Don't Toss Your Pumpkins Yet: This Halloween Food Has Scary-Good Health Benefits

Those bright, orange, bulbous fruits of October do more than decorate your doorstep with a spooky face. Pumpkins are nutritious, packed with vitamins and minerals that can aid your vision health, fiber to help your gut and digestive system, and more. 

While there are different types of pumpkins -- the ones people typically carve are heirloom carving pumpkins, while people often use smaller, sweeter pumpkins for cooking -- all carry some nutritional value. They're found in the "guts" (seeds) you scoop out after breaking in with your carving knife and in the meaty part (pulp) of the pumpkin. 

Before you throw out your Halloween decor, or if you want to capitalize on the pumpkin surplus likely available on store shelves post-Halloween, here's what to know. Just keep in mind it's likely not safe to eat a pumpkin that's already carved and has been sitting outside or one that's already started to show signs of rotting.

Pumpkin seeds: Great for eye health and beyond 

There's no shortage of tasty ways to get your fill of vitamins and minerals to support your eye health, and pumpkin seeds are one of them. Notably, pumpkin seeds are an excellent source of zinc, which is important for vision. Pumpkin seeds are also full of magnesium, iron, protein, fiber and more. As the Cleveland Clinic notes, pumpkin seeds contain tryptophan, which is an antioxidant that helps you stay asleep (along with zinc and magnesium, which are also in pumpkin seeds). Pumpkin seeds may also beneficial to hormonal health. 

In other words, whether you want to support your vision or boost your nutrition as a way to stave off your risk for chronic disease, you can't go wrong with incorporating pumpkin seeds into your diet.

For those who've already carved their pumpkins into glorious jack-o'-lanterns, you may have saved the seeds for later. If you still have them, consider rinsing them off, drying them out and then roasting them in the oven with your seasoning of choice for a tasty and nutritious snack. 

Type of pumpkin: Any 

Seasoning ideas: Consider sprinkling some olive oil on them and adding sea salt. For a little spice, toss them in paprika or chili powder, or experiment with garlic salt if that's your vibe.

Roasted pumpkin seeds are the definition of "delicious and nutritious." 

Reap the healthy bounty of pumpkin meat

Pumpkin pulp, which is the meaty part of the pumpkin you can blend into a puree or roast for a soup, also contains vitamins that can improve eye health: mainly, vitamin A, after it's converted by beta carotene and alpha carotene. In addition to vision health, vitamin A supports skin health and also the immune system. 

As Lizzy Davis, director of the Dietitian Education Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said in a post published by the school, the vitamin A and carotene found in this winter squash "pretty much benefit every system in the body." 

Additionally, pumpkins contain fiber (which most Americans don't get enough of) and vitamin C. 

Type of pumpkin: While you can roast the seeds from any pumpkin, especially the one you're carving up on your kitchen table, the pumpkins typically used for jack-o'-lanterns may be less tasty than smaller, sweeter pumpkins like sugar pumpkins. Unlike the big pumpkins typically used for carving, more cookable pumpkins may be different hues and colors, and you may have bought some for indoor Halloween decor.  

Of course, the talented cook will be able to work their magic and flavoring on just about any pumpkin – so don't let us discourage you from eating a big, carvable pumpkin. Just make sure you're not eating a pumpkin that was carved days ago or one that's been sitting outside, in which case it's probably not safe to eat. It's been introduced to the elements, which include animals and insects getting into the flesh, and it may also be rotten.