A simple look at the vitamins fiber and health benefits in pumpkin and how it can support immunity all season long
It is officially the fall season and while everyone is busy with a not so mild obsession with butternut squash, I want to shine a little light on another seasonal favorite. Pumpkin deserves more attention than what it gets in the form of pumpkin spice lattes because many of those drinks and treats are flavored with syrups and sugars that do not offer the real health benefits of actual pumpkin. If you love fall flavors you can absolutely enjoy that taste while also giving your body something nourishing.
Pumpkin is a winter squash and part of the same plant family as cucumbers and melons.. Even though we think of it like a vegetable in our cooking, it is technically a fruit since it contains seeds. It is also a fun global food. Pumpkins are native to North America but are grown on every continent except Antarctica. That tells you how versatile they are and why they show up so often during this time of year.
There are far more varieties of pumpkin than most of us realize. The first one that comes to mind for many people is the pumpkin used for carving. Those are great for decorations but not for eating. Pie pumpkins or sugar pumpkins are the ones that work best in recipes. They look more like a small butternut squash in size and shape and have a smoother texture and sweeter flavor. They are what you want for soups or roasting. You definitely want to avoid eating your jack o lantern. It has been carved open and sitting outside and the texture is not ideal anyway.
Nutritionally pumpkin behaves like a vegetable. One cup of cooked, boiled, or drained pumpkin (without salt) has 49 calories, very little fat, a small amount of protein, and 12 grams of carbs with almost 3 grams of fiber. What gets interesting is how different canned pumpkin can be. One cup of canned pumpkin has more calories, more fat, more fiber, and a bit more protein. This is why I always say read the labels. Pumpkin on its own is low in calories, fat, sugar, and protein while being naturally higher in fiber. The carbs mostly come from natural starches unless something is added, which is why it pays to look at the ingredient list on canned pumpkin.
Pumpkin also gives us vitamins and minerals that support our wellbeing during the fall season when immunity tends to matter even more. It provides a lot of vitamin A from beta carotene and alpha carotene which give the pumpkin its rich orange color. It also contains vitamin K, copper, vitamin E, iron, and smaller amounts of magnesium, riboflavin, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and potassium. These vitamins work together in ways that support immunity and overall metabolic health. Focusing on metabolic health, we know fiber and beta-carotene play a key role in that. Vitamin A has some connection in supporting immune health, potentially because it can strengthen intestinal lining which may support resistance to infection. Vitamin C in pumpkin also supports immune health, as I like to call it, nature’s antihistamine. With the vitamin C, beta-carotene and some of the other micronutrients in pumpkin we also see support for skin health, as they protect the skin barrier and the look of it too, plus support for eye health.
All of this suggests that adding pumpkin to your meals can be helpful especially when you choose fresh or canned pumpkin without extra sugars or additives. That means pumpkin pie pumpkin muffins and pumpkin spice lattes are probably not the sources offering those health benefits. Instead think soups, stews, curries or even chili. Pumpkin works beautifully in a fall chili in place of beans. If you use butternut squash often you can swap pumpkin into those same recipes for a similar result. This is a great moment to use what you now know and make choices that feel intentional. Then have fun experimenting with the canned pumpkin that is already sitting on your shelf.
I would love to know how you feel about pumpkin. Have you tried adding it to soup, stews or roasting it on its own during the fall season?