This time of year, pumpkins
are all over the place! We enjoy them for décor, but
they offer so much more! News of late highlights
the benefits of their leaves to slow disc degeneration
and even possibly support regeneration. That’s news
to your Minster chiropractor’s ear…and without doubt to
our Minster back pain and neck pain patients’ ears, too!
THE DISC – Healthy and Degenerated
Many back pain treatment approaches focus on relieving the pain and returning function
without a thought about how
to slow the degenerative process and/or encourage
regeneration. The intervertebral disc has an inner core
(nucleus pulposus) made of proteoglycans and a layered outer rim (annulus
fibrosus) rich in collagen. Together, these two work
as a shock absorber and stabilizer for the spine. Treatment options
for the degenerated disc come from understanding the
processes that precede degeneration so as to
help alleviate discogenic pain more effectively. (1) Your
chiropractor reads about these mechanisms all
the time!
PUMPKIN LEAVES AND CAROTENOIDS
It's well-known that pumpkin products and
by-products (like leaves!) contain major carotenoids - β-carotene, α-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin – with β-carotene
being the foremost one in most pumpkin types. The
total content of carotenoids rests on a variety of
factors, one being the extraction process. Functional
foods are advanced from carotenoids which are said to add
significantly to the multiple health benefits of the foods.
(2) Nutrition can plan a role in disc health. Pumpkin and its by-products should not just be thrown
away!
PUMPKIN LEAVES AND COLLAGEN AND PROTEINS AND DISC CELLS
One way to put pumpkins to work for us is
well explained in a recent study about how
the leaves of pumpkins may help. The acetone extract from Violina pumpkin
(curcurbita moshata) leaves induced a significant
rise in extracellular matrix components like aggrecan and collagen
type II in addition to other proteins and stress
response regulators in the degenerated intervertebral disc cells removed
from degenerated disc tissues of spinal surgery patients. Markers noting
the presence and activity of stem cells were significantly higher,
too. This news motivated the researchers to declare
that the hypothesis about how adequate stimuli can support
resident cells to repopulate the degenerated discs was thus sustained.
The report overall concluded that data point
to the discovery of molecules that may
effectively slow disc degeneration using a part of the pumpkin
that most of us throw in the trash as waste – the
leaves! (3) Minster Chiropractic Center bets you’ll look at the
pumpkin leaves differently this season!
CONTACT Minster Chiropractic Center
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. James Cox on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he
describes how nutrition may slow and possibly
avert degeneration and stimulate regeneration via ingredients
like chondroitin sulfate based on years of research performed
already and how nutrition in combination with The Cox®
Technic System of Spinal Pain Management decrease and control
spine pain. We’ll keep watching the pumpkin leaves’ research as it evolves!
Make your Minster chiropractic appointment
today to see us this pumpkin season!
"This information and website content is not intended to diagnose, guarantee results, or recommend specific treatment or activity. It is designed to educate and inform only. Please consult your physician for a thorough examination leading to a diagnosis and well-planned treatment strategy. See more details on the
DISCLAIMER page. Content is reviewed by
Dr. James M. Cox I."