Pumpkin Benefits (According to Ayurveda)

CLINICAL AYURVEDIC REVIEW

Pumpkin is best shared among friends and family, as it invites feelings of contentment and relaxation. Soft yet hearty, pumpkin will satisfy your stomach on a cool autumn day. Its mildly sweet taste is undoubtedly comforting.

From pumpkin soup to pumpkin pie, this versatile vegetable can be used in both sweet and savory dishes, inviting a warm orange glow to your autumnal dining table. Whether you're visiting a pumpkin patch, carving this year's jack-o-lantern, or sharing a piece of pie on Thanksgiving, pumpkin is at the core of many memorable experiences. Even seeing one conjures images of the autumn harvest and evokes the scents and smells of Halloween.

Sit Back & Relax

Enjoy a steamy bowl of pumpkin soup on a blustery autumn day to bring a sense of calm to a swirling mind or relieve agitated thoughts.

After eating pumpkin, you may feel a little sleepier than normal. Pumpkins have long been utilized as a natural sedative. It is a heavy, grounding and nutritive food.

This mild sedative effect is supported by its magnesium and potassium content, which reduces tension in the body and relax the muscles.

It is also high in tryptophan which encourages sound sleep and balances moods by increasing serotonin.

A pinch of nutmeg compliments, and further enhances, the relaxing effect of pumpkin.

Soothe & Protect

The gooey, demulcent qualities of cooked pumpkin coats the digestive tract and acts like a protective barrier to the mucus membranes. This can actually be felt as you swallow the soft pumpkin, which leaves a coating sensation.

Pumpkin is particularly pacifying for Pitta dosha as it is mildly sweet, cool in energy, and drying by nature, making it a traditional Ayurvedic remedy for soothing ulcers, acid reflux, an irritated gut, and in cases of a hot, burning digestive tract.

Glowing Skin

The glowing amber hues of pumpkin skin are used to increase the lustre and glow of your skin too.

Pumpkins contain high levels of beta-carotene, a pigment that gives certain fruits and vegetables their rich orange, yellow and red colors. The body converts this beta-carotene into Vitamin A which benefits the skin, the eyes and balances Pitta dosha.

This, along with pumpkin's Vitamin C and E content, plays an essential role in the health, development and maintenance of the skin by minimizing cell damage caused by free radicals and protecting the skin from premature aging, leaving it feeling soft and supple.

In Ayurveda, these anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients are recognized as playing an important part of rejuvenation of the body (rasayana) as they help slow down the aging process, enhance longevity and regeneration of cells.

The body can also be massaged with pumpkin oil to promote healthy skin.

Light & Satisfying Food for Weight Loss

Don't let the association with rich pumpkin pie skew your vision of this vegetable and its role in weight loss. Even though pumpkin satisfies the stomach, it is light and dry in nature. This means it can be part of a diet supporting weight loss and balancing Kapha dosha.

Pumpkin's earthy quality and high fibre content leave you feeling fuller for longer. Even though it is comforting, it feels light in the stomach and has a low calorie content. You can actually experience the lightness of pumpkin for yourself - it has an airy texture in the mouth.

Effect on Digestion

For most people, pumpkin can help promote a regular bowel movement by both bulking and softening the stools. Pumpkin's demulcent qualities and soluble fibre content softens stools, while insoluble fiber adds bulk to stool that is healthy for constipation. When tension causes constipation, pumpkin is the traditional Ayurvedic remedy for both.

Pumpkin's soothing effect is especially helpful for those with inflamed or irritated bowels. Perhaps you never even thought about pumpkin as being a cold vegetable.

Some Vata types will experience gas and constipation from pumpkin's cold, diuretic, and difficult to digest nature. Gourds (such as cucumber, zucchini, cantaloupe, watermelon, and pumpkin) are known diuretics that can dry out a Vata constitution.

The remedy for pumpkin's coldness is warming digestive spices such as nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, allspice, cinnamon and cloves. These spices help keep your tummy nice and toasty and dispel the gas that dry pumpkin can create.

Vata types can also benefit from adding a little ghee, a pinch of mineral salt and even a squeeze of lemon in savory dishes to improve digestibility and balance the dryness of pumpkin.