Mankind has known the pumpkin for many centuries. From this delicious berry, and biologists classify it as a berry, they prepare a wide variety of dishes. But few know that it is also healing. In order to be treated with this vegetable, you need to know how pumpkin is useful.
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Pumpkin: benefits for the woman’s body
92% of this vegetable consists of water, but in the remaining eight there is a whole storehouse of useful substances: fiber, trace elements, vitamins and many other components important for the body.
In terms of carotene content, pumpkin overtakes carrots.
Calorie pumpkin is low - 22 kcal for every 100 g.
Pumpkin is useful to everyone, there are very few contraindications for its use, but women especially need it. What benefits can this vegetable bring to the female body?
- Vitamin A, which is so rich in orange pulp, improves eyesight, strengthens the immune system, helps bones to become stronger, and skin and hair - healthier.
- Pumpkin pulp will relieve swelling, cope with constipation, soothe sore intestines, relieve heartburn.
- If you have insomnia, feel free to include this vegetable in the menu. It will calm and help to establish a dream.
- Pumpkin "on the shoulder" to cope with toxicosis of pregnant women.
- She will save from atherosclerosis.
- High levels of fluoride will prevent caries.
- Low calorie pumpkin dishes will help reduce weight.
- Beauticians really appreciate this vegetable and apply it to a variety of masks with a regenerating, anti-inflammatory and anti-aging property.
Which pumpkin is healthier, raw or processed?
During the heat treatment of the product, some of the useful substances are lost. Therefore, any vegetable is much more useful in its raw form.Pumpkin is no exception.
She has a useful feature - as much as 2 months after collection, this vegetable matures and accumulates useful substances.
- Raw pumpkin can be added to salads, they will be especially good for those who want to lose weight. In addition to vitamins and dietary fiber, this vegetable contains carnitine, which helps to speed up metabolism. It literally burns body fat.
- Vitamin T, and it is also in the pumpkin, strengthens the muscles and tightens the skin, which can sag with rapid weight loss.
- The water this vegetable is so rich in has a completely different structure than the one that flows from the tap. For the female body, it is healing.
- Fiber, which is a lot in pumpkin pulp, perfectly cleanses the intestines.
Porridge made from raw pulp of pumpkin will be useful for the skin, both for its rejuvenation and as a healing agent for burns, wounds and cuts. It has an antiseptic effect and therefore copes well with inflammation and acne.
The benefits and harms of pumpkin seeds
Any seed contains a lot of useful substances, because it can give life to a new plant. Pumpkin seeds are no exception. They have a high content of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, essential oils and glycosides. They have long been used as an excellent and safe anthelmintic. Pumpkin seeds help strengthen hair and prevent hair loss. Gruel from seeds treats skin infections, fights acne. But their benefits are not limited to this.
Pumpkin seed has a multifaceted effect on the female body:
- improves sleep quality, is a preventive measure against depression;
- pushes the onset of hypertension;
- makes the skin smooth and supple, it does not give in to wrinkles for a long time;
- prevents osteoporosis, facilitates the course of arthritis;
- able to normalize blood sugar;
- improves the thyroid gland;
- normalizes blood coagulation;
- improves memory;
- stimulates the production of female sex hormones;
- struggling with anemia.
The harm of pumpkin seeds can be felt if you exceed the daily norm of their use, which is 140 g. A high-calorie product can give an increase in weight.
By the way, it is not necessary to fry seeds - they are more useful in raw form.
The benefits of pumpkin juice
For those people who do not want to eat raw pulp, you can offer another option for using the untouched heat-treated vegetable - to make juice. To improve the taste, add citrus juice or any other vegetables and fruits to the drink. You can sweeten it with honey.
If you drink three quarters of a glass of pumpkin juice several times a week before meals, your liver will cleanse and strengthen, your immunity will improve, and your whole body will rejuvenate.
Pumpkin juice is indispensable for the following health problems:
- anemia
- diabetes
- poor functioning of the cardiovascular system;
- overweight;
- kidney disease and nephrolithiasis.
It is not recommended to drink juice if there is gastritis with low acidity or diarrhea.
Read also:how to bake pumpkin in the oven
Pumpkin oil
It is obtained from seeds by cold pressing. Pumpkin oil retains all the beneficial properties of pumpkin seeds, but the concentration of healing substances in it is much higher. Especially useful oil for women. His cosmetologists really appreciate it. Oil is able to normalize hormonal balance and is especially useful during menopause.
It is interesting: the benefits and harms of pumpkin oil how to take
With its help, the following female diseases can be cured:
- cervical erosion;
- colpitis;
- ovarian inflammation;
- endocervicitis;
- mastopathy.
If you drink a teaspoon of oil daily on an empty stomach, you can normalize the ovulatory cycle, so it is used in the treatment of infertility along with other drugs.
Pumpkin during pregnancy - benefits and harms
A pregnant woman especially needs the vitamins and minerals that this vegetable is so rich in. What are the beneficial properties of pumpkin in pregnancy?
- It has an anti-edematous effect, therefore it is especially useful in the last three months of pregnancy.
- It is an antiemetic, therefore, will help in the fight against toxicosis.
- Pumpkin dishes will give the mother and child the necessary vitamins and minerals.
- Strengthens the immune system and heart muscle.
- It will increase hemoglobin, which will help to avoid fetal hypoxia.
- During pregnancy, the need for calcium is increased. Its deficiency will help to compensate for pumpkin dishes.
- A low calorie vegetable will prevent weight gain.
It must be remembered that pumpkin should not be consumed for allergic reactions to vegetables and low acidity of gastric juice.
Use in cosmetology
Every woman wants to be beautiful, to stay young longer. All parts of the pumpkin will help her in this: pulp, seeds, juice and oil.
- A mask of pumpkin juice. Mix the egg yolk, a teaspoon of honey and three tablespoons of pumpkin juice. The composition is applied to the face and hold for a quarter of an hour. The product is washed off with cold water.
- Pumpkin juice tonic can be used for all skin types. To do this, a gauze napkin folded in several layers is impregnated with juice and applied to the face for a quarter of an hour. Do not forget to wash your face with cold water after the procedure. From 2 to 3 tonic masks are performed per week. To get the effect you need to do about 15 procedures.
- A mask of boiled pulp of pumpkin with sunflower oil in a ratio of 2: 1 moisturizes dry skin well. It is enough to use it once every 10 days.
- If you need to remove puffiness from the face, use a different mask. It is also made from boiled pumpkin, but the vegetable is mixed with honey in the same proportions.
- For quick regeneration of the dermis, you can use the product from pumpkin and walnut oils, taken in equal proportions (one tablespoon each). To this amount of oil is added a teaspoon of lemon juice and half a glass of mashed boiled beans.
- Vitamin mask of boiled pumpkin mixed with dairy products in equal proportions and the addition of vitamin A in the amount of 5 drops will help saturate the skin with vitamins. If the skin is dry - take cream, if oily - kefir. And for normal, yogurt is suitable.
- The following two masks are good for oily skin. Whipped protein from one chicken egg is mixed with a tablespoon of boiled pumpkin. For the second mask you will need the pulp of raw pumpkin (also a tablespoon). The same amount of flour is added to it, 2 times more tomato juice (always freshly squeezed) and a teaspoon of lemon juice. Components mixed to a homogeneous mass should be applied to the skin.
- Grated pumpkin with the addition of applesauce and whipped chicken protein will help to eliminate acne and acne. Pumpkins will need 2 times more than apples.
- If the skin is dry and needs to be moisturized, chopped raw pulp should be mixed with the same amount of fatty cottage cheese.
- With inflamed skin, a mask of a mixture of 2 tablespoons of boiled pumpkin pulp, recently brewed green tea and a teaspoon of bee honey will help. This composition moisturizes and nourishes the skin well.
Contraindications and possible harm from use
Like any product, pumpkin has its contraindications.
- It is strictly forbidden to eat pumpkin for people suffering from an allergic reaction to it. Fortunately, this is rare.
- Do not abuse the sweet varieties of pumpkin for diabetics.
- In the presence of pathology of the digestive system, especially in the acute period, it is necessary to use pumpkin dishes with caution. It is advisable to consult a doctor before this.
Pumpkin is a storehouse of useful substances and has a truly healing effect on the body. But it is impossible to replace it with prescribed medication. Allow nature to only come to the rescue of modern means of pharmacology and then the effect will certainly not take long.