Summer Squash

Summer squash and a popular variety, zucchini, are often referred to as vegetables or “dinner vegetables,” but this nonsweet fruit shares more in common with cucumbers than lettuce. Squash scores a 95 out of 100 in Dr. T.C. Fry’s “A General Guide to Food Selection.”

Most summer squashes are varieties of Cucurbita pepo. A medium-size zucchini weighs 196 grams and contains 33 calories. Summer squash contains 95 percent water.

Summer squash is believed to originate in Central America and Mexico. The varieties called “zucchini” are native to Italy. Several cultivars of summer squash grow throughout the United States during warm seasons.

Summer squash is especially rich in Vitamin C, containing almost 30 percent of one’s Recommended Daily Intake for just a 100-gram, 17-calorie serving.

The longest zucchini grown spanned 7 feet, 10.3 inches long, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Stats for 100 Grams of Summer Squash, Zucchini (Includes Skin, Raw)

• 17 calories

Notable Nutrients

Percentages based on the Reference Daily Intake for a 2,000-calorie diet

• Vitamin B2: 5.5%
• Vitamin B6: 8.2%
• Vitamin C: 29.8%
• Vitamin K: 5.4%
• Folate: 6%
• Magnesium: 4.5%
• Manganese: 8.9%
• Potassium: 7.5%

Carbs/Protein/Fat

• Carbohydrates: 66.4%
• Protein: 17.6%
• Fat: 16%

Food Type

• Nonsweet fruit

Sources

• Self Healing Colitis & Crohn’s by Dr. David Klein
• http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/3215
• http://www.cronometer.com
• http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/zucchini.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_squash
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zucchini