Your health: Is there any actual pumpkin in that food?

Is there any actual pumpkin in that?

This time of year there's little question Americans are pumped about pumpkin.

We gobble up about $300 million worth of pumpkin-flavored products annually, mostly from September through November, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Although few vegetables boast the same level of fandom, the craze doesn't always have nutrition experts smiling.

Starbucks recently was criticized because its famed Pumpkin Spice Latte doesn't contain actual pumpkin. Nor do many of the other pumpkin-flavored products, including Nabisco's new Pumpkin Spice Oreos.

But, in most cases, the lack of pumpkin isn't the biggest health concern. It's the sugar.

Nutrition expert Joyce Hanna points out that a 12-oz. Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte with nonfat milk and no whipped cream contains 37 grams of sugar. The World Health Organization says adults shouldn't consume more than 25 grams of sugar per day, so just one latte puts you over the limit.

But Hanna says real pumpkin is a super food. A cup of it has as much potassium as a banana and more fiber than a bowl of high-fiber cereal. It's rich in calcium, iron and other vitamins, and it's a top source of beta carotene.

Hanna suggests including baked or steamed pumpkin in savory dishes like soup, and keeping an eye on sugar, fat and salt when you make pumpkin desserts.

Recessions may mean fewer mothers

When the economy tanks, women have fewer babies. But what happens when conditions improve?

A massive new study suggests that for some U.S. women, living through a recession can mean they will never have children, The Associated Press reports.

In fact, the authors project that among women who were in their early 20s in 2008 — early in the so-called “Great Recession” — about 151,000 will forgo having any children as a result, at least by age 40.

Overall, the lingering impact of that recession may ultimately mean some 427,000 fewer children being born over the course of a couple decades, the authors say.

Tough economic conditions are blamed for a five-year drop in the number of babies born in the U.S., starting in 2007.