Fall, Fall, We All Love Fall

Every season has their signature food or flavor that is the mascot. Pumpkins are everywhere around fall; carving pumpkins, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pie.. pretty much every food seems to have a pumpkin version this time a year. Thankfully there are benefits to pumpkin this.. and pumpkin that..

Ever wonder why pumpkins are the vibrant orange color they are? They get their color from carotenoids and when we consume pumpkin products it turns into vitamin A in our bodies. If you are one of those people who cannot read the menu in a dim restaurant because the lack of light, then vitamin is your new best friend. Vitamin A is responsible for vision health, particularly in regards to amount of lighting needed. 

With the change in seasons also comes change in weather. The bummer about the colder weather, is it seems to have a pestering follower...the flu. It is widely known that vitamin C is the main fighter when it comes to flu and usually that means drink up your O.J. However, when you are sitting down at the thanksgiving table have a slice of pumpkin pie you can easily justify pushing back the boundaries of darkness to eat that last piece, knowing you are also loading up on vitamin C. So in a round about way, by busting the button on your pants, you are saving yourself bed confinement and tissue over load. 

It seems with every new year comes millions of people setting their resolution to lose weight, well this year be ahead of the crowd! There is never one simple answer when it  comes to weight loss but one trick to eliminate calories is to consume more fiber. Fiber is a macronutrient that fills you up quicker and keeps you full longer. Lucky for us pumpkins are high in fiber. By adding pumpkin into a traditional dish you are increasing the nutrient value and saving yourself calories. 

We all love fall, and pumpkins...well now we do. Just remember pumpkins are more useful...they don't always just have to be carved.