The Pumpkin Seed Benefits You Won’t Believe: In the Bedroom and Beyond

The health benefits of pumpkin seeds for both men and women are much bigger than the small package they come in.

Most of us think of pumpkins as somewhat of a seasonal novelty. Carve a few Jack-O-Lanterns with the kids on Halloween, make a pie on Thanksgiving, then toss what’s left in the trash. The truth is, we’re throwing out the parts of our pumpkins that are as good as gold when it comes to nutrition and health benefits.

Enjoying pumpkin seeds’ benefits means a whole lot more than just indulging in a quick snack. Here, we’re going to take a look at pumpkin seeds’ incredible nutritional make-up, and how those huge nutrients hiding inside small shells can make a major difference in the bedroom and beyond.

An Ancient Secret Turned Modern Marvel

Pumpkin seeds’ benefits for sexuality have long been lauded in Europe and Asia, but it’s taken them a little longer to garner mainstream attention in the rest of the world. Unlike a lot of “ancient secrets”, that new attention can be chalked up to a better scientific understanding of exactly what it is these pumpkin seeds are packing.

“Pumpkin seed nutrition” may as well be its own field of study with how rich they are in nutrients that benefit everything from the prostate, to the bladder, to the heart, and beyond. They’re packed with the same thing that makes oysters such a famous aphrodisiac, too, but more on that in a moment.

The real secret to pumpkin seeds’ benefits (which feel like magic, but are actually just science) really comes down to just a handful of amazing nutrients that they’re packed with. And, when taken in combination, they can have an uplifting effect on the libido.

Let’s break down exactly what it is that gives pumpkin seeds their health benefits, nutrient by nutrient. These three miracles of mother nature seem to know no bounds, delivering on boosts to sexual health, heart health, energy, and brain function alike.

Get Your Zip Back with Zinc

With our main focus being pumpkin seeds’ benefits in the bedroom, we’d be remiss not to start our discussion of their key components with zinc. In just one ounce, these little guys have nearly 15% of your daily recommended intake.¹

For starters, zinc is that link between pumpkin seeds and incredibly well-known aphrodisiacs like oysters, and acts as a libido booster for men and women alike. For men, specifically, pumpkin seeds’ zinc content helps to nourish the prostate.^2,3

Finally, if you’re suffering from issues related to bladder health, eating pumpkin seeds might be able to help you out in that regard as well. A study found that pumpkin seed extract helped 45 men and women with their overactive bladders.⁴

The Might of Magnesium

Odds are, you probably aren’t getting as much magnesium in your diet as you should be. Magnesium plays a huge role in all kinds of different bodily functions, from regulating your blood pressure and sugar, to bone health, and even sexual function. ^5,6,7 It should come as no surprise at this point, but pumpkin seeds are one of the most magnesium rich foods you can find, even beating out spinach (while tasting a whole lot better!).

Looking again at pumpkin seeds’ benefits to sexual wellness, there’s a very interesting study that examined the link between low magnesium levels and premature ejaculation. Surely enough, researchers found that the 19 men suffering from premature ejaculation had lower magnesium levels in their blood compared to 19 men in a control group who did not experience premature ejaculation.⁸ With an ounce of pumpkin seeds delivering a whopping 80% of your daily magnesium intake, the decision seems simple.

Fatty Acids Your Heart Loves

As promised (and already touched upon) pumpkin seeds’ benefits for both men and women go beyond the bedroom. One of the most important areas of your health that pumpkin seeds can help bolster is heart health, due in large part to the fatty acids and antioxidants they contain. The zinc and magnesium help out here too! Pumpkin seed extract itself has been directly linked to possible reductions in bad cholesterol, reductions in blood pressure, and increases in good cholesterol.^9,10,11,12 Imagine how much your doctor would love it if he or she saw improvements in all of these areas the next time you showed up for a physical. Plus, with high blood pressure contributing to decreased sexual desire, pumpkin seeds’ benefits in the bedroom just don’t seem to stop. ¹³

It’s Time to Hop on the Pumpkin Seed Bandwagon

With all of these health benefits and incredible nutritional stats, it’s amazing that pumpkin seeds aren’t more popular, when they’re clearly a super food. The barrier for entry here is so incredibly low, what’s stopping you from improving your health regimen with a pack of pumpkin seeds today?

You can buy them in almost any supermarket, convenience store, or health food market. Moreover, the next time you find yourself carving up a pumpkin, toast up those seeds instead of throwing them out so you can reap the nutrition and health benefits.

Pumpkin seeds’ last benefit that we haven’t touched on, perhaps the most exciting of them all, is quite simply that these things are tasty! Sure, they might not satisfy the same craving as potato chips right off the bat, but they sure do a lot more for your health than chips, while still tasting much better than your typical “healthy snacks”. All in all, you can’t ask for much more from a food than what pumpkin seeds deliver.

1. “Seeds, Pumpkin and Squash Seed Kernels, Dried [Pepitas] Nutrition Facts & Calories.” Nutrition Data Know What You Eat., nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3066/2.
2. Fruhwirth, G.O. and Hermetter, A. (2007), Seeds and oil of the Styrian oil pumpkin: Components and biological activities. Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Technol., 109: 1128-1140. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejlt.200700105
3. Hong H, Kim CS, Maeng S. Effects of pumpkin seed oil and saw palmetto oil in Korean men with symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia. Nutr Res Pract. 2009 Winter;3(4):323-7. doi: 10.4162/nrp.2009.3.4.323. Epub 2009 Dec 31. PMID: 20098586; PMCID: PMC2809240.
4. Nishimura, Mie et al. “Pumpkin Seed Oil Extracted From Cucurbita maxima Improves Urinary Disorder in Human Overactive Bladder.” Journal of traditional and complementary medicine vol. 4,1 (2014): 72-4. doi:10.4103/2225-4110.124355
5. Dickinson, H O et al. “Magnesium supplementation for the management of essential hypertension in adults.” The Cochrane database of systematic reviews ,3 CD004640. 19 Jul. 2006, doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004640.pub2
6. Rude, Robert K et al. “Skeletal and hormonal effects of magnesium deficiency.” Journal of the American College of Nutrition vol. 28,2 (2009): 131-41. doi:10.1080/07315724.2009.10719764
7. Larsson, S C, and A Wolk. “Magnesium intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: a meta-analysis.” Journal of internal medicine vol. 262,2 (2007): 208-14. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2796.2007.01840.x
8. Aloosh M, Hassani M, Nikoobakht M. Seminal plasma magnesium and premature ejaculation: a case-control study. BJU Int. 2006 Aug;98(2):402-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-410X.2006.06320.x. PMID: 16879686.
9. Ristić-Medić, Danijela et al. “Alfa-linolenska kiselina i kardiovaskularna oboljenja” [Alpha-linolenic acid and cardiovascular diseases]. Medicinski pregled vol. 56 Suppl 1 (2003): 19-25.
10. al-Zuhair H, Abd el-Fattah AA, Abd el Latif HA. Efficacy of simvastatin and pumpkin-seed oil in the management of dietary-induced hypercholesterolemia. Pharmacol Res. 1997 May;35(5):403-8. doi: 10.1006/phrs.1997.0148. PMID: 9299202.
11. Zuhair HA, Abd El-Fattah AA, El-Sayed MI. Pumpkin-seed oil modulates the effect of felodipine and captopril in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Pharmacol Res. 2000 May;41(5):555-63. doi: 10.1006/phrs.1999.0622. PMID: 10753555.
12. Gossell-Williams M, Hyde C, Hunter T, Simms-Stewart D, Fletcher H, McGrowder D, Walters CA. Improvement in HDL cholesterol in postmenopausal women supplemented with pumpkin seed oil: pilot study. Climacteric. 2011 Oct;14(5):558-64. doi: 10.3109/13697137.2011.563882. Epub 2011 May 5. PMID: 21545273.
13. “High Blood Pressure and Sex: Overcome the Challenges.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 9 Jan. 2019, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/in-depth/high-blood-pressure-and-sex/art-20044209.

The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. They are not intended to treat, diagnose, prevent or cure any disease.