Benefit for Fort Wayne Degenerated Discs from Pumpkin Leaves
This time of year, pumpkins are everywhere! We enjoy them for décor, but they offer so much more! News of late focuses on the benefits of their leaves to reduce the speed of disc degeneration and even possibly encourage regeneration. That’s news to your Fort Wayne chiropractor’s ear…and without doubt to our Fort Wayne back pain and neck pain patients’ ears, too!
THE DISC – Healthy and Degenerated
Most treatments of back pain focus on easing the pain and returning function without addressinga way to slow 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 options for the degenerated disc come from being aware of the processes that lead to degeneration in order to help ease 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 types. The total content of carotenoids rests on a variety of factors, one is the extraction procedure. 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 Fort Wayne 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 well explained in a recent study about how the leaves of pumpkins may help. The acetone extract from Violina pumpkin (curcurbita moshata) leaves provoked a significant increase in extracellular matrix components like aggrecan and collagen type II as well as 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, 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 concluded that data point to the discovery of molecules that may effectively slow disc degeneration using a part of the pumpkin that most of us throw away as waste – the leaves! (3) Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc thinks you will look at the pumpkin leaves differently this season!
CONTACT Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc
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 done already and how nutrition combined with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management reduce and manage spine pain. We’ll keep watching the pumpkin leaves’ research as it evolves!
Make your Fort Wayne chiropractic appointment now to visit us this pumpkin season!
