What is a pumpkin, probably everyone knows. From it you can cook many delicious and he althy dishes. But few people realize that a real natural first-aid kit is hidden under a thick crust. So what are the medicinal properties of common pumpkin and how is this bright fruit useful for the human body?
Description
Common gourd belongs to gourds. It is an annual plant with a creeping stem that can be up to 10 meters long and has spiky pubescence.
The leaves of the plant are large, up to 25 centimeters long, five-lobed. To the touch, they, like the stem, are prickly, as they are covered with many short, stiff hairs. In the axils of the leaves there are tendrils twisted into a spiral, with which the pumpkin during the growth period can cling to the plants or objects surrounding it.
Large yellow or orange flowers are pollinated most often by bees. Pumpkin blooms in June-July.
Pumpkin fruits are spherical or oval. From above they are covered with a hard, smooth crust, and inside there is a tenderpulp and many flat, tear-shaped seeds 1-3 cm long. Pumpkins can grow in diameter from a few centimeters to 50 or more. Their color, size and shape depend on the variety.
Chemical composition
The chemical composition of common pumpkin is of interest to many. The fruit is valued not only for taste. It has many useful properties. All this thanks to the rich chemical composition:
- The pulp contains up to 11% sugar and up to 20% starch. It is also saturated with vitamins C and E, a number of B vitamins. There is more carotene in pumpkin pulp than in carrots. The composition contains such important trace elements as potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, as well as nicotinic acid, pectin, fiber, enzymes and vital proteins that enter the body only with food.
- Pumpkin seed contains up to 40% fatty oil. Its composition is no less diverse: lenolenic, oleic, palmitic, stearic and organic acids, vitamins, carotenoids, amino acids.
- Pumpkin flowers contain phytosterols and carotenoids.
Benefits for the human body
Pumpkin has a lot of benefits for the human body. Not only is it very tasty, which is why it is widely used for cooking various dishes. It also has medicinal properties. For this, not only the pulp is used, but also the seeds and flowers. Pumpkin perfectly cleanses the body of toxins and toxins. And it contains very few calories, so it is indispensable indiet food.
How is pumpkin useful for the human body? It helps to improve the digestive processes, activating them, and at the same time effectively cleanses the intestines due to the presence of fiber.
This is an excellent diuretic that helps relieve the discomfort felt by people with kidney failure, eliminates swelling.
Pumpkin promotes vitality, while relieving depression, mood swings and insomnia.
In medicine
Healing properties of common pumpkin have been known for a long time. With regular use, it will help get rid of many ailments:
- Upper Respiratory Diseases.
- Problems with the kidneys and genitourinary system.
- Gastrointestinal diseases.
- Liver disease.
- Disorders in the cardiovascular system.
- Gout, atherosclerosis, arthrosis, caused by a violation of water-s alt metabolism in the body.
- Anemia.
There is an opinion that pumpkin is forbidden for diabetes, but this is not so. You just need to consult a doctor and eat it in limited quantities.
How to apply
Sometimes, to eliminate he alth problems and improve the functioning of the body, it is enough just to include pumpkin in your diet. But there are many recipes that have stood the test of time:
- For colds, grate the raw pulp and mix with rye flour, diluted with warm milk. Should be pastyweight. Form small cakes from it and, wrapping them in gauze, apply to the chest and back.
- When coughing, take a kilogram of pulp, cut it and pour a liter of water. Boil over low heat for about an hour. Strain the resulting broth and add one tablespoon of chopped ginger root and licorice. Boil for another 10 min. Take 1 tbsp. l. overnight.
- Pumpkin syrup helps with inflammation of the bladder. Prepare it as follows: cut off the top of the pumpkin with the stalk. Remove the seeds and fibers, leave the pulp. Pour a glass of sugar inside, cover with a towel. After 5-6 hours, juice will appear, which must be drunk three times a day, a tablespoon.
- For the liver, the remedy is prepared similarly to the previous recipe, only sugar is replaced with honey. Take medicine in the morning on an empty stomach.
- With hemorrhoids, it is recommended to drink pumpkin juice in the morning and in the evening, 50 ml each. Course - 1 month. Juice must be freshly prepared.
- Also, juice mixed with honey helps with neuroses. Dissolve a tablespoon of honey in 1/2 cup of juice.
Which pumpkin is he althier: raw or cooked?
Disputes about the best way to use pumpkin do not subside for a moment. Of course, in raw fruits, all vitamins and trace elements are preserved in their original form. However, people with a weak gastrointestinal tract, the elderly and children are better off using heat-treated pumpkin. So it is better absorbed than raw. It can not only be boiled, but also baked.
Adherents of a raw food diet are advised to eat only maturefruits to avoid possible problems.
Slimming
Pumpkin is an ideal product for those who follow their figure or want to lose weight. Here is how pumpkin is useful for an overweight person:
- Has a very low calorie content. There are only 26 kcal per 100 g of product, of which most are complex carbohydrates and some protein. Fats are practically absent. Therefore, dishes from it are well saturated and have a low calorie content. And you can cook a lot of things from pumpkin. Even pumpkin diets have been developed.
- Pumpkin cleanses the intestines like a brush. Removes waste and toxins from the body. Normalizes the digestive tract, relieving constipation.
- It also relieves the accumulation of water, eliminating swelling. But these are also extra pounds and centimeters.
- You don't have to eat pumpkin alone to get slim. Monodiets are tiring. It is enough to make it the basis of your diet. After all, the fruit is combined with almost all products.
Benefits of pumpkin seeds
Pumpkin seeds are loved on a par with sunflower seeds, only they are more rare. They have a lot of useful substances, but still they should not be abused due to their high calorie content. It is best to feast on dried or raw seeds, because during heat treatment most of the active components are lost or destroyed.
It is also worth noting that due to the large amount of zinc, pumpkin seeds are very useful for men. After all, they are the basis for the development of the mainmale hormone - testosterone.
Uses
What else are seeds good for:
- From parasites. You can eat the seeds like this or make such a mass: crush the peeled grains and mix with honey and milk. Take 2 tbsp. l.
- For diseases of the urinary system, take 200 g of peeled pumpkin and hemp seeds, grind and pour boiling water (3 tbsp.). Insist 2 hours, strain. Take half a cup 3 times a day.
- To purify the blood, take a glass of peeled grains, finely grind and pour 100 ml of vodka. Infuse for 2 weeks, then filter and add 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice. Drink a tablespoon several times a day.
- With prostatitis, twist 0.5 kg of unpeeled young seeds in a meat grinder and mix with a glass of honey. Place in refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Then make small balls with a diameter of no more than 1.5 cm from the resulting mass. Every morning you need to eat 1 piece on an empty stomach, no later than half an hour before eating.
Pumpkin Flowers Application
Pumpkin color has also found its use in folk medicine. A decoction is made from it and used externally and internally.
To prepare a remedy, you need to collect fresh flower stalks and grind them. Next, take 2 tablespoons of flowers and pour a glass of boiling water. Place the container in a water bath and boil for 10 minutes. Then remove and cool. Only then can the decoction be filtered. Externally, the agent is used to wash purulent wounds or wipe problem skin instead of lotion. Inside, a decoction of pumpkin flowers can be used at high temperatures and as an expectorant. The systematic intake of a decoction is able to normalize water-s alt metabolism.
Pumpkin Oil
Pumpkin seed oil differs from other vegetable oils in its specific aroma and color. It is dark green or orange (brown). It is obtained by cold pressing, so that all useful substances are preserved in it. It is used both for the treatment of existing diseases and for their prevention.
What is useful pumpkin oil:
- strengthening immunity;
- normalization of hormonal levels;
- improvement of the digestive tract;
- positive effect on blood vessels and the cardiovascular system as a whole;
- prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases;
- lower bad cholesterol.
How to use: Drink 1 teaspoon of oil shortly before meals. Oil can be taken up to 3 times a day, no more, as there is a risk of getting an overdose of carotene, which is rich in the product.
Pumpkin in cosmetology
Due to the large amount of vitamins and active ingredients, pumpkin is often used in cosmetology to maintain the beauty of skin and hair. For the skin, pulp, oil and juice are used. For hair - juice and oil, less often pulp.
The most popular remedy that can be made from the pulp of a pumpkin is a face mask. Depending on the additional components, it can be nourishing or moisturizing:
- Universal mask suitable for all skin types. It will cleanse and nourish the epidermis with vitamins. Mix one tablespoon of boiled pumpkin puree in equal proportions with yogurt or kefir. Apply the mixture on the face for 15 minutes and rinse.
- For dry skin, the mask is prepared like this. Boil a piece of fruit in milk and mash it into a pulp. Add some honey and yolk. Mix thoroughly.
- For oily skin, the following mask is suitable: mix a tablespoon of grated pumpkin pulp with egg white. This mixture brightens age spots and tightens pores. Pumpkin is taken raw.
Contraindications to the use of pumpkin
Despite the large number of positive aspects, this fruit also has contraindications:
- Individual intolerance.
- Don't eat pumpkin in large quantities if you have diabetes.
- Exacerbations of gastrointestinal diseases.
- Be careful when you're pregnant. Too much vitamin A can cause miscarriage.
It is also worth considering that with excessive consumption of pumpkin or products from it, due to the high content of carotenoids, false carotene jaundice may appear. This manifests itself in the form of yellowing of the skin and their excessive dryness.
Pumpkin in cooking
Pumpkin can be used in a lot of dishes, but desserts take precedence due to its sweet taste.
Sweet milk porridges are prepared with pumpkin. You can make jam. For 3 kg of pulp, you need to take a kilogram of sugar. Cut the pumpkin into small pieces and sprinkle with sugar, put on fire. 10 minutes after boiling, add sliced lemon or orange for extra flavor and aroma. An hour later, the jam is ready.
