Healthy Diet Plans >>  Therapeutic Value of Different Foods >>  Fruits >>  Watermelon

Watermelon

Watermelon is another juicy, watery fruit that can fulfill our requirement of much needed water as well as antioxidants. This fruit is green colored on the outer side, and red colored with dark brown or black seeds inside. Watermelon is as beneficial to health as it is attractive to look at.

Watermelon is a good source of Vitamin A and Vitamin C, this fruit can satisfy your thirst as well as cool down other inflammations like asthma, atherosclerosis, etc. Watermelon is also beneficial to treat diabetes. Antioxidants in watermelon travel through the body and start neutralizing the free radicals in body that are the main cause of oxidizing cholesterol in body and blocking the blood vessels. It is the free radicals that can cause a heart attack.




Beta-carotene and Vitamin C in watermelon helps in neutralizing the free radicals and avoiding more than one types of cancers, one such cancer is the colon cancer, free radicals can react with the cells lining the colon and convert them into cancer, beta-carotene and Vitamin C get rid of this cancer causing free radicals and keeps body free of cancer causing cells.

Watermelon is a good fruit as arthritis treatment, the ability to reduce inflammation with nutrients like again beta-carotene and Vitamin C. You can consume a cup of watermelon to fulfill one-fourth of your daily requirement of Vitamin C and Vitamin A.


watermelon is great for instant energy production.

Watermelon should be cut and eaten fresh preferably. This will help in your body receiving all benefits properly, if watermelon has been left out in open without refrigeration for a long time, it might develop amoeba because of its watery content. You can cut and store watermelon, but as days pass by it will lose its nutritional content, you should not consume watermelon cut and stored for more than 6 days.




Watermelon seeds too can be quite interesting to consume, in many hot countries, people collect watermelon seeds, sun dry these and later roast them so that these open effortlessly, all those who are in habit of munching endlessly can eat the seed one by one, so you will not feel craving for food, neither will you be putting on weight. You can even salt the seeds and roast these without any oil or butter.

Some people also eat the watermelon rind if proper garnishing and taste enhancing is done watermelon rind can taste great.




Watermelon benefits

The nutritional value of watermelons is immense because they are one of the natural sources of the most powerful antioxidants that are naturally available. Watermelons are a good source of antioxidants vitamin A and C and thereby protect one from various diseases. One of the watermelon benefits is that it has a very high water content and fibre content which makes it an ideal food option while following a weight loss diet plan. This is because the high water content and the fibre content helps the individual in feeling full for a longer period of time thereby reducing the frequency of meals and watermelons have a negligible amount of calories and hence can be consumed in large quantities. Additionally the high water content also helps prevent dehydration. One of the watermelon nutritional facts is that the watermelon is an excellent source of lycopene which is a potent carotene antioxidant. These antioxidants are known to travel throughout the body and neutralise any free radicals which would have otherwise cause a lot of damage. The antioxidants derived from watermelons also tend to oxidize cholesterol which would have otherwise deposited itself on the walls of the blood vessels causing them to thicken and resulting in strokes or heart attacks. Another one of the watermelon benefits is that the lycopene present in the watermelons helps in reducing the risk of prostate cancer. Watermelons also make an excellent snack after a rigorous exercise regime as they are rich in electrolytes potassium and sodium that an individual tend to lose via perspiration.

Similarly one of the watermelon benefits is that it is exceptionally high in citrulline and has a special cooling effect in the body Citrulline is an amino acid that the body requires to prepare another amino acid called arginine which is utilised during the urea cycle to expel ammonia from one’s body. Additionally, the antioxidants present in watermelons also help in reducing the severity of asthma as well as the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, colon cancer, and heart disease. The nutritional value of watermelons is high because it is also a very good source of potassium, magnesium and thiamine which protect the body from various diseases. Watermelon is practically fat free but aids the production of energy in the body and also protects one from macular degeneration. Another one of the watermelon health benefits is that it contains high amount of potassium which is very helpful and effective in washing off or cleaning the toxic deposits from the kidneys. Potassium is also useful in minimizing the concentration of uric acid in the blood of the individual which in turn reduces the chances of any possible kidney damage or renal calculi in the kidneys. The magnesium and potassium present in watermelons are also known to be very useful in lowering ones blood pressure. This is possible because the carotenoids present in watermelons prevent the hardening of the walls of the veins and the arteries which results in a reduction in the blood pressure levels in an individual.

 

Submitted on December 17, 2010
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