This fall, don’t just decorate your pumpkins – you should eat them too! Pumpkins are loaded with nutrients that are good for kids and adults alike. These vitamins and minerals do everything from boosting your immunity to promoting strong teeth and bones.
Pumpkin dental health nutrients
Vitamin A – Pumpkin is famous as a great source of Vitamin A. You get more than 100% of your daily Vitamin A needs from a serving of pumpkin! Vitamin A, along with vitamin C, helps with gum healing and health.
Vitamin C – You also get 20% of your daily vitamin C needs from just 1 cup of pumpkin. Vitamin C prevents and treats infections and inflammations in the mouth and the rest of the body.
Zinc – Just 1 oz of roasted pumpkin seeds provides you with 3 mg of zinc, which is 1/3 of typical adult daily needs. Zinc helps with teeth and bone density and healthy gums. Toothpastes that contain zinc citrate also help lessen gum bleeding.
Iron – Keeps your tongue and muscles healthy and is also found in pumpkin seeds along with B-vitamins that maintain nerve, muscle, and circulatory health.
Magnesium – 1 oz of pumpkin seeds takes care of 1/3 of an adult’s daily magnesium needs. Magnesium helps to strengthen your tooth enamel making it more resistant to tooth decay.
How to get your pumpkin benefits
You want real pumpkin, not pumpkin flavorings and pumpkin spice lattes (lol). Avoid an overload of sugar! Make sure you use real pumpkin, either from what you pick from the pumpkin field, or canned and sugar-free. In the case of pumpkins, both fresh and canned are full of nutrients.
For fresh, don’t throw away the seeds! These can be roasted and seasoned for a delicious and healthy snack.
You can also make pumpkin fudge, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin bread with a dusting of powdered sugar on top or pumpkin smoothies. Many of these are guaranteed to be a hit with younger children. Yum!
About Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontic Specialists of Michigan, the offices of Drs. Plunkett, Ralstrom, Makowski, Thanasas, Ker, and Associates
Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontic Specialists of Michigan have specialized in pediatric dentistry and orthodontics since 1968. Our family-friendly and newly renovated office gives patients and families a more comfortable and consistent experience with dentistry from the very beginning. Our pediatric dentists treat children from newborn to 18 years of age while our orthodontists provide care for both children and adults and are proud to be Premier Providers of Invisalign and Invisalign Teen services. The ability to treat all patients with compassion and individuality, including those that may have special needs reaches beyond our facility, which has treatment rooms available for children who require additional privacy and customized care options. We pioneered valued hospital affiliations to allow dental services to be performed at DMC Children’s Hospital and St. John Macomb Hospital, when appropriate or necessary, and our specialists are also proud to be on staff at Henry Ford and Beaumont hospitals.
