At last year’s Alaska State Fair, Anchorage grower Dale Marshall was given the Giant Pumpkin crown for a record-extending seventh straight year. His gourd weighed in at 2,035 pounds. This honor at the Alaska State Fair usually makes news headlines worldwide. However, pumpkin should be in the headlines a great deal more because it is a nutritional powerhouse.
Pumpkin is packed with proteins, vitamins, and other nutrients. Pumpkin has anti-inflammatory properties and blood sugar-lowering qualities. “Consume a diet abundant in fruits and vegetables, specifically those like pumpkin that are high in potassium, vitamin C and A to help support vision, heart health, immune support and cancer prevention,” said Julia Zumpano, RDN, Digestive Disease Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio.
Contrary to popular belief, pumpkins are technically a fruit because they come from a seed-bearing part of a flowering plant, according to Lizzy Davis, who is the director of the…