In the spotlight - Butternut squash

While the pumpkin is the member of the squash family that most of us will be familiar with, in the last decade butternut squash has made a regular appearance in recipes and consequently in the supermarkets. You can't miss butternut squash thanks to its distinctive shape and golden yellow flesh. It is its colour that gives rise to butternut squash's high content of Vitamin A. An 80g serving of cooked butternut squash - equivalent to 3 heaped tablespoons - provides well over the recommended daily requirement for Vitamin A. While we covered Vitamin A's role in

eye health not that long ago, there are a number of other reasons why this vitamin is important to the body. Vitamin A is needed to maintain immune function, to allow the cells of the body to communicate with each other, vital for their function, and plays an essential part in cell development - the body is constantly renewing its cells, to replace those that have come to the end of their life. 

A deficiency of Vitamin A is most commonly seen as difficulty in seeing at low light levels, though more frequent infections are also more likely. However, in developed countries Vitamin A deficiency is unlikely, though there are two groups of people who remain at risk - premature babies and anyone who malabsorbs fat - examples include those with cystic fibrosis, certain liver diseases or anyone who takes Orlistat, the weight loss medication. 

However, as with everything you can have too much of a good thing and that extends to Vitamin A. As it is a fat soluble vitamin, excess Vitamin A accumulates in the body, notably in the liver, which can lead to irreversible damage. While it is difficult to take too much Vitamin A from the diet, it is easy if high dose supplements are taken. Pregnant women are advised against taking supplements that contain Vitamin A, as well as eating liver, as too much Vitamin A can cause damage to their developing baby.

Not only can butternut squash be roasted with other veg to make a welcome accompaniment to various dishes, it is an integral part of many others - butternut squash often appears in curries, risottos, pasta dishes, soups and even in baking. For further recipe ideas visit the following websites:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/butternut_squash

http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/popular-ingredients/butternut-squash
http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipes/tag-579/butternut-squash-recipes.aspx
http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/butternut-squash

Photo by Forest and Kim Starr by Wikimedia Commons