Butternut Squash Health Benefits

Butternut Squash Health Benefits Being winter time grocery stores are starting carry a lot of squashes; butternut, acorn, turban, spaghetti, and some I am still trying to figure out. Since I started eating Paleo one of the major problems that kept coming up was trying to get enough carbohydrates into me diet on a consistent basis without relying on re-feeds.

One can only eat so many vegetables a day and for most of us our bodies can only handle around 50 grams of fructose a day.

Sweet potatoes and yams can be part of the diet in moderation but I was still looking for an alternative source for carbohydrates.

One night my wife cooked up some spaghetti and butternut squash and really enjoyed it, was pleasantly surprised. At the time never gave much thought to squashes at all, they were the last thing on my mind. If it wasn’t for my wife’s wonderful cooking that night then I would still be in search of that one missing link.

For Halloween we cut them up and make decorations out of them, the pumpkins at least. Gourds are part of the family, though a lot are not edible, and in the fall we also use them for decorations too. Who really thinks of eating decorations and putting them in their daily diet? Think one reason I love the fall is all the pumpkin recipes and goodies made from them, can never get enough.

Still wish I could get pumpkins year round, though there is a smaller version of them that is pretty good and seems to be always available.

Not all winter squashes contain the same calories and carbohydrates and for what is available to me seems the butternut and acorn are at the top of the list.

There are so many different kinds of squashes available these days your options are almost limitless in what you can choose. Squashes are an excellent source for beta-carotenes and with its combination of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory have shown in some research to help with cancer prevention. (1)

Studies:

“In a prospective cohort study of 1271 Massachusetts residents 66 years of age or older, we examined the association between consumption of carotene-containing vegetables and subsequent five year mortality…. After controlling for age and smoking behavior, those in the highest quintile of intake of these carotene-containing vegetables had a risk of cancer mortality which was 0.3 (95% confidence limits 0.10-0.96) that of those in the lowest quintile.The trend of decreased cancer risk with increasing intake of carotene containing vegetables was significant.”

Winter squashes have also been shown to help with lowering cholesterol and in the breakdown of fatty acids, which could help in the battle with obesity. (2)

Studies:

“Furthermore, PG105 protected the development of fatty liver and increased the hepatic beta-oxidation activity. Results from blood analysis showed that the levels of triglyceride and cholesterol were significantly lowered by PG105 administration, and also that the level of leptin was reduced, while that of adiponectin was increased.

To understand the underlying mechanism at the molecular level, the effects of PG105 were examined on the expression of the genes involved in lipid metabolism by Northern blot analysis. In the liver of PG105-treated mice, the mRNA level of lipogenic genes such as SREBP-1c and SCD-1 was decreased, while that of lipolytic genes such as PPARalpha, ACO-1, CPT-1, and UCP-2 was modestly increased.

Our data suggest that PG105 may have great potential as a novel anti-obesity agent in that both inhibition of lipid synthesis and acceleration of fatty acid breakdown are induced by this reagent.”

In one test clinical test study using pumpkin seed oil on postmenopausal women it has show to help with cholesterol, decrease in diastolic blood pressure, improvement in the menopausal symptom such as decrease in severity of hot flushes, less headaches and less joint pains. (3)

Studies:

“Women receiving pumpkin seed oil showed a significant increase in high density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations (0.92 ± 0.23 mmol/l vs. 1.07 ± 0.27 mmol/l; p = 0.029) and decrease in diastolic blood pressure (81.1 ± 7.94 mmHg vs. 75.67 ± 11.93 mmHg; p < 0.046).

There was also a significant improvement in the menopausal symptom scores (18.1 ± 9.0 vs. 13.2 ± 6.7; p < 0.030), with a decrease in severity of hot flushes, less headaches and less joint pains being the main contributors. Women in the group receiving wheat germ oil reported being more depressed and having more unloved feeling.”

In some recent animal studies there has been found some great potential that it could help with diabetes type 2 and regulating blood sugar levels. Because most squashes are high in B-vitamins this too can help with regulating blood sugar levels. (4)

Studies:

“… with Flax and Pumpkin seeds mixture ameliorated the antioxidant enzymes activities observed in diabetic rats and significantly decreased MDA levels. Kidney histological sections, showed glomerular hypertrophy and tubular dilatation.

In DMS rats, these histopathological changes were less prominent. Our results suggest that Flax and Pumpkin seeds mixture supplemented in diet of diabetic rats may be helpful to prevent diabetes and its complications.”

With all the anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory properties squashes also help with asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, decrease in joint pain and because they contain beta-cryptoxanthin that has shown they help reduce lung cancer. I personally have high cholesterol and currently taking medication. Someday I hope to be able to stop taking this medication by find the right diet, foods, that will be able to help me.

A squash, especially butternut, does not have close to the same density as a yam, amount of calories per serving. This is fine by me, just means I get to eat more. Below is a comparison of 1 cup, cooked of each.

	Calories	Fat	Carbohydrates	Fiber	Sugar	Protein	GI Load
Butternut Squash	82	0	22	0	4	2	8
Yam	158	0	37	5	1	2	16

The glycemic index of a butternut squash is 70 and is extremely high especially when a yam that rates 37 on the index.

This is one reason I prefer eating squashes pre/ post workout. Something that did shock me was how much fiber butternut squash loses when cooked, all of it for the most part. This leads me to more testing and researching to find a way of retaining as much fiber as possible when cooked. Eating them just does not sound appetizing, maybe with some honey sprinkled on top.

	Calories	Fat	Carbs	Fiber	Sugar	Protein	GI Load
Butternut Squash	63 +19	0	16 +6	3 (-3)	3 +1	1 +1	5 +3
Yam	177 +20	0	42 +5	6 (-1)	1	2	18 +2

When comparing vitamin and minerals even though the density of the squash is lower it bets the yam 13 to 6. Another thing that I did not expect was how much more beta-carotene and vitamin A squash has compared to the yam, if you want to even call it a comparison.

	Squash		Yam		Highest
	Amount	%DV	Amount	%DV	%
Vitamin A	22,869 IU	457%	166 IU	3%	Squash
Alpah Carotene	2,316 mcg		0.0 mcg		Squash
Beta Carotene	9,369 mcg		99.3 mcg		Squash
Beta Crptoxanthin	6,388 mcg		0.0 mcg		Squash
Vitamin C	31.0 mg	52%	16.5 mg	27%	Squash
Vitamin E	2.6 mg	13%	0.5 mg	2%	Squash
Vitamin K	2.1 mcg	3%	3.1 mcg	4%	Yam
Thiamin	0.1 mg	10%	0.1 mg	9%	Squash
Riboflavin	0.0 mg	2%	0.0 mg	2%	~~~~~
Niacin	2.0 mg	10%	0.8 mg	4%	Squash
Vitamin B6	0.3 mg	13%	0.3 mg	16%	Yam
Folate	38.9 mcg	10%	21.8 mcg	5%	Squash
Vitamin B-12	0.0 mcg	0%	0.0 mcg	0%	~~~~
Panthothenic Acid	.07 mg	7%	0.4 mg	4%	Squash
Calcium	84.0 mg	8%	19.0 mg	2%	Squash
Iron	1.2 mg	7%	0.7 mg	4%	Squash
Magnesium	59.4 mg	15%	24.5 mg	6%	Squash
Phosporus	55.4 mg	6%	66.6 mg	7%	Yam
Potassium	582 mg	17%	911 mg	26%	Yam
Sodium	8.2 mg	0%	10.9 mg	0%	~~~~
Zinc	0.3 mg	2%	0.3 mg	2%	~~~~
Copper	0.1 mg	7%	0.2 mg	10%	Yam
Manganese	0.4 mg	18%	0.5 mg	25%	Yam
Selenium	1.0 mcg	1%	1.0 mcg	1%	~~~~

*Nutritional data obtained through, nutitiondata.self.com

You can also save the seeds from the butternut squash, most squashes actually, and cook them up just like pumpkin seeds. Personally have not done this yet but after seeing how much of a punch they pack definitely going to start. This is just one cup roasted.


	Calories	Fat	Carbs	Fiber	Sugar	Protein	GI Load
Butternut Seeds	747	63	25	5	1	34	2

Typically the body can hold 400 to 500 grams glycogen in the muscles and around 100 grams in the liver.

Being Paleo it has been extremely hard for me to keep my stores up without doing re-feeds a couple times of week. Since I added in squashes this has not been the case and my later workouts in the week have definitely improved too. Also do to the fact that it takes roughly 3 grams of water for every 1 gram of carbohydrate for the body to store it I now have a much fuller look.

One of my favorite ways to prepare butternut squash is to add some Splenda brown sugar, cinnamon, and a little honey and mash it up. It is almost like a desert more than anything else but definitely helps me get my carbohydrates in and recover after a long, grueling workout.

So if you are sick of yams, or your other carbohydrates sources, I encourage you to give squashes a try. They are cheap, taste great, and so many different ways to prepare them. For me they are now a staple in my diet and if it wasn’t for that one night my wife cooked them I would still be in search of that one missing link.

References:

(1) Increased green and yellow vegetable intake and lowered cancer deaths in an elderly population. Colditz GA, Lipnick RJ, Willett WC, Rosner B, Posner BM, Hennekens CH..

(2) A water-soluble extract from Cucurbita moschata shows anti-obesity effects by controlling lipid metabolism in a high fat diet-induced obesity mouse model. Choi H, Eo H, Park K, Jin M, Park EJ, Kim SH, Park JE, Kim S.

(3) Improvement in HDL cholesterol in postmenopausal women supplemented with pumpkin seed oil: pilot study. Gossell-Williams M, Hyde C, Hunter T, Simms-Stewart D, Fletcher H, McGrowder D, Walter CS

(4) [Effects of pumpkin polysaccharides on blood glucose and blood lipids in diabetic rats].Liu Y, Jin H, Xu ZQ, Nan WK, Wang T, Cheng YY

*Glycemic Index obtained through livestrong.com