Pumpkin Time

It's full-throttle pumpkin season and with it comes a plethora of pumpkin-flavored foods and drinks. If you're feeling the pumpkin vibe, put your money on real pumpkin. It's a pretty nutritious food.

One-half cup of pumpkin purée contains all the vitamin A you need in a day—actually, three times what you need. And, because the vitamin A is in the form of carotenes, you get big antioxidant (cell-protecting) and inflammation-fighting benefits to boot. Pumpkin is also a good source of bone-building vitamin K, blood-fortifying iron, and fiber, the key ingredient for a happy gut. Pumpkin-flavored items may or may not sport the same wins. The best way to know if they do is to check out the product’s ingredient list. Look for actual pumpkin on the list, not "pumpkin flavor."

Pumpkin-spiced items can be healthy, but this descriptor is more about the spices—cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and allspice—than it is about the pumpkin. Each of these spices has its own health benefits. For example, cinnamon and clove have a positive impact on blood sugar control, and ginger has digestive and stomach-calming effects. But the amount of spice in any one food is more than likely too small to have a beneficial impact. The measure of healthfulness in pumpkin-spiced foods and beverages depends on the food itself and the accompanying ingredients in that particular food or drink. Evaluate how processed the food is (the more processed, the less great) and the food or drink’s sugar content (4 grams = 1 teaspoon of sugar).

Enjoy the perks of whole or puréed pumpkin. There's no shortage of sweet picks, so add some savory one to the mix. Here are a few possibilities, including pumpkin seeds, which are rich in magnesium, copper, vitamin K, iron and zinc.