Squash

It is a vegetable plant similar to Indian gourd cultivated for food for man and livestock. Squashes range in size from a few inches to a foot in length. Some squashes have a white skin while others have skins of various colours, commonly yellow, tan or green. Squash plants have yellow male and female flowers that are borne singly in the axils of the leaves. Pollination is usually done by insects, chiefly bees.

Squashes are believed to have originated in South America, probably in Peru or Chile. Squash are now grown in most parts of the world. The name 'squash' is applied to certain varieties of the species Cucurbita maxima.

Hibbard, delicious and butter-cup squashes are widely grown in home and nursery gardens of the U.S. The mammoth types of winter squashes are grown for stock-feed.

Straight neck and crooked-neck squashes are grown in summer. They are eaten when young and immature. Other kinds of summer squashes include Italian vegetable marrow, the cocozell, the zucchini and the English vegetable marrow. Squash is a rich source of vitamins A, B, C and G and minerals.

Benefit and uses of Squash.

• Winter squash is an excellent source of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), vitamin C, potassium, dietary fibre and manganese, besides folate, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B1, copper, vitamin B6, niacin-vitamin B3 and pantothenic acid.
• The most useful nutrients in winter squash, beta-carotene, has been shown to have powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Beta-carotene is able to prevent the oxidation of cholesterol in the body.
• Vitamin C, present in squash, is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. This anti-inflammatory activity may influence the development of asthma symptoms.
• Potassium full present in squash. Potassium reduces urinary calcium excretion, and people who eat high amounts of dietary potassium appear to be at low risk of forming kidney stones.
• The nutrients in summer squash are useful for the prevention of other conditions as well. High intakes of fiber-rich foods help to keep cancer-causing toxins away from cells in the colon, while the folate, vitamin C, and beta-carotene help to protect these cells from the chemicals that can lead to colon cancer.
• The antioxidants vitamin C and beta-carotene also have anti-inflammatory properties that make them helpful for conditions like asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis, where inflammation plays a big role. Vitamin C is good source of Squash.