Now that it is fall, you should be roasting, toasting and sauteing butternut squash all the time. You’ll be all the healthier for it. Butternut squash is a cool-season vegetable (technically a fruit) that boasts high amounts of fiber, plant protein and powerful antioxidants. While high in both calories and carbs, butternut squash still makes a smart addition to meal plans. It provides more potassium than a banana and contains a wide range of cancer-fighting compounds. Here Rose Lidell, Food.news, reflects on reasons to eat butternut squash:

“Butternut squash is an amazing superfood full of nutrients like dietary fiber, potassium and vitamin A. It’s also one of the most common varieties of winter squash.

But did you know that despite it’s name, winter squash is grown in the summer and harvested in the fall? Butternut squash, which has a thick, tough exterior and firm flesh, can be stored for several months, so you can stock up until the winter season.

Aside from being full of nutrients, butternut squash also offers many health benefits, like improving your digestive health and preventing cancer.

The nutritional profile of butternut squash

According to the Department of Agriculture‘s (USDA) National Nutrient Database, a one-cup serving (205 grams) of cooked, cubed butternut squash, contains the following nutrients:

• 582 milligrams (mg) of potassium
• 84 mg of calcium
• 59 mg of magnesium
• 55 mg of phosphorus
• 31 mg of vitamin C
• 1.23 mg of iron
• 1144 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin A

Additionally, butternut squash contains folate, manganese, niacin, pantothenic acid, thiamin and vitamin B-6 and E. The same serving of cubed butternut squash also provides 582 mg of potassium, which is more than the amount you’ll get from one banana.

8 Reasons to cook with butternut squash

Following a balanced diet and eating lots of fruits and veggies can help lower your risk of many health problems.

Eating superfoods like butternut also offers these incredible health benefits:

It can lower your cancer risk

Research suggests that people who follow diets rich in carotenoids like beta-carotene are less likely to develop colon cancer.”

Read More … Article Source: https://www.food.news/2021-10-08-health-benefits-butternut-squash-superfood-vitamin-a.html

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