Benefit for Fort Wayne Degenerated Discs from Pumpkin Leaves

Every year around this time, pumpkins are all over the place! We like them for décor, but they offer so much more! Recent news highlights the benefits of their leaves to reduce the speed of disc degeneration and even possibly support regeneration. That is news to your Fort Wayne chiropractor’s ear…and surely to our Fort Wayne back pain and neck pain patients’ ears, too!

THE DISC – Healthy and Degenerated

Many back pain treatment approaches focus on relieving the pain and returning function without consideringa 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 choices for the degenerated disc come from being aware of the processes that precede degeneration so as to help ease discogenic pain more effectively. (1) Your chiropractor probes these mechanisms all the time!

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 types. The total content of carotenoids rests on many factors, one is the extraction process. Functional foods are developed from carotenoids which are said to add significantly to the multiple health benefits of the foods. (2) Nutrition can plan a role in disc health. Pumpkin and its by-products shouldn’t just be thrown away!

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 indicating the presence and activity of stem cells were significantly higher, too. This news excited the researchers to declare that the hypothesis about how enough stimuli can support resident cells to repopulate the degenerated discs was thus sustained. The report overall determined that data point to the breakthrough that molecules may effectively slow disc degeneration using a part of the pumpkin that most of us throw in the trash as waste – the leaves! (3) Aaron Chiropractic Clinic bets you’ll look at the pumpkin leaves differently this season!

CONTACT Aaron Chiropractic Clinic

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 avert degeneration and stimulate 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 reduce and control spine pain. We’ll keep watching the pumpkin leaves’ research as it grows!

Make your Fort Wayne chiropractic appointment now to see us this pumpkin season!