Oral Health Benefits of Pumpkin – 2020 Halloween
According to Choosemyplate.gov, pumpkins offer a number of vitamins and minerals which provide great Oral Health Benefits of Pumpkin.
Pumpkin comes from the squash family and offers fiber which is great for improving digestion and feeling full longer when you’re trying to stay healthy or lose weight.
Pumpkins are a staple of Halloween. We see them carved into different Halloween faces. Some of them are spooky, and some are funny.
It’s the time of year where you see pumpkin patches all around, and you can even find them in the grocery store.
Seeing all these pumpkins are amazing, but did you know how many health benefits pumpkins can provide to you and your family’s teeth?
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Pumpkins Contain Lots of Vitamin A – ANTIOXIDANTS
There are 233.00 Micrograms of Vitamin A in pumpkins, and for humans, Vitamin A needed per day is around 700-900 Micrograms for the average male/female aged 19-50.
What is an Antioxidant?
An antioxidant is a substance that removes harmful Oxidizing agents in a living organism.
You can get Vitamin A from supplements or a pill, but getting Vitamin A is better when you’re getting it from a natural source, like a pumpkin.
Vitamin A is great for things like Acne, building tooth enamel, and fixing Dry Mouth.
Pumpkins and Dry Mouth
Almost all prescription drugs have a common side effect which is called Xerostomia, or dry mouth. Millions of elderly people suffer from extreme dry mouth and use solutions such as Biotene to help them.
According to this Pubmed, Vitamin A deficiency has led to a large decrease in saliva production in rats.
Not only does dry mouth make living uncomfortable, but it also makes people more susceptible to cavities. The dry environment of the mouth changes the PH levels and can lead to an increase in likeliness to cavities.
Benefits of Pumpkin When Pregnant
According to the National Institute of Health, Vitamin A helps pregnant women with their fetus’s tissue development and growth. This means their enamel is directly affected by the amount of Vitamin A intake.
Zinc from pumpkin seeds is a great source of your daily zinc intake. Zinc is similar to fluoride where it helps prevent caries by strengthening your enamel.
In this journal article, they have found that zinc actually helps stop cavities from progressing further into the enamel.
Another article says that Zinc is beneficial to prevent and control dental caries, gingivitis, periodontitis, and malodor. Zinc is being added to many Oral Healthcare products to control gingivitis and reduce the amount of plaque and calculus formation.
Don’t have too much Vitamin A because this vitamin gets stored in the Liver which can lead to dizziness, headaches, etc.
Health benefits of pumpkin for babies
LOW CARBOHYDRATES – One Oral Health Benefits of Pumpkin
In 1 cup of pumpkin, there are only about 4 carbohydrates. Whether you’re trying to limit your carbs or you’re on the Keto Diet, this is a great option for you.
Some studies have shown that pumpkins help “decrease blood glucose level in rats”.
For Diabetics, this is great news because they can not have too many Carbs because of the risk of elevated glucose levels.
Pumpkin helps with controlling blood sugar for Diabetics, which helps and slows Diabetes.
Health benefits of pumpkin juice – Potassium and Vitamin A
Potassium is an important nutrient that our body requires daily for reducing blood pressure. Pumpkin is a great source of potassium which helps regular your salt levels in your body.
High blood pressure is a big problem in the United States along with diabetes. A healthy balance of proper diet and exercise is important for staying healthy.
What’s nice is that pumpkin juice is a great tasting drink that is great for most people. Some people love pumpkin flavor, so getting your vitamins naturally in a drink is great.
Health Benefits of Pumpkin Pie
How awesome is that? With the pumpkins all around you at the moment, it’s the perfect time to make a plethora of pumpkin dishes. Pumpkin pie is so tasty though.
Some pumpkin pie recipes for you.
This Old Fashioned pumpkin pie recipe is awesome. The flavor is really good. It has a bunch of great reviews, and you’re using a whole pumpkin, and this pie is made from scratch.
1 SLice of PUmpkin Pie Gives You Half of Your Vitamin A For the day
If you’re like me, then you will get the full amount of Vitamin A in one slice of pumpkin pie because the slices I get are always way too small. Serving sizes make a huge difference.
For more healthy Halloween Tips for your teeth, check out this blog article for some fun ways of staying healthy this 2020 Halloween.
Trowbridge HO. Salivary gland changes in vitamin-A-deficient rats. Arch Oral Biol. 1969 Aug;14(8):891-900. doi: 10.1016/0003-9969(69)90267-2. PMID: 5257838.
