[[File:Summer Squash.jpg|thumb|350px|left|Summer Squash]]Other Names : Cucurbita pepoSquash has been a staple for the Native Americans for greater than 5000 years, and was a primary food for early Europeans who settled in America. It is said George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were enthusiastic squash growers. In the nineteenth century, merchant seamen brought with them new varieties of squash from other parts of the Americas with many new varieties. This has resulted in the development of several types of summer squash, with zucchini being the most popular summer squash purchased in the United States. The World's Healthiest Foods from the The George Mateljan Foundation reported on the myriad of health benefits of squash on June 17, 2013<See also : [[CalabashPumpkin]] (Lagenaria siceraria)
==Varieties==
bottle gourd, calabash, spaghetti squash, cucuzza, cho-cho, choko, christophene, chuchu, cucuzza = cucuzzi = bottle gourd = calabash = zucca = suzza melon = Tasmania bean = New Guinea bean = Italian squash, cucuzzi, custard marrow, custard squash, cymling, courgette, globe squash = Ronde de Nice, Italian marrow, Italian squash, mango squash, marrow squash, mirliton, New Guinea bean, pattypan squash = scalloped squash = scallop = custard squash = white bush squash = cymling = white squash, pear squash, pepinella, scallop, scalloped squash, snake gourd, sousous, sunburst squash, suzza melon, Tasmania bean, tinda = Indian baby pumpkin = Punjabi tinda, vegetable pear, white bush squash, xuxu, yellow squash( includes yellow straightneck squash and yellow crookneck squash), zucca, [[zucchini]] = [[courgette]] = Italian marrow squash
==Special Precautions of Summer Squash==
*Avoid when you have Cold Sores (Herpes) because it is quite high in [[Arginine]].*[[Calabash]] (Lagenaria siceraria) is related to the pumpkin. But it's not a real pumpkin. The zucchini is indeed a pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo var. pepo). Pumpkins come in many shapes.
==Benefits and uses of Summer Squash are==
*Eye health : Summer squash has been recognized as being fantastic when it comes to key antioxidants. Summer squash is an excellent food source of alpha-carotene and beta-carotene. Summer squash is also loaded with lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-cryptoxanthin, which are three other health-supportive carotenoids. Several recent studies have highlighted the unique contribution which is made by summer squash to our antioxidant requirements. The skin of squash is particularly antioxidant-rich, and therefore it is a good idea to leave the skin intact. Summer squash offers an excellent source of manganese and vitamin C as well as a good source of vitamin A. Due to the other antioxidant nutrients which are also present in squash, including the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, squash can be helpful in providing antioxidant protection of the eye. Although we often think primarily about carrots as providing us with antioxidant-related eye health benefits, we should also consider summer squash as offering similar eye health benefits, which includes protection against age- related macular degeneration and cataracts.