Every year around this time, 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 is news
to your La Grande chiropractor’s ear…and surely to
our La Grande back pain and neck pain patients’ ears, too!
THE DISC – Healthy and Degenerated
Most treatments of
back pain focus on easing the pain and returning function
without a thought about how
to reduce the speed of the degenerative process and/or promote
regeneration. The intervertebral disc is made up of an inner core
(nucleus pulposus) made of proteoglycans and a layered outer rim (annulus
fibrosus) rich in collagen. Combined, these two act
as a shock absorber and stabilizer for the spine. Treatment choices
for the degenerated disc come from understanding the
processes that precede degeneration so as to
help relieve discogenic pain more effectively. (1) Your
chiropractor studies these mechanisms a lot!
PUMPKIN LEAVES AND CAROTENOIDS
It's well-known that pumpkin products and
by-products (like leaves!) have major carotenoids - β-carotene, α-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin – with β-carotene
being the main one in most pumpkin varieties. The
total content of carotenoids depends on many
factors, one is the extraction procedure. Functional
foods are developed from carotenoids which are said to add
significantly to the numerous 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 described in a recent study regarding 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 taken
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 state
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 breakthrough that molecules may
effectively slow disc degeneration using a part of the pumpkin
that most of us throw away as waste – the
leaves! (3) Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC bets you will look at the
pumpkin leaves differently this season!
CONTACT Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC
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
stop degeneration and promote regeneration via ingredients
like chondroitin sulfate based on years of research done
already and how nutrition combined with The Cox®
Technic System of Spinal Pain Management reduce and control
spine pain. We’ll keep watching the pumpkin leaves’ research as it evolves!
Schedule your La Grande chiropractic appointment
now to visit us this pumpkin season!