Benefit for Williamson Degenerated Discs from Pumpkin Leaves
This time of year, pumpkins are all over the place! We like them for décor, but they offer so much more! Recent news focuses on the benefits of their leaves to slow disc degeneration and even possibly support regeneration. That’s news to your Williamson chiropractor’s ear…and surely to our Williamson back pain and neck pain patients’ ears, too!
THE DISC – Healthy and Degenerated
Most treatments of back pain focus on relieving 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 expores these mechanisms a lot!
PUMPKIN LEAVES AND CAROTENOIDS
It's recognized that pumpkin products and by-products (like leaves!) have 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 depends on several factors, one being the extraction procedure. Functional foods are developed from carotenoids which are said to add significantly to the many health benefits of the foods. (2) Nutrition can plan a role in disc health. Let’s put our Williamson pumpkins and their by-products to work for us!
PUMPKIN LEAVES AND COLLAGEN AND PROTEINS AND DISC CELLS
A unique way to put pumpkins to work for us is described in a recent study about how the leaves of pumpkins may help. The acetone extract from Violina pumpkin (curcurbita moshata) leaves generated a significant increase 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 reinforced. The report overall concluded that data point to the breakthrough that molecules may effectively reduce disc degeneration using a part of the pumpkin that most of us get rid of as waste – the leaves! (3) Apple Country Chiropractic bets you’ll look at the pumpkin leaves differently this season!
CONTACT Apple Country Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes how nutrition may decelerate and possibly stop degeneration and promote 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 Williamson chiropractic appointment soon to see us this pumpkin season!
