Independent education resourceInformation here does not replace care from a qualified health professional.
Peptide Therapy GuideClear peptide education

Educational guide

Seed of the month: Pumpkin seeds - Harvard Health

Seed of the month: Pumpkin seeds Pumpkin seeds are flat, oval seeds with a nutty, slightly sweet flavor. If you're up for a labor-intensive challenge, you can scoop the cream-colored whole seeds from inside a pumpkin, separate them from the stringy orange fles

Written by Peptide Therapy Guide Editorial Team
For education only

This guide cannot diagnose a condition or recommend a personal treatment plan. Discuss medical questions with a qualified professional.

Seed of the month: Pumpkin seeds

Pumpkin seeds are flat, oval seeds with a nutty, slightly sweet flavor. If you're up for a labor-intensive challenge, you can scoop the cream-colored whole seeds from inside a pumpkin, separate them from the stringy orange flesh, rinse, and then try one of the many suggested tricks to remove the olive-green seeds from their shells. These include boiling or roasting the seeds and using various tools, from a rolling pin to a food processor. Or you can simply buy the already-shelled seeds, which are also known as pepitas.

Pumpkin seeds are one of the best natural sources of magnesium, a mineral that's important for keeping blood pressure in check. They're also a good source of several other minerals, unsaturated fats, and fiber. For an extra fiber boost, you can even eat the whole seeds with the shells intact: toss with a little olive oil, spread on a cookie sheet, and bake at 300° F for 30 to 40 minutes.

You can also lightly toast raw pepitas and add them to salads, soups, breads, muffins, grain dishes, or trail mix. Some stores carry pumpkin seed butter (similar to peanut butter) and Pumfu, a product similar to tofu but made with pumpkin seeds instead of soybeans.

Image: © wmaster890/Getty Images

Disclaimer:

As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles.

No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.

Connected reading

Helpful context for this guide

Source-derived material selected through this article’s indexed topics.

Related questions

01What Are Pumpkin Seeds?

Pumpkin seeds are edible seeds from pumpkins and other varieties of gourd squash. The seeds are cream colored, flat, and oval with a nutty, slightly sweet flavor. They are roasted, salted, and eaten as a snack in many parts of the world. You can scoop seeds out of a carving pumpkin and roast them yourself or buy roasted pumpkin seeds from a grocery or health food store. You may see them labeled "pepitas." Pumpkin seeds and pepitas are basically the same thing except that pepitas have their cream-colored shells (hulls) removed and they come from specific varieties of pumpkin. Pumpkins are native to Central and South America, and have been used by Native Americans for centuries as food, as well as medicine. Pumpkin seeds are filled with nutrients, such as unsaturated fats like omega-3s and minerals like magnesium. Because they are so nutritious, pumpkin seeds have a long history of use dating back to the Oaxaca Highlands of Mexico over 7,500 years ago. Across many cultures, they’ve been used as a folk remedy to treat:

Source: www.webmd.com ↗
P

About the author

Peptide Therapy Guide Editorial Team

Editorial team for Peptide Therapy Guide.

View all articles →