Pumpkin Seeds: Benefits, Nutrition, How Many to Eat & Side Effects

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Scoop the seeds out of a pumpkin and each one comes wrapped in a pale, fibrous hull. Inside sits a flat green kernel, the part most stores sell as pepitas, packed with magnesium, zinc, iron and protein. Those are minerals plenty of people run short on: in national survey data from 2005 and 2006, 48% of Americans got less magnesium from food than they needed.7

Pumpkin seeds are the first food I list for magnesium, and they're high in zinc, which is critical for testosterone production.89 My philosophy has always been to use food as medicine first.10 A handful of pumpkin seeds a day puts that into practice.

Did you know?

• Cucurbita pepo, the squash species that includes the classic field pumpkin, is the oldest domesticated plant found in Mexico's Coxcatlan Cave, with remains dated to roughly 8,000 years ago.11

• Whole roasted pumpkin seeds, hull and all, carry about three times the fiber of the kernels: 5.2 grams per ounce against 1.7.131

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What are pumpkin seeds?

You'll find pumpkin seeds in four forms, and each behaves a little differently on your plate:

• Whole seeds. Hull on, usually roasted and salted. The hull adds fiber and takes up weight that would otherwise be mineral-rich kernel.
• Kernels (pepitas). The hulled green seed, raw or roasted, and the form in the nutrition table below.
• Pumpkin seed butter. Ground kernels, sold plain or sprouted, and easy to stir into a smoothie.
• Pumpkin seed oil. Pressed from the seeds. It carries the fats and fat-soluble plant compounds but little of the protein, fiber or minerals.

A short history of pumpkin seeds

Squash seeds have fed people in the Americas for thousands of years. Beyond Mexico, eastern North America was its own independent center of plant domestication, and C. pepo squash was one of the four native crops people there first brought under cultivation.14 In Europe, pumpkin seed earned recognition as a traditional herbal medicine for men's urinary symptoms on the strength of long-standing use.12

Pumpkin seeds nutrition facts

Raw pumpkin seed kernels, per 1 ounce (28.35 g), calculated from USDA FoodData Central FDC ID 170556; % Daily Value uses FDA reference values.12

An ounce is about a small handful. The largest share of its fat is linoleic acid, the omega-6 fat at the center of the seed oil debate. In a whole seed it arrives with minerals, protein and fiber, and in pooled data from 30 cohort studies, people with higher blood levels of linoleic acid had a 7% lower risk of cardiovascular disease.15 The seeds carry almost no omega-3, so pair them with omega-3 foods such as wild salmon or ground flaxseed.

What are pumpkin seeds good for?

How do pumpkin seeds work in your body?

Pumpkin seeds act on your body through three routes, and their minerals have the firmest footing.

• Minerals your cells run on. Magnesium takes part in energy production, muscle and nerve function and blood sugar control,22 and zinc, iron and copper each have defined jobs in your immune defenses.23 An ounce of seeds supplies a real share of all four.1

• Plant compounds in the oil (proposed). Pumpkin seed oil carries phytosterols, tocopherols, carotenoids and squalene, and most of their measured activity comes from lab work.24 In rats, the oil slowed testosterone-driven prostate growth, one reason for the urinary benefit in men.25

• Protein, fat and fiber alongside the carbohydrate (proposed). Seeds add protein, fat and fiber to a starchy meal, a likely reason blood sugar rose less when people ate pumpkin seeds with a high-carbohydrate meal.4

Pumpkin seed benefits, ranked by evidence

Ranked by evidence, pumpkin seeds are best for filling magnesium and zinc gaps, easing urinary symptoms in men with an enlarged prostate, supporting heart health, softening the blood sugar rise after a meal and supporting sleep.

Are pumpkin seeds good for your prostate?

An enlarged prostate, or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), presses on the urethra and brings the familiar signs: a weak stream, trips to the bathroom at night and the feeling you haven't quite finished. Before you work on those symptoms with food, have a doctor rule out a more serious cause; Europe's herbal monograph on pumpkin seed makes that the first step.12

The whole-seed evidence comes from a 12-month trial of 1,431 men aged 50 to 80. Men who ate 5 grams of pumpkin seeds twice a day, 10 grams in all, were more likely to improve by at least 5 points on the International Prostate Symptom Score: 58.5% did, against 47.3% on placebo, which the authors judged a clinically relevant drop in symptoms (the seed arm wasn't blinded, and the authors reported the difference descriptively).3 A pumpkin seed extract capsule tested in the same trial didn't differ from placebo, and the benefit showed up with the seeds themselves.

Pumpkin seed oil has a year-long trial too. In a placebo-controlled trial of 62 Korean men with BPH, 47 of whom finished, 320 milligrams of the oil a day lowered symptom scores within the oil group from 20.7 to 8.7 over 12 months, a 58% drop, and improved quality of life, though the groups didn't differ significantly from one another. Urine flow in the oil group was stronger by six months, while it declined in the placebo group. Prostate size didn't change significantly in any group.16 A saw palmetto oil group and a group taking both oils improved as well.16

The oil has also been tested head to head with a prescription drug. In a 3-month single-blind randomized trial of 73 men aged 50 and older, 360 milligrams of pumpkin seed oil twice a day and tamsulosin (0.4 milligrams nightly) both lowered symptom scores: from 11.08 to 7.46 on the oil and from 10.58 to 5.65 on the drug. Tamsulosin lowered scores further, a gap that opened in the first month; from the first month to the third, the two improved at the same pace. The oil group reported no side effects, while men on tamsulosin reported dizziness (5.9%), headache, ejaculation problems and an itchy rash.28

There's a signal for overactive bladder as well. In a single-group trial of 45 adults who knew they were getting the oil with an overactive bladder, 10 grams a day of oil from a related pumpkin species, Cucurbita maxima, lowered symptom scores at 6 and 12 weeks, with every part of the score improving: daytime trips, nighttime trips, urgency and urge leakage.29

For men with prostate issues, I recommend a tablespoon of pumpkin seed butter a day.8 The trial itself used 10 grams of whole seeds a day, about a third of an ounce, and Europe's monograph lists 2.5 to 7.5 grams twice a day for the seed as a traditional medicine.312

Can pumpkin seeds help you sleep?

They can support it. Pumpkin seeds supply magnesium and tryptophan, the amino acid your body turns into serotonin and then melatonin,30 and in my Deep Sleep Protocol they're one of the top ten sleep foods, at ¼ cup a day.31

Magnesium carries the clearest human data. A review of three placebo-controlled trials in 151 older adults with insomnia pooled the two that measured sleep onset, with 55 people: magnesium supplements cut the time it took to fall asleep by 17 minutes. Total sleep time rose about 16 minutes, a change that wasn't statistically significant.5 For a supplement on top of food, see magnesium for sleep.

Tryptophan has a squash-family trial behind it. In a placebo-controlled trial of 57 adults where no one knew who got what with chronic insomnia, 49 of whom finished, those who took a de-oiled gourd seed powder with glucose for three weeks improved on both self-reported and measured sleep, about as much as with pharmaceutical tryptophan, and woke less during the night; carbohydrate alone didn't help. The lead researcher worked for the company developing the product.19 An ounce of pumpkin seeds carries 163 milligrams of tryptophan, and in pooled supplement trials, doses of 1 gram or more a day shortened night waking more than smaller doses,30 so let the seeds be one part of a sleep-supporting dinner.

Pumpkin seeds or pumpkin seed butter with dinner is one of the ways I suggest supporting melatonin, along with protein, fiber and some healthy fat.32 A ¼ cup gives you about 191 milligrams of magnesium, 45% of the daily value.1

Are pumpkin seeds good for men?

For men, pumpkin seeds bring two things: the prostate support above, and zinc. Your body needs zinc to make testosterone, and human studies show that link from both directions. In a controlled-diet study, four young men who ate a zinc-restricted diet for 20 weeks saw their testosterone fall from 39.9 to 10.6 nmol/L (about 1,151 to 306 ng/dL). In a supplementation study, nine older men who were marginally low in zinc took about 30 milligrams of zinc a day for six months, and their testosterone roughly doubled, from 8.3 to 16.0 nmol/L (about 239 to 461 ng/dL).20 Both studies moved zinc status directly, and food zinc works on the same shortfall: an ounce of pumpkin seeds gives you 20% of a day's zinc.1

The way I suggest men get them is a tablespoon of sprouted pumpkin seed butter in a morning smoothie, with a scoop of protein and some berries or coconut milk.9 Pair it with the other root-cause steps for healthy testosterone: good sleep, strength training and steady blood sugar.

Pumpkin seed oil also shows promise for hair. In a 24-week placebo-controlled trial of 76 men with male-pattern hair loss, 400 milligrams a day of a commercial pumpkin seed oil capsule raised hair counts 40%, against 10% on placebo, with no difference in side effects.21 The capsules were a branded product that may include other plant ingredients, so the result belongs to that product. One proposed link runs through DHT, the hormone behind male-pattern hair loss: in cell studies, zinc specifically slowed the skin form of 5-alpha-reductase, the enzyme that makes DHT.33 For more natural options, see these hair loss remedies.

Are pumpkin seeds good for women?

Women get the same minerals, and three trials point to specific uses. In the pumpkin seed oil pilot described in the heart benefit above, menopause symptom scores fell from 18.1 to 13.2 within the oil group, with fewer hot flashes, headaches and joint pains.18

For iron, in a four-week single-group study, eight young women who ate 30 grams of pumpkin seed kernels a day along with 30 grams of an iron-fortified cereal raised their serum iron from 60 to 85 µg/dL; the kernels supplied 4.0 milligrams of iron a day and the cereal 7.1.34 In pregnancy, 66 Indonesian women randomized to four biscuits a day made with 20% pumpkin seed flour for 90 days raised their serum zinc more than women eating placebo biscuits, a rise of 13.72 against 9.81 µg/dL.35

Pumpkin seeds are also a staple of seed cycling, a traditional practice that pairs ground flax and pumpkin seeds with the first half of the menstrual cycle, and an easy way to make seeds a daily habit.

Do pumpkin seeds kill parasites?

Pumpkin seeds can help your body expel tapeworms, and that use has human data behind it. In a community treatment program run by the provincial disease-control agency in Sichuan, China, and reported in 2012, 9 of 12 people with confirmed tapeworm infections passed the whole worm after eating pumpkin seeds alone, about 14 hours later on average.6 Paired with an areca nut extract, the seeds cleared 40 of 45 confirmed cases in about 2 hours on average, and 46.3% of people on that combination had nausea or dizziness that passed.6

In lab tests and in mice, pumpkin seed extracts, which contain the compound cucurbitine, killed roundworm larvae and cut worm numbers in infected animals.36 My parasite protocol describes cucurbitine as paralyzing the worms so your body can pass them, which fits these results.37

Pumpkin seeds are one of the foods I build a parasite cleanse around: 2 to 4 tablespoons (up to ¼ cup) of raw seeds a day in my Heal From Parasites Protocol, eaten whole, blended into a smoothie or as pumpkin seed butter.3738 Some tapeworms also cause cysticercosis, an infection of other tissues that develops when their eggs are swallowed,6 so if you suspect a tapeworm, get a stool test and a doctor's care, and let the seeds support the food side of your plan.

How many pumpkin seeds should you eat a day?

The Biblio Diet, which Jordan Rubin and I wrote together, keeps nuts to about a handful a day, since they're rich and can be hard on the gut,39 and the same handful works well for seeds.

There's no upper limit for magnesium from food; the upper limit applies to supplements.22 Zinc's upper limit, 40 milligrams a day from all sources, sits far above the 2.2 milligrams in an ounce of seeds.40 Your gut and your calorie needs set the practical ceiling. Any time of day works, so eat them when the habit is easiest: with dinner for sleep, or as seed butter in a morning smoothie.

Should you eat pumpkin seeds raw, roasted or sprouted?

Raw seeds, like raw grains and beans, carry phytic acid, a compound that binds minerals such as zinc and iron in your gut. That's why I teach that sprouting and fermenting make these foods more nourishing: as Dr. Will Cole and I wrote in Heal Your Cells, lowering phytic acid this way makes more iron, zinc, calcium and magnesium available to your body.42 Research in adults backs the concern. In a zinc-absorption model, adding 1,000 milligrams of phytate to a day's food doubled the zinc adults need, and 2,000 milligrams tripled it,43 while soaking, germination and fermentation all break phytate down.44

If raw seeds bother your gut, try pumpkin seed butter or sprouted pumpkin seed butter instead.8 Soaking the seeds overnight, then drying or roasting them, is a traditional step too.

Roast low. In a lab study of seeds roasted before being made into pumpkin seed milk, roasting at 160°C (320°F) gave the most stable milk and left its nutrient content largely unaffected, while hotter roasting oxidized more of the protein.45 At home, rinse fresh seeds, let them dry, toss them with a little avocado oil and sea salt, and roast at about 320°F (160°C), stirring once, until golden. For a seasoned batch, try these spicy pumpkin seeds.

The hull is edible. Roasted whole seeds give you more fiber per ounce, but the hull takes up weight, so an ounce of whole seeds has 74 milligrams of magnesium against 168 in an ounce of kernels.131

How do you eat, buy and store pumpkin seeds?

Buy raw or dry-roasted seeds whose label lists pumpkin seeds and, at most, salt, and go organic if you can find it. Skip seeds roasted in refined seed oils or coated in sugar. Store them sealed in the fridge or freezer, because their polyunsaturated fat turns rancid with warmth and light, and toss any that smell bitter or like paint.

How do pumpkin seeds compare with other seeds?

Ounce for ounce, pumpkin seeds carry more magnesium and zinc than sunflower seeds, flax, chia, almonds or cashews, and more iron than any of the other six compared here. Of the seven, only hulled hemp seeds carry more magnesium and zinc, while chia and flax are the fiber picks.

Per 1-ounce (28 g) serving, calculated from USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy records.464748495051

Sunflower seeds bring far more vitamin E, 10.0 milligrams an ounce against 0.6, and more selenium, while pumpkin seeds carry nearly twice the magnesium and more zinc and protein, so a handful of each covers both.491 For the full lineup, see the healthiest seeds to eat.

What are the side effects of pumpkin seeds?

Interaction check: Low. No medication interactions are documented for pumpkin seeds in food amounts. If you take a prostate medicine, keep taking it as prescribed and tell your doctor you're adding pumpkin seeds or their oil. If you also take magnesium or zinc supplements, those carry their own timing rules alongside some prescriptions, so follow those labels separately.

Pumpkin seed allergy

Allergy to pumpkin seed is rare, but it can be serious. One 8-year-old who ate other seeds, peanuts, tree nuts and even pumpkin flesh without trouble had anaphylaxis after eating pumpkin seed,52 and seed allergies as a group tend to be severe, with standard skin and blood tests of limited reliability, so allergists confirm them with a supervised food challenge.54 If you react to other seeds, don't assume pumpkin seeds are safe for you. Know the food allergy symptoms, and if you get hives, swelling, wheezing or trouble breathing, stop eating them and get emergency care.

Kidneys and digestion

An ounce carries 349 milligrams of phosphorus and 229 milligrams of potassium.1 With kidney disease or a phosphorus or potassium limit, count them against the limits your care team has set, and check with that team before adding a magnesium supplement. Mild digestive complaints are the one common side effect listed in Europe's monograph for the seed as a medicine.12 Rarely, large amounts of seeds have formed a hard mass in the rectum that had to be removed by hand,5355 so spread them through the day, chew well and drink water.

Pregnancy

Pumpkin seeds are an ordinary food in pregnancy, and the pregnancy trial above used biscuits made with pumpkin seed flour.35 Europe's monograph raises no birth-defect concern about pumpkin seeds or their oil and saves its pregnancy caution for pumpkin extracts, which lack safety data.12

The bottom line

Frequently asked questions

References

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