What is Pumpkin Seed Oil?
Autumn weather, orange gourds and flavorful lattes and pies associate with pumpkin seeds. These delicious gems offer yummy dishes, trail mixes and granola recipes, but pumpkin seeds have substantial nutritional wealth. One ounce of pumpkin seed supplies 30 percent of the daily recommended magnesium intake and 25 percent of iron.
Pumpkin seed oil comes from the tiny nutrient-rich seeds of pie pumpkins, also called pepita oil. Smaller and more orange than carving pumpkins and have flat, green oval seeds called pepitas. Pie pumpkins produce the seeds for oil.
Pumpkin seed oil is one of the best omega-six fatty acids and linoleic acid sources. The oil also contains vitamin A and E for benefiting immunity, hair and skin. Pumpkin seed oil is an excellent base for salad dressings, hummus or soups (x).
Here, you discover the health benefits of taking pumpkin oil softgel capsules as a supplement.
Why Softgel Capsules?
Softgel capsules are particularly beneficial to those uncomfortable taking pills because softgels are tasteless and go down smoothly. People who find taking tablets challenging do not have similar issues with softgel capsules. They quickly dissolve and digest when taken orally, providing better absorption in the stomach. Softgels are perfect for oils because the airtight seal of the capsule increases the pumpkin oil’s shelf life (x).
Pumpkin Seed Oil Benefits
Pumpkin seeds have been used in alternative and home medicines for centuries. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, people took the oil to kill parasitic worms and prevent their return (x). In fact, these seeds have anti-microbial benefits, containing anti-viral and anti-fungal properties. Today, we’re consuming more and more pumpkin seed oil because of the extensive health benefits. Market Watch reports the pumpkin seed market as 676.58 million USD and expects 15% growth in the coming years (x).
It’s not always handy to reach for a handful of pumpkin seeds. But pumpkin seed oil softgel capsules are easy to take with a meal. It’s nutrient-dense, containing many vitamins, minerals, healthy fibers and oils. Scientific studies report the oil is a nutritional powerhouse (x).
Excellent Source of Antioxidants
Pumpkin seeds are loaded with antioxidants (x), which neutralize free radicals in your body. These radicals cause oxidative stress, which causes cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s. Free radicals trigger damage to the cell tissues. Although generating free radicals in your body is expected, an overabundance causes them to linger in the cell tissues. Oxidative stress sits in the cells, so they can’t do their job. When you consume antioxidants such as pumpkin seed oil, the free radicals are removed from tissues and thus prevent oxidative cell damage. Antioxidants are also great at reducing inflammation, especially in joints and supporting tissues (x).
Nutrient-Rich Pumpkin Seed Oil
Pumpkin seed oil is also rich in zinc, potassium, iron, and magnesium and is an excellent source of polyunsaturated fatty acids (x). These nutrients work alongside antioxidants to cleanse cells and keep them healthy. Free radicals, the natural result of cellular metabolism, degrade tissues, aggravating arthritis and excessive inflammation in the body. Consider the oil as a one-stop supply of what your body needs to protect itself from free radicals.
Prostate and Bladder Health
Pumpkin seed oil is good for the prostate and bladder (x). A study conducted in 2009 showed that the oil helps reduce the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). BPH is a non-cancerous condition in which the prostate swells and restricts urine flow — not threatening but can make men over 50 miserable. Having an abundance of magnesium and zinc in the oil reduces inflammation in the prostate, facilitating more comfortable urination and less urine retention.
Further research recommends that taking the seeds or its oil as supplements can help treat symptoms of overactive bladder and even reduce its frequency (x). The supplement also helps your body produce nitric oxide. A known component that relaxes muscles and arteries helps control the voluntary muscles. Thus, you can relax more during urination. The bladder doesn’t empty without enough nitric oxide because its muscles remain rigid. Boost the nitric oxide with pumpkin oil helps reduce urinary retention.
Pumpkin Seeds Contain Magnesium
Most Americans don’t get enough magnesium in their diets, but that’s easily correctable (x). It is rich in magnesium, one of its top three natural sources. Magnesium is a must-have for good heart health. It’s also essential for bowel and bladder functioning and cellular regeneration. Another benefit of the oil’s high-density magnesium is that it helps regulate your blood sugar (x).
Magnesium is one of the body’s most in-demand minerals (x). Many maladies stem from a deficiency in this vital mineral. It’s necessary for hundreds of different life-sustaining chemical reactions in your body, which include:
- Regulating blood sugar levels (x)
- Regulating mood and supporting healthy mood (x)
- Maintaining healthy cellular regeneration and cell metabolism — especially in seniors (x)
- Controlling high blood pressure (x)
- Lowering heart disease risk (x)
- Regulating normal heart rhythms
- Forming and maintaining healthy bones (x)
Vitamin K in Pumpkin Seed Oil
The pumpkin seed oil has abundant vitamin K, an essential vitamin for critical life functions (x). It helps your body clot blood, heal wounds and form healthy bone tissues. Nutritional experts believe that vitamin K plays an integral part in the heart’s healthy vessels and bone density (x). Vitamin K is also essential for good skin health and helps heal superficial skin damage like cuts and bruises.
Pumpkin Seed Oil Contains Zinc
Zinc is another mineral necessary for the prostate’s health and immune system. The supplement helps the production of healthy sperm cells. The oil contains an abundance of zinc, which helps improve the sperm’s ability to move (x). Zinc boosts your immune system, shortening even the worse cold or respiratory illness, helping to ease COVID-19, and even as prevention (x).
Other Benefits and Uses of Pumpkin Seed Oil
The pumpkin seed oil has shown promise in treating hair loss common to men, androgenetic alopecia. In a six-month study, researchers treated men with pumpkin seed, grew 40 percent more hair than those treated with placebo (x).
Pumpkin Seed Oil Reduces Cholesterol
The medical field refers to LDL and HDL cholesterol as bad and good cholesterol. Phytosterols are a group of plant chemicals that reduce bad cholesterol in your body. It has a high concentration of phytosterols, which are complex molecules. Human-made variations are not as effective, so consuming the oil will help lower bad cholesterol in your system (x).
Blood Sugar Regulation
Pumpkin seed oil from ungerminated seeds has shown promise in helping those living with diabetes, controlling their insulin levels (x).
Pumpkin Seeds Help You Sleep
If you have trouble falling asleep, the oil may help because it’s a rich source of tryptophan, a major component of serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter responsible for regular sleep, fewer headaches and mood swings (x).
Pumpkin Seed Oil Reduces Migraine
Studies show that the high magnesium levels in the oil may reduce the incidences and intensity of migraines (x).
Pumpkin Seed Oil Helps Digestion
In general, pumpkin fruit pulp and seeds have an abundance of dietary fiber, excellent for your body. Fiber supports regularity and helps maintain the health of your colon and bowel. As mentioned earlier, it is rich in magnesium, which helps your body absorb enzymes by breaking down the food. (x)
Pumpkin Seed Oil Side Effects
Side effects are virtually unknown when it comes to taking pumpkin seed oil. You should talk with your physician if you have any concerns. However, try to avoid using rancid oil, making softgel capsules so convenient because of their airtight quality.
Other Side Effects and Warnings of Pumpkin Seed Oil
Lithium and lithium carbonate, a dangerous psychotropic drug, with pumpkin seed may act as a diuretic (x). Fluids flush out of the body, causing rapid changes in the amount of lithium in the body. It’s a good idea to talk to your doctor before taking the oil if you’re taking lithium.
Pumpkin seed oil lowers blood pressure. If you are taking medicine for high blood pressure, then talk to your doctor first. Low blood pressure causes dizziness, and adding the supplement while on the medication may cause even lower blood pressure.
Pumpkin Seed Oil Dosage
Try taking 1 to 2 softgel capsules daily or as directed by a physician (x) as a dietary supplement.
The Bottom Line
Pumpkin seed oil in softgel capsules is the best way to take the supplement because they dissolve and digest quickly, providing better absorption in the stomach. Softgels are ideal for oils because the airtight seal of the capsule increases the oil’s shelf life.
The supplement supplies your body with critical vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. It helps maintain a healthy heart because it’s rich in magnesium, zinc and potassium.
The oil also helps reduce swelling and inflammation throughout the body, including arthritis. Studies support that the oil helps minimize frequent urination, relaxing the muscles in the area to help eliminate urine. It even helps maintain sleep and mood regularity. There are many other benefits to the oil. It has one of the highest concentrations of vital minerals and nutrients, giving you many benefits without eating a ton of pumpkin seeds
