumpkin is Great for Heart Health
Everyone should be concerned about their heart health, regardless of how healthy they think they are. You are susceptible to heart problems if you don’t eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly, but even if you do, you should still look for other ways to boost your cardiovascular health. If you like the taste of pumpkin, you’re in luck, because it can be great for your heart and reducing your blood pressure. Pumpkin has a high amount of potassium, which is good for helping to treat hypertension, or high blood pressure.
It Helps to Improve Your Skin
Another excellent health benefit of pumpkin is that it helps to give you more youthful skin. Pumpkin contains nutrients like beta-carotene that are not only good for your eye health, but can protect your skin from sun damage. Those UV rays are very harsh, and even with sunscreen, you might need a little extra protection. You get this from these nutrients, which pumpkin has plenty of. You can consume the pumpkin or use it to make a face mask that protects your skin and leaves it looking more youthful.
You Can Improve Your Immune System
If you tend to get ill in the fall, such as with seasonal colds or allergies, you can boost your immune system with pumpkin. It has vitamins and nutrients to boost your immune system, including antioxidants and vitamin A, that build up your immunity gradually so you have a better chance at fighting off illnesses and viruses.
Two Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins
Here’s a super-simple recipe for pumpkin muffins. Seriously, it so simple you won’t believe it!
Ingredients:
- 1 can pumpkin puree
- 1 spice cake mix
That’s it! Mix the two ingredients together really well, spoon it into muffin cups in your muffin tin, and bake for 45-60 minutes at 350.
Using the spice cake mix eliminates having to add nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, etc, as it’s already mixed into the cake mix.
Extras
If I have them on hand, I will add an egg or two, some raisins or dates, and some chopped walnuts. But these are all optional. The muffins will come out heavy. I love them, and so do my kids. I’m sure you and yours will too. Enjoy!
