Vitamin A

Fall is here and that means pumpkins are starting to appear on your neighbor’s door step and in grocery stores, which is the universal signal to start carving and cooking pumpkin. Why is it most of us tend to cook with pumpkin only around Halloween and Thanksgiving?  Pumpkin is loaded with vitamin A, fiber and it is low in calories, so we should find ways to work it into our diet throughout the year.

Pumpkin is very versatile to cook with, so it can be used in both sweet and savory recipes.  This Examiner did a little research for gluten-free pumpkin recipes and was amazed at all of the drool-worthy recipes we found.  Listed below are just a fraction of the gluten-free pumpkin recipes available online.

What is your favorite way to cook with pumpkin?

Pumpkin – General Recipes

• About.com has an extensive list of gluten-free pumpkin recipes
• Foodista has a list of 5 Savory Pumpkin Recipes and a list of 5 Must Try Gluten Free Pumpkin Recipe
• Gluten-free pumpkin recipes from The Gluten-Free Homemaker Read More »

Vitamin A was first identified in 1913 because of its crucial role in vision.  Subsequent discovery of its many other duties show that a deficiency will cause a broad range of health problems.

Vitamin A is not a single compound but actually comprises a fat-soluble family of molecules that includes retinol, retinal, retinoic acid, and retinyl ester. The term vitamin A also includes certain plant carotenoids called provitamin A because they are dietary precursors of retinol.

Vitamin A is essential for normal vision and eyeball health, a properly functioning immune system, gene regulation, reproduction, embryonic development, health and protection of all the tissues that line the body, including skin and mucosa of the lungs, digestive tract, urinary tract, and genital tract, bone metabolism and normal growth and strong teeth in children.

Vitamin A Deficiency

The United States National Institutes of Health recommends testing vitamin A levels in people with celiac disease at diagnosis. This is because vitamin A deficiency is common in celiac disease. Deficiency can result from incomplete digestion, absorption, or metabolism. Read More »