Squash plant is herbaceous vine of Cucurbita genus in Cucurbitaceae family (or known as gourd family). Squash plants include summer squashes as zucchini, scallop squash, cocozzelle, straightneck, vegetable marrow, crookneck…and winter squash as acorn, pumpkin, vegetable marrow…
Although the varieties of squash plant contain different nutrition content, they are considered nutritional and healthy food especially for the dietary.
Nutritional value
Mostly squash plant gives the fruit that are high in water level while very low in fat, calorie and considered free of cholesterol. They also contain number of vitamins (as vitamin A, C, B6…), minerals (as phosphorous, magnesium, potassium, iron…), sugar, fiber and antioxidants which are helpful for our health.
Besides using the squashes flesh as food, young flowers, leaves and stems of varieties squashes could also be consumed as nutritional vegetable. Their seeds are also rich in nutrients too and could be use as snack after cooked.
Benefits of eating squash
As nutritional fruits and vegetables, squashes are believed to give numbers of benefit for the consumers. We could account some of them:
- Squashes are helpful for the dietaries: the low level of fat, calorie and cholesterol makes these fruits to become a good choice to the diet menu.
- Consuming squashes is believed helpful in reducing blood pressure and heart attack risk as well as preventing cancer risk.
- Squashes are good for bone, eyes and skin: for the containing number of vitamins as A, B6, C…of them. Vitamin C contained is also helpful to the commune system.
- These fruits are also considered healthy to whom in pregnant.
Beside the health benefits, the cucurbitin in the raw squash seeds is also believed to slower the development of the fluke.
Squashes are normally safe for eating after cooked. But occasionally it could cause illness to humans like any other foods. For the cucurbitacin – a plant steroid which is contained in the squashes, the consuming in large quantity could cause the stomach cramps or diarrhea. Therefore, we should use these fruits suitably as well as balance to other foods to increase their benefits.
