Surprising Health Benefits of Pumpkin: Boost Immunity, Improve Digestion, and More!

The ancient Egyptians called the honey gourd fruit by the hieroglyphic word (Dab), which  we notice is very similar to the pronunciation of the pre-Islamic Arabic name (Dabaa). The gourd was mentioned in the  Hearst Medical Papyrus among some therapeutic prescriptions.. While this fruit is currently called in  Egypt and some countries of the Arab East (honey gourd) and sometimes (Istambulan gourd), in  Lebanon (Laqtin), in Iraq (Shajar), and among the people of the Arab Maghreb (Salawi).

Abu Bakr al-Razi said:

(If a child eats pumpkin, it will cause stomach upset and quench his thirst. Its seeds are among the medicines used for burning urine and stomach heat.)

Ibn Sina said:

(Pumpkin juice soothes acute earache, especially with rose oil, and is beneficial for  brain tumors and cerebral palsy - obsessive-compulsive disorder - beneficial for sore throat. Boiled pumpkin juice is beneficial  for coughs, fevers, and chest pain. Its juice is inhaled for toothache, quenches thirst,  and is beneficial for fevers. Pumpkin seeds expel worms).

Boost Your Immunity Naturally with Pumpkin: The Power of Nutrients

Pumpkin is superior to all other types of cucurbits in terms of nutritional value, as every 100 grams of the fruit contains about 90% water, 1% protein, 0.2% fat, and several important building blocks for the body, most notably curcumin, peptoside,  citrulline acid, leucine, and nitrosine, in addition to a high percentage of carbohydrates  that give the body high thermal energy, as well as a large percentage of vitamin A,  especially carotene, which ranges between (20 to 100 mg) per kilogram  , and thus pumpkin is considered one of its most important major sources, while the percentage of  vitamin B increases to about (180 mg) per kilogram of pumpkin, and an appropriate amount  of vitamin C, and several different percentages of important mineral salts such as calcium,  iron, and phosphorus.

It is worth mentioning that pumpkin is easy to digest and the metabolism  of its various elements is fast without straining the digestive system. Therefore, it is considered a great  and very useful food as it can be eaten in the form of vegetables cooked with meat or in  the form of soup or as dessert dishes such as khushaf, pudding, cake, pies  , jams, etc. where maximum benefit can be gained from pumpkin to provide the body with its necessary needs to maintain its degree of activity and vitality.

Health Benefits of Pumpkin for Digestion: How It Helps Improve Your Gut Health

Several studies have shown that eating pumpkin in its various forms is very beneficial in maintaining the health of the digestive system and heart, activating the kidneys, and combating rheumatism and chronic constipation. One medical observation indicates that pumpkin seeds have calming effects, reduce fevers, and expel intestinal worms, especially the tapeworm. The peels of the fruits are also very effective in removing inflammation and skin blisters and relieving the pain of burns and bruises. Experts have confirmed the benefit of eating pumpkin in increasing urination. There are many medical conditions that are beneficial for pumpkin fruits and seeds, which can be eaten raw or roasted without being exposed to any harmful side effects, no matter how intensive the doses are.

It is prescribed to treat cases of

General weakness, dysuria, gastrointestinal disorders, intestinal worms, dysuria, prostate enlargement, rheumatism, heart and circulatory diseases, convalescents from diseases and after surgery.

Internal uses:

For those recovering from illnesses and cases of general weakness,  it is recommended to eat pumpkin in its various forms, whether cooked with meat, in soup, or in the form of a stew sweetened with sugar or jam.

For colon problems, kidney laziness, high body temperature and laziness...  drink a decoction of raw pumpkin seeds after peeling them, sweetening the drink with a little honey or rock sugar. The appropriate daily dose is a cup in the morning on an empty stomach and another in the evening before bed, or three cups daily.

- For cases of prostate enlargement and dysuria,  use a decoction of pumpkin seeds after peeling and crushing them well (20 grams of seed powder per cup of boiling water), then sweeten with sugar or honey, and eat the fruits.

- To kill intestinal worms and expel the single worm in the stomach..  Small intestinal worms are small, white, cylindrical in shape, ranging in length from 3-10 cm. They begin their growth in the small intestine and then exit from it to the large intestine, where the female worm heads to the outer area of ​​the anus to lay her eggs on its edge during the night. It is known that infection with these worms is often caused by eating contaminated foods, especially for many children.

These worms can be eliminated by taking pumpkin seed powder with a little rock sugar, at a rate of one teaspoon in the morning on an empty stomach daily for about a week or more to ensure the killing and expulsion of this type of harmful parasites, without any complications or harmful side effects, no matter how dense the doses are. Thus, we notice that pumpkin seeds are more effective than the greatest types of modern drugs and chemical preparations.

External uses:

To remove ear infections and eye tumors, use pumpkin peel juice mixed with a little rose oil in the form of drops, either for the ear or the eye, at a rate of two drops on the affected area topically twice daily, the first in the morning after waking up from sleep and the other in the evening before bed.

- To speed up the healing of bruises and burns,  use burnt pumpkin peels - ash - to sprinkle on the affected areas three times a day to help speed up the healing, or make a warm compress from the peels and seeds.

> Find out how to grow pumpkins in your home garden with our article on [How to Grow Pumpkins].