Bittersweet October

October is a bittersweet month for gardeners. The cool crisp air and brilliant sunshine lighting the glorious colored leaves and deep blue skies are the sweet part. The freezing temperatures and frosts that result from those brilliant cloudless skies with stars popping out like living beings causes the bitter part—dying vegetation that has sustained you as you nurtured it through spring and summer and early fall.

Of course the beauty of the season is not really the only sweet part. The fall vegetables not only taste great, they are amazingly nutritious. Oddly, the vegetable that we use more as a decorative symbol of the season or for pies, the pumpkin, is one of the most nutritious in the squash family.

Pumpkin is rich in the anti-oxidant beta-carotene and this makes it a great anti-inflammatory food that boosts the immune system and slows the aging process. The zinc present in pumpkin also boosts the immune system and promotes bones density. The high levels of potassium present help lower the risk of hypertension and if that is not enough to make you want to eat pumpkin as a food instead of just in pie, pumpkin has been found to reduce the risk of macular degeneration!

Pumpkin is also rich in calcium and magnesium, two of the three vitamins and minerals needed for bone health. The third is vitamin D and we should all be taking that as a supplement this time of year.

If you need more reasons to enjoy this delicious squash, here is a complete list of the nutrients present in one cup of boiled pumpkin:

• Calcium - 37 mg
• Carbohydrate - 12 gm
• Dietary Fiber - 3 gm
• Folate - 21 mcg
• Iron - 1.4 mg
• Magnesium - 22 mg
• Niacin - 1 mg
• Potassium - 564 mg
• Protein - 2 grams
• Selenium - 0.50 mg
• Vitamin A - 2650 IU
• Vitamin C - 12 mg
• Vitamin E - 3 mg
• Zinc - 1 mg

Calories - 49