Benefit for La Grande Degenerated Discs from Pumpkin Leaves
Every year around this time, pumpkins are everywhere! 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 encourage regeneration. That’s news to your La Grande chiropractor’s ear…and without doubt to our La Grande 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 addressinga way to reduce the speed of the degenerative process and/or encourage 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 options for the degenerated disc come from understanding the processes that precede degeneration in order to help alleviate discogenic pain more effectively. (1) Your chiropractor studies these mechanisms a lot!
PUMPKIN LEAVES AND CAROTENOIDS
It's recognized 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 varieties. The total content of carotenoids rests on several factors, one being the extraction process. Functional foods are advanced 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. Let’s put our La Grande 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 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 increased as well. This news motivated the researchers to state that the hypothesis about how adequate stimuli can support resident cells to repopulate the degenerated discs was thereby reinforced. The report overall concluded that data indicate that the breakthrough that molecules may effectively reduce disc degeneration using a part of the pumpkin that most of us throw away as waste – the leaves! (3) Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC bets you’ll look at the pumpkin leaves differently this season!
CONTACT Dr. 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 in combination with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management decrease and manage spine pain. We’ll keep watching the pumpkin leaves’ research as it grows!
Schedule your La Grande chiropractic appointment today to visit us this pumpkin season!
