Cucurbita ficifolia is a traditional Asian medicinal plant that is one of the most widely used alternative remedies for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. It is reported to decrease high blood glucose levels and to increase blood insulin levels. In the U.S., cucurbita ficifolia is also commonly used and well known by it’s common name - “pumpkin.”
Studies such as the one below have shown that pumpkin extract helps normalize high blood glucose levels and low blood insulin levels in a rat model of diabetes. After 30 days of treatment with 600 mg/kg pumpkin extract, animals that were made diabetic had blood glucose and insulin levels similar to those of control animals.
So, what does this mean for us humans? Well, we would probably need to eat a whole lot of pumpkin to achieve the levels of extract that were studied in these experiments, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try to incorporate as much healthy pumpkin as possible into our diets this time of year (when pumpkin is in season and use of sugar in the kitchen is higher than usual).
As for that pumpkin pie, try knocking the amount of sugar (typically 1 cup) down by a tablespoon or two - you likely won’t notice the difference. And, slice your pie into smaller than usual portion sizes. Half slices might be all that is needed at the end of a meal and you can enjoy two half slices on different occasions for double the satisfaction that you would get from a single slice at one sitting.
Tomorrow - pumpkin as a main course…