Tired of eating the same kind of food? Yellow pumpkin might be your new alternative. Get to know it better to help you get through a low-calorie diet.
The idea of going on a diet have been causing a lot of people feel uncomfortable. It is due to the common paradigm: diet means limiting on tasty foods.
Although it is true that diet means going on certain restrictions to reduce calories, but diet does not mean limiting our happiness in enjoying foods.
There are plenty of food alternatives which are nutritious, healthy, while still can put a smile on our faces. One of them is a yellow pumpkin.
What are the benefits of yellow pumpkin? Let's get into it.
1. Low calorie
If you are looking for a staple that is low in calories yet fulfilling, yellow pumpkin can be an option. By eating one serving of yellow pumpkin (245 gr), you have consumed only 49 calories (see table 1), this number is much lower than one serving of rice which contains 266 calories. In addition, pumpkin also contains fiber as much as 2.7 grams. The need for fiber per day according to the Indonesia’s Ministry of Health is around 25 grams. That means, eating one serving of pumpkin help you meet 10% of your fiber needs. This amount of fiber can be considered as high as per one meal. On top of that, high fiber foods make us fuller thus prevent us from feeling hungry easily.
Table 1. Comparison of the macronutrients in yellow pumpkin and rice
Source: US Department of Agriculture
2. Rich in vitamins and minerals
Not only is it low in calories, but yellow pumpkin is also high in vitamins and minerals. Potassium, vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin E are abundant in pumpkins (see table 2).
Table 1. The micronutrients of yellow pumpkin and its percentage of RDI
Sumber: US Department of Agriculture
One serving of yellow pumpkin that we consume contributes to vitamin C 12.8% RDI, potassium 12% RDI, vitamin E 13.1% RDI, iron 7.8% RDI, and vitamin A 470% RDI. Reference Daily Intake or RDI is a dietary reference for healthy general population with an estimated total energy of 2000 calories per day.
3. Maintain immune system function
Those who want to stay healthy must pay attention to their immune systems’ functions. One way of doing it is through providing the right nutrition for the body.
Some of the vitamins that are important to keep immune systems healthy are vitamin A, C, and E. Vitamin C, for example, helps in increasing the production of T cells. Vitamin A (beta carotene) aids in activating macrophage cells, and vitamin E plays a role in preventing harmful microbes from entering the skin layers.
The good news is that pumpkin contains all three of these vitamins.
4. Contains antioxidants
Apart from being a good source of nutrition, the consumption of yellow pumpkin also contains beta carotene which functions as an antioxidant in the body. Antioxidants play an essential role in fighting free radicals, which promotes the heart’s health and reduce the risk of cancer and other diseases. Next time, if you are looking for antioxidants, remember to include yellow pumpkin on your list.
Additional Notes
Yellow pumpkin is one of the nutritious foods and are generally safe for healthy normal people. However, in some people, yellow pumpkin can trigger allergies.
Patients who are taking drugs such as lithium also need to be careful when consuming the yellow pumpkin. The diuretic content found in yellow pumpkin, can interfere with the body's ability to excrete lithium, which could lead to serious side effects. Therefore, these patients need to consult their general physicians before consuming yellow pumpkin.
To reap the maximum benefit from yellow pumpkin, choose simpler and healthier cooking methods over complicated ones. Boiling, steaming, and baking are the recommended processing methods as it allows most of the vitamins and minerals in yellow pumpkins remain intact. The long-processed foods such as sweets, cakes, and lattes, involve many processes including the addition of sugars. This certainly reduces the vitamins and minerals contents and is unlikely to be a favor to our health.
Eating low calorie and nutritious foods such as yellow pumpkin is like one of piece of “puzzle” in order to achieve a healthy diet. Another puzzle is finding what nutrition our body need the most that is in line with our genetics.
Know your own nutrition needs according to your genetics with NutriReadyTM. Contact us at wa.me/628119941440 and begin your personalized nutrition journey now!
Leave a Comment