Pumpkin: Fall's Superfood for swimmers!

QHealth Tips is written by Martha Cardenas, a Holistic Nutrition professional. Q Swimwear publishes it as general wellness information for swimmers. It is not medical advice — talk to your own healthcare provider before changing your diet, supplements or training.

Pumpkin Season Can Boost Your Sport Performance

October is a month tinted with orange in all its various shades. We are used to thinking about performance in terms of fancy supplements, but we rarely think about food. Natural food. Food is information. Food is connection. Food is energy. Food is medicine. Long before the food, pharmaceutical and supplement industries, humans could conquer physical challenges relying on food and food only, water, and rest.

Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S., author of The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, includes pumpkin as one of the most healthy vegetables we can consume. Consider these:

• One cup provides 564mg of potassium — 33% more than bananas. Have you ever experienced cramps while training? Potassium along with sodium is critical for water balance. Athletes need more potassium to replace that which is lost from muscle during exercise and sweat.
• One cup mashed pumpkin contains more than 5,000mcg of beta-carotene, 853 of alpha-carotene, and more than 3,500mcg of beta-cryptoxanthin; all of them have antioxidant properties. Exercise increases the need for antioxidants.
• Other important phytonutrients are lutein and zeaxanthin, good for eye health.
• Calcium, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus are also present micronutrients.
• One cup provides 2.5g of fiber.
• Glycemic load is a marker of how a food impacts our blood sugar level after ingestion; an ideal glycemic load is below 10; pumpkin has a glycemic load of 3. Stable blood sugar is of utmost importance for steady, sustained energy production. Why would you not want this trait while training?

Pumpkin seeds have medicinal properties of their own, so if you are going to get a whole pumpkin, please eat the seeds. A cilantro pesto can be made from them: toast a cup of pumpkin seeds; use a food processor to grind them with a cup of olive oil, a bunch of cilantro, one jalapeño or serrano pepper, a clove of garlic and some salt.

You can try: roasted pumpkin · Indian pumpkin curry · pumpkin soup · pumpkin oat cookies · almond flour pumpkin waffles.

To learn more about Martha or book an appointment, email her at martha@marthacardenas.com or follow her on Instagram at @marthacardenasnutricion.