10 Top Reasons To Love Sprouted Pumpkin Seeds

Written by Valerie Popelka

It’s no surprise that we love seeds—particularly sprouted seeds! While we have a reverence for all types of seeds, admittedly, sprouted pumpkin seeds are one of our favorites. Small, but mighty, sprouted pumpkin seeds pack a nutritional punch and are deliciously crunchy. We've summed up their many benefits with these top 10 reasons why you should love them too!

1. Sprouted For Better Nutrient Absorption
   Pumpkin seeds are a nutritional powerhouse and the process of sprouting helps unlock those nutrients so your body can better absorb them. Seeds contain many nutrients needed to germinate and grow into plants, including phosphorus which is stored as phytic acid. However, phytic acid has been shown to inhibit the absorption of iron, zinc, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and manganese¹. Soaking and sprouting seeds mimics the germination process, which breaks down Phytic acid and increases the bioavailability of the seeds’ beneficial nutrients.
2. Delivers Good Source of Protein
   A ¼ cup of sprouted pumpkin seeds contains 8g of plant-based protein. Protein is an important macronutrient that is used by your body to build and repair tissues and is also an important building block of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood².
3. Provides Quality Protein “Package”
   When choosing protein sources, it’s important to consider the complete “package,” meaning the other micro and macronutrients they provide since these also have an impact on your overall health³. A ¼ cup of sprouted pumpkin seeds is an excellent source of zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, and manganese and also a good source of iron. This makes sprouted pumpkin seeds a quality “package” full of nutrition..
4. Supports Healthy Bones
   Magnesium, copper, zinc, and manganese have been shown to contribute to bone health. In particular, studies suggest that magnesium can help increase bone density, but more than half of the US population consumes less than the recommended daily allowance, which is 320-420mg for an adult⁴. A ¼ cup of sprouted pumpkin seeds provides 137mg of magnesium, which is at least 35% of your daily allowance.
5. Helps You Sleep Better
   Magnesium has been shown to help your body and brain relax by regulating neurotransmitters⁵. In addition, magnesium appears to play a role in our circadian rhythms, influencing our sleep-wake cycles⁶, and studies suggest that not getting enough magnesium may cause difficulty sleeping or even insomnia⁷. In addition, zinc may help regulate and improve the quality of sleep you get. Sprouted pumpkin seeds are rich in both these micronutrients, so eat up!
6. Keeps Your Immune System Strong
   Not getting enough zinc may lead to a weakened immune system since it needs zinc to properly function and grow immune cells⁹. A serving of sprouted pumpkin seeds delivers 2mg of zinc, making them one of the richest plant-based sources of zinc¹⁰.
7. Boosts Your Brain
   Zinc, copper, magnesium, and iron are important for brain health, and sprouted pumpkin seeds are loaded with these essential nutrients. Zinc and copper are crucial for nerve signaling, magnesium plays a role in learning and memory, and having an iron deficiency can negatively impacts various functions of your brain¹¹.
8. Easy to Eat & Incorporate Into Dishes
   There are so many wonderful ways to add sprouted pumpkin seeds to your diet. As perfect as they are by themselves, they can easily be added to any sweet or savory dish. Some of our favorite uses are on a soup, on a salad, in a pesto, ground into seed butter, and these chocolate pumpkin seed butter cups. Yum!
9. 100% Allergen-Free
   While about 1% of the US population is allergic to tree nuts¹⁰, an allergy to pumpkin seeds is very rare and most people who are allergic to nuts can still eat seeds¹³. In addition, Go Raw’s products are all nut-free, so there is never the potential for cross-contamination.
10. Delicious Tasting!
    Last, but not least, sprouted pumpkin seeds are delicious! Their nutty flavor and light, crunchy texture, make them irresistibly tasty. Perfect as a snack, incorporated into meals, school lunch boxes, and great as a post workout pick-me-up. We couldn’t imagine our lives without them. :-)

Do you have any additional reasons for loving Sprouted Pumpkin Seeds? We’d love to hear your thoughts! Please share via the comment section below. #LiveLifeSprouted

¹ Phytate: Impact on Environment and Human Nutrition. J Zhejiang Univ Sci B, 9(3): 165–191. Mar 2008.
² The Benefits of Protein. WebMD. 2004.
³ Protein ‘Package’ Matters in Low-Carb Diet. Harvard Medical School. Dec 2010.
⁴ Essential Nutrients for Bone Health and a Review of their Availability in the Average North American Diet. Open Orthop J, 6: 143–149. Apr 2012.
⁵ How Magnesium Can Help You Sleep. Healthline. Apr 2017.
⁶ Intracellular Magnesium and The Rhythms of Life. Cell Cycle, 15(22): 2997–2998. Jul 2016.
⁷ The Magic of Magnesium. Int J Pharm Compd, 12(4):306-9. Jul-Aug 2008.
⁸ Dietary Zinc Acts as a Sleep Modulator. Int J Mol Sci, 18(11): 2334. Nov 2017.
⁹ The Immune System and The Impact of Zinc During Aging. Immun Aging, 6: 9. Jun 2009.
¹⁰ Zinc: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. National Institutes of Health. Mar 2020.
¹¹ 11 Best Foods to Boost Your Brain and Memory. Healthline. May 2017.
¹² Food Allergy: Nuts and Tree Nuts. Br J Nutr, Suppl 2:S95-102. Nov 2006.
¹³ Everything You Need to Know About Tree Nut Allergy. AAAAI. May 2020.