Pumpkin seed oil is universal - it is used for cooking various dishes, used in cosmetology and even drunk as a medicine. The liquid substance is not obtained from the amber pulp of the vegetable, as one might think, but from roasted seeds, which only increases the value of the finished product. Real unrefined pumpkin oil, the benefits and harms of which are discussed today in this material, is one of the most expensive and often faked extracts.
Characteristic
It is possible to establish the authenticity of an oil by several aspects, of which the color is the most unstable and difficult to determine. A quality substance can be dark brown, dark green, bright orange, rusty and almost black - and all this will be a natural product with a wide range of valuable unique properties. Such a difference in color depends not on the type of fatty substance, but on the angle of refraction of the light falling on the container with the liquid. The only condition on the color that will givethe product of the highest grade - its uniformity and saturation, without foreign inclusions and turbidity.
Another point that helps to distinguish a natural product from a fake is its consistency. Real oil, if you drop it on your finger, will not spread, but will harden into a convex hemisphere and will stay in this form for a long time. The next step in determining authenticity is to hold the oil drop to your nose, smell it, and taste it. Pumpkin seed oil, whose benefits are due to its authenticity, has a slight nutty smell and a bitter taste.
You can evaluate the quality of the product without opening the bottle. You should pay attention to the label - it should indicate that the oil is unrefined and represents 100% pumpkin seed extract. Shelf life is an important factor when buying. Oil spilled into a container more than a year ago is not suitable for use, and if the purchase is made in a store where the correct storage conditions are in doubt, then it is better to purchase a product that is no more than 6 months old.
The only container in which the quality of the oil will correspond to the declared one is a dark glass bottle up to 0.5 liters. You need to store it at home at a temperature of 14-18 degrees. It is necessary to use after opening in a short time - within 1-1.5 months. If stored in a refrigerator, the product will thicken and sediment may form. This affects the taste and aroma of pumpkin seed oil, but does not reduce its benefits.
Composition of pumpkin seed oil
With zero protein andcarbohydrates, the fat content of the oil is almost 100% of the nutritional value of the product. This affects the high calorie content of the substance - 897 energy units per 100 g of extract.
The benefits and harms of pumpkin seed oil are expressed by its complex composition:
- vitamins: A, E, K, P, PP, B1, B2, C;
- carotenoids;
- flavonoids;
- phospholipids;
- polyunsaturated fatty acids from the Omega group (all three types);
- saturated fatty acids - palmitic, myristic, arachidic, behenic, stearic;
- monounsaturated fatty acids – oleic, eicosenoic, palmitoleic, erucic;
- micronutrients: zinc, magnesium, selenium, iron, calcium.
How to use pumpkin seed oil? First of all, you should know that this product is lighter than water and its compliance with standard weight measures is different. So, only 4.6 g of extract will enter a teaspoon, 13.5 g in a tablespoon, and 220 g in a regular glass.
Benefits and harms of pumpkin seed oil
In all cases when external use of the extract is indicated, parallel use of it inside is recommended, and the advice applies not only to the fresh product, but also to one of its pharmacy forms - encapsulated. The benefits and harms of pumpkin seed oil in capsules are similar to those that occur after using a liquid substance, with one difference - the pharmacy drug is more difficult to overdose.
The positive properties of pumpkin seed oil extract are as follows:
- acceleration of the regeneration processes of the skin and tissues of internal organs;
- moderate antihistamine property;
- hormonal stabilization;
- reducing the level of "bad" cholesterol in the vessels;
- decongestant effect;
- antiparasitic action;
- elimination of dermatoses of various etiologies;
- strengthening immune defenses;
- improvement of intestinal motility.
How to take pumpkin seed oil, the benefits and harms of which are considered in this material? The positive effect of the extract on the emaciated body, exhausted by long, poorly balanced diets, complex medical or surgical treatment, has been noticed. The high content of useful substances in the composition of the extract compensates for the vitamin deficiency of the body and helps it better cope with microdamages of the mucous tissues of the internal organs. We will talk about the dangers of the product we are considering at the end of the article.
Pumpkin oil for men
If we talk, bypassing the obvious benefits, about the dangers of pumpkin seed oil for men, then the product may have one drawback - its absence from the menu of the representative of the strong half. Selenium, magnesium, zinc - these are the three most important elements included in the extract and are essential for any man of reproductive age.
Hard physical or sedentary work can develop sexual fatigue in a man and, as a result, lead to a reduction in sperm production, reduce the quality of intimate relationships. Making it a habit to add pumpkin seed oil to fresh vegetable salads daily or drink 1 tbsp. spoonful of extract 3 times a daya day half an hour before eating, a man within one month is able to restore libido and return to full sexual relations.
Treatment of the most common male disease - prostatitis, will also be significantly facilitated and bring more results if oil therapy is used in combination with prescribed drugs (of course, taking into account all the benefits and harms). How to take pumpkin seed oil? You need to drink the extract for the entire period of active treatment, when it is extremely necessary to remove swelling from the ducts of the prostate gland and restore normal, painless urine output. This will protect the body from the progression of the disease into a more dangerous form - prostate adenoma, which can provoke irreversible changes in he alth.
After consulting with a urologist and obtaining his consent, it is quite possible to replace some components of complex therapy with pumpkin extract - for example, synthetic oil or gel used to stimulate the prostate during a massage procedure. Microclysters usually prescribed by doctors with "Dimexide" or hydrogen peroxide will bring more inconvenience than gently acting oil ones. To prepare them, you need to mix a quarter cup of water at a comfortable temperature with 1 tbsp. spoon pumpkin oil and inject the liquid into the anus.
Benefits of oil for women
As in the case of the treatment of male diseases, the benefits of pumpkin seed oil for women and the harm from possible negative reactions to it are absolutely unequal. Sometimes the weaker sex prefers betterto endure a mild form of allergy, suppressing it with antihistamines, than to introduce a valuable substance into your daily menu.
Science-backed evidence of pumpkin seed oil benefits (and minor harms) in treating ovulation related infertility. To regulate the egg maturation cycle, doctors advise taking 5 g of the extract every morning before breakfast.
The laxative effect is the main benefit of pumpkin seed oil during pregnancy. The harm of the product is observed with immoderate intake of the substance. For a woman, especially those in the third trimester of childbearing, a small amount of oil consumed daily will help to cope with constipation and relieve tension from the abdominal wall. The light diuretic property of the pumpkin seed extract will remove excess fluid and relieve puffiness.
If the body perceives the substance well, you should not stop taking it after the birth of the child - you can reduce the volume of a single serving by half, and then gradually increase the dose to the usual amount.
Tampons with pumpkin oil, inserted into the vagina by a woman, will help to cope with dermatitis and violation of the microflora of the mucous membrane, relieve a number of unpleasant symptoms of cervical erosion. During the menopause, regular treatment of the vagina with an oily extract is especially recommended for women, because at this time such age-specific diseases as vaginitis and salpingitis appear. Drug therapy does a good job of eliminating the cause of the disease, but entails (in 9 cases out of 10) eitherdrying of the mucous membrane, or discharge with an unpleasant odor. Timely treatment with natural pumpkin oil removes these signs in a short period.
Pumpkin seed oil in the diet
Women and men who develop their own weight loss diets often avoid including fatty oils in them, since the number of energy units in these extracts significantly exceeds the calorie content of many fatty foods. And nutritionists around the world, on the contrary, insist that the daily diet of a losing weight contains at least 30 g of a plant product. So what is pumpkin seed oil - good or bad for the body of a person who has gone on a diet?
A diet devoid of fats and built only on the use of pure proteins and coarse vegetable fiber is not able to form beautiful bodily forms, quickly depletes the body, makes it vulnerable to diseases. A person who puts himself on such restrictions, as a rule, begins to suffer from constipation, his stomach acidity increases, and gastritis develops. It is clear that the result of such weight loss is a complex restorative treatment, during which the patient returns all the lost kilograms. How to avoid it?
First of all, the body must be prepared for a diet by cleaning it of toxins. They begin to do this 2-3 weeks before the diet becomes depleted of its usual foods. They take 5 g of oil, strictly at a certain time - in the morning, between 7:30 and 8:30, that is, before the pancreas enters normalworking rhythm.
When the preparation is over, and the body begins to lose fat in the diet, the amount of oil is tripled and divided into three doses during the day. Instead of drinking the extract on an empty stomach, which not everyone can do, it is allowed to season green salads with it or immediately seize the accepted portion with a piece of black bread. The course lasts 1 month, and repeats after six months.
With existing problems that often accompany the so-called "drying of the body" - hemorrhoids, gastritis, constipation - the benefits of pumpkin oil are enhanced by diluting it 1: 1 with pure grapefruit juice. Drink this mixture in a quarter cup in one gulp, 30 minutes before meals for 14 days. In a serious condition (for example, developing intestinal obstruction), the same composition of oil and juice is additionally injected into the rectum with an enema.
Use in cosmetology
Pumpkin seed oil is not often found in the formulation of ready-made cosmetics, as it is more popularized as a food product and undervalued by manufacturers of skin care cosmetics. However, for many women, based on their feedback on the benefits and harms of pumpkin seed oil, a bottle of rich aromatic extract is an integral part of home beauty treatments.
For the fair sex, who want to prolong the youthfulness of the face, eliminate peeling or give radiance to tired “gray” skin, it is enough to rub 3-5 drops of pure oil between the fingertips before going to bed and “drive” it into the skin with light patsuntil completely absorbed. For additional nutrition, you can add a little honey and a drop of tea tree essential oil to the extract.
Directional face masks with multiple components:
- Whitening. Mix 1 teaspoon of pumpkin oil extract with 1 tbsp. a spoonful of curdled milk. Spread the mixture with a cotton pad on the face, rinse after 10 minutes.
- Cleansing. Rub 7 g of extract in the palms with a small amount of coffee grounds. Massage the resulting scrub onto the face and wash off after 12 minutes.
- Matifying. Mix a tablespoon of coarse oatmeal with 1 tbsp. spoon of liquid honey, 1 teaspoon of pumpkin oil and 0.5 teaspoons of lemon juice. Keep the mass on the face until it starts to dry out, then rinse.
Hot oil compresses are considered especially effective for restoring elasticity, eliminating fine wrinkles and returning a he althy even color to the skin. They are made according to different algorithms - by heating the oil and dipping a gauze cut in it, or separately heating a dry cloth and applying it to the oil-treated face, but the following option is more efficient and economical:
- the face is generously smeared with pumpkin oil and the skin is worked through for a minute at massage points, tapping them with fingertips;
- then a piece of gauze prepared and folded in 6 layers is lowered into a container with very hot (as far as hands can withstand) boiled water, squeezed well and this compress is applied to the face for 10 minutes.
After the procedure, the skinwipe with a dry paper towel.
For he althy hair
What can be said about the benefits and harms of pumpkin seed oil for hair? The acids contained in the extract (and there are more than ten of them) irritate the follicles, encouraging hair to grow, but this is only one of the properties of the rich extract. By rubbing a small amount of a liquid substance into the scalp at least once a week, it is easy to ensure that the itching that torments many in the winter due to wearing hats stops, dandruff stops bothering and the ends of the hair exfoliate.
You can improve your hair by achieving the desired effect using multicomponent formulations:
- Mask for strengthening hair follicles - grate or squeeze 4 cloves of garlic through a press, mix them with a mixture of 1 tbsp. spoon of pumpkin and burdock oils and rub the mass into the scalp. Wear the mask under a warming cap for an hour, then rinse.
- For dandruff - mix together 3 drops of rosemary essential oil and a tablespoon of regular pumpkin seed oil. Make a 10-minute head massage, rubbing the composition, then warm the head with a towel and do this for at least 40 minutes.
- To enhance hair growth - combine three types of oils: pumpkin, grape and walnut. All extracts are taken in a tablespoon. The mixture is applied to the hair, moving from the tips to the roots, and at the end they make an intensive head massage. After 40-50 minutes, the hair can be washed.
If there is no time for complex masks, you can add a valuable extract directly to the balm forrinsing hair. For three tablespoons of a thick balm, take 1 teaspoon of pumpkin oil, mix the mass well and distribute it over freshly washed hair for 3 minutes. It is better to wash off such a composition with water slightly acidified with apple cider vinegar. According to reviews, the effect of regular use of such a mask shows an excellent result.
Preparing the extract at home
Homemade pumpkin oil will not be as concentrated as commercially made and will taste and smell significantly different from store bought. The thing is that buttermakers keep in the strictest confidence such nuances as the roasting time of the seeds, the technique and the frequency of stirring the raw materials during the heat treatment, and all these aspects are very important for obtaining a good result.
Judging by the reviews about the benefits and dangers of pumpkin seed oil, the homemade product only remotely resembles the original and is not worth the effort made to make it. But if the decision to try yourself as a buttermaker has already been made, then you should pay attention to the recipes below. To date, these two methods of preparing the product at home are considered the only ones:
- Boiling method (in water). It is more expedient to call the substance obtained after processing an oil infusion. Three kilograms of peeled pumpkin seeds are well dried, then ground in a coffee grinder to a state of coarse flour. Now the crushed seed must be calcined in a cast iron pan, without ceasing to stir the dry matter. Necessaryto catch the right moment to remove the pan from the fire - at this moment the smell rising from frying will increase many times over. The resulting hot flour is transferred to an enamel bowl and poured with water, covering the powder mass to the thickness of a finger. On low heat, the mixture is brought to a boil and simmered under the lid for about 5 minutes. After cooling, the mass is well squeezed through cheesecloth and poured into a dark glass bottle.
- Oil extraction method. A kilogram of peeled pumpkin seeds is dried, ground in a mortar and poured with 1.5 liters of odorless sunflower or linseed oil. The mixture is poured into a faience or glass container and heated in a low-boiling water bath for at least an hour, making sure that the oil itself does not boil. After the right time, the mass is slightly cooled and squeezed under pressure.
The ideal fraction size of the crushed seed, which retains all the benefits of the whole substance, is 2 mm. According to reviews, for the best result, it is better to crush the seed in a mortar, and then sift it, or use a manual grinder, which allows you to achieve the desired grain size of the substance. The temperature regime of seed processing is also very important and should not exceed 85 degrees when roasting and 65 degrees when squeezing.
Harms of pumpkin seed oil and special considerations
The high cost of oil is most likely to blame for this, but people's attitude towards such a he althy and tasty product has developed a specific one - like a cough syrup or a healing elixir, which must be taken in a strict dosage. Already many experts seriouslywarn against serious consequences that can overtake a person if he accidentally drinks two instead of a teaspoon of extract, but this is far from the case.
If the human body does not respond to the use of an oily substance with an allergic reaction and has no medical contraindications to the components of fragrant and he althy pumpkin seed oil - how to take the extract, he can decide for himself. Of course, you should not get carried away with drinking the product on an empty stomach - such an uncontrolled "treatment" will spoil even the most resistant organism, but you can safely add the substance to fresh salads from raw and boiled vegetables.
He alth situations in which the benefits and harms of pumpkin seed oil for a particular person should be assessed by the attending physician:
- calculous cholecystitis;
- diabetes mellitus type 2;
- allergy;
- gallbladder disease and inflammation of the bile ducts;
- common diarrhea, vomiting, heartburn;
- abdominal cramps of unknown etiology;
- destabilization of the acidic gastric environment.
It is easy to rule out individual intolerance when using oil for the first time. It is enough to put a few drops of dark extract on a small piece of bread and eat it. If the product is to be used externally, rub a small amount of oil on the inside of the wrist and evaluate the result after 15 minutes.
