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Butternut Squash Nutrition

Butternut squash is a comforting, filling vegetable that is great during the fall months. It has a rich flavor that is backed by multiple nutritional benefits. Butternut squash is high in vitamins and minerals and is low in fat and calories. There are many reasons to consider adding butternut squash to your daily diet.

  1. Fat and Calories

    • One cup of raw butternut squash only has 63 calories. The majority of those calories come from the carbohydrates. The same serving of butternut squash only has .1 g of fat. It can be added to meals to add flavor and fullness without adding fat.

    Dietary Fiber

    • Dietary fiber regulates the digestive system. It can also help to lower cholesterol levels in the body. There are 3 g of dietary fiber in every serving of butternut squash, 11 percent of your daily recommended value.

    Vitamin A

    • Vitamin A is an important part of cell reproduction and it's important to maintaining healthy eyes. Butternut squash has 298 percent of your daily recommended value of vitamin A.

    Vitamin C

    • Vitamin C is an important antioxidant for the body. It can help to prevent certain kinds of cancer and can help to keep the immune system working properly. Vitamin C has also been shown to possibly help prevent certain types of heart disease. Butternut squash accounts for 50 percent of your daily recommended value of vitamin C at 29.4 mg per one cup serving.

    Minerals

    • One serving of butternut squash has 14 percent of your daily recommended value of manganese, 12 percent of magnesium and 14 percent of potassium. Potassium is important for healthy muscle action. Magnesium is important for cell formation and manganese is important to metabolizing proteins and fat, according to NutritionData.

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