These flat, oval-shaped green seeds have a deliciously nutty flavor and a crunchy, chewy texture that cultures across the world have come to love.
While some varieties are encased in a yellowish-white shell, many pumpkins produce their seeds without a shell.
A hearty source of the mineral zinc, pumpkin seeds are also packed full of potassium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, antioxidants and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Pumpkin seeds, extracts, and oils have been long touted for possessing strong antimicrobial benefits, including antiviral and antimicrobial properties.
While antioxidants are found in most nuts and seeds, including cacao, it’s the diversity of antioxidants found in pumpkin seeds that makes them unique. This diversity affords pumpkin seeds human health benefits that are rarely found in other foods.
Significant Vitamin E content found in pumpkin seeds, and the uncommon, diverse forms of Vitamin E contained within, contribute to far more health benefits than we might expect, such as helping to seriously strengthen our immune systems and keeping blood vessels healthy.
Pumpkin seeds contain squalene, an antioxidant compound found in all body tissues, which protects skin from UV exposure and other types of radiation. Squalene also supports retinal and eye health.
The presence of Omega 3’s and 6’s in pumpkin seeds improves circulatory health and reduces blood pressure, while reducing LDL (the bad cholesterol), total cholesterol, and fatty buildup on artery walls.
History
Native to the Americas, various species of pumpkin seeds have long grown abundantly throughout North, South, and Central America. In South America, the crop has been traced back to the Aztec people in 1,500 AD.
It is commonly called by its Mexican-Spanish name, pepita, or pepita de calabaza, which means ‘little seed of squash.’
History
Native to the Americas, various species of pumpkin seeds have long grown abundantly throughout North, South, and Central America. In South America, the crop has been traced back to the Aztec people in 1,500 AD.
It is commonly called by its Mexican-Spanish name, pepita, or pepita de calabaza, which means ‘little seed of squash.’
From the Americas, global trade and exploration spread the pumpkin seed across many lands and over many centuries. Throughout the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe, pumpkin seeds have become a standard ingredient in everyday cuisine.
China produces more pumpkin seeds than any other country today, with Russia, Mexico, the Ukraine, and the United States falling not far behind.
Cacao Now products containing pumpkin seeds: gRAWnola and Nuts & Seeds Buddha Bites.