There is still no consensus on the origin of the pumpkin. Some scientists believe that the homeland of the pumpkin was America, others that this culture was brought from China, where it was cultivated at the imperial court.
Useful properties of pumpkin
Pumpkin is a very tasty and healthy vegetable that contains a lot of carotene and vitamins. The pumpkin pulp contains a lot of vitamin D, valuable for the child's body, which enhances vital activity and accelerates growth. The fiber of this vegetable is easily absorbed even by a weakened body, which is why pumpkin dishes are recommended for therapeutic and preventive nutrition.
Since pumpkin contains a lot of salts of copper, iron and phosphorus, which have a positive effect on the process of hematopoiesis in the body, its use is recommended as the prevention of anemia and atherosclerosis.
Pumpkin is also useful for liver and kidney disease. Pumpkin is an excellent regulator of digestion and, due to its high content of pectin, helps to eliminate cholesterol from the body.
Of the organic acids, pumpkin contains mainly malic acid. It contains a sufficient amount of sugary substances: glucose, fructose, sucrose, and 2/3 of the total content of sugary compounds is glucose.
Pumpkin is a real storehouse of mineral compounds. It contains sufficient amounts of calcium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, copper, fluorine and zinc. Pumpkin pulp contains a lot of carotene, vitamins C, group B and other substances useful for the human body that have a positive effect on intestinal function with a laxative effect, at the same time it is a very good diuretic.
Pumpkin dishes are recommended to be included in the diet for patients with hepatitis and cholecystitis, as well as for people with cholelithiasis, chronic colitis and enterocolitis in the acute stage, with diseases of the cardiovascular system (hypertension, atherosclerosis with circulatory failure), with acute and chronic nephritis and pyelonephritis.
Pumpkin recipes:
- Warm Moroccan salad with couscous, orange and pumpkin
- Creamy pumpkin casserole with mushrooms and thyme
- Pumpkin and sea buckthorn cheese
- Veal with pumpkin and carrots with dill sauce
- Pumpkin pizza
- Pumpkin jelly
- Vegetable stew with pumpkin and spices
- Baked pumpkin salad with sheep cheese and herbs
- Cottage cheese casserole with pumpkin and cilantro
- Pumpkin pie with orange, spices and cognac
- Pumpkin souffle
- Pumpkin cookies
- Pumpkin soup with apples without boiling
- Pumpkin salad with arugula, avocado and pomegranate "Oriental pattern"
- Creamy chicken with pumpkin and porcini mushrooms
- Honey ghapama with nuts and dogwood
- Pumpkin salad with apples and raisins
- Pumpkin puree soup with sweet potato and peanut butter
The pumpkin is recommended for pregnant women as a natural antiemetic. It is used for seasickness.
Pumpkin medicinal recipes
For the treatment of kidneys, not the pulp itself is used, but freshly squeezed juice from raw pumpkin - half a glass per day. Pumpkin juice has a calming effect and improves sleep.
In the form of compresses, the pulverized pulp of this vegetable is applied to the affected areas of the skin for eczema, burns and rashes.
It is advisable to eat pumpkin dishes for those who have suffered from viral hepatitis A, due to the fact that its biologically active substances contribute to the resumption of the active antioxidant function of the liver.
Using pumpkin dishes for a long time, you can achieve the removal of excess fluid from the body with cardiac and renal edema. For this purpose, a pumpkin diet is prescribed for 3-4 months (raw, 0.5 kg per day and boiled or baked).
Pumpkin seeds have long been used in folk medicine as an antihelminthic agent, as well as for diseases of the genitourinary organs, especially for spasms that make it difficult to urinate.
In India, pumpkin is used to treat tuberculosis. It has been proven that an aqueous extract of the fruit of this melon culture in a dilution of 1: 10,000 prevents the multiplication of tubercle bacilli.
"Ural gardener", No. 27, 2019
