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Now that fall is here, your meal plans are filled with pumpkins and squash. You love these foods because of their delicious taste and cooking versatility, but did you know that they’re also filled with health benefits? Here are just a few of the most beneficial nutrients in pumpkins and squash.

1. Pumpkins contain a great deal of vitamin A, which boosts the immune system to prevent you from getting sick once the seasons change. Vitamin A also helps to maintain the health of your eyes.
2. The carotenoids that give pumpkins their bright orange color protect you against heart disease, prevent wrinkles on the skin and even fight off the free radicals that cause cancer.
3. Pumpkins are great for digestion because they contain a good deal of fiber. The fiber also balances your blood sugar and lowers bad cholesterol, which is especially important as you age.
4. Just one serving of butternut squash offers 35% of your recommended daily dose of vitamin C. This essential vitamin can greatly reduce your risk for heart attack.
5. Acorn, butternut and spaghetti squashes are filled with anti-inflammatory properties, which alleviate the symptoms of arthritis and soothe aching joints.

Eat Your Pumpkin! 9 Reasons Why It's Good For You [Mind Body Green]
6 Health Secrets of Winter Squash [Organic Authority]

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/Jeremy Seitz

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