Watermelon
It went on from there to Turkey, Iran and the United States. Watermelon is one fruit that has been recommended by medical, nutritional and beauty experts as health promoting.
“The more we study watermelons, the more we realise just how amazing a fruit it is in providing natural enhancers to the human body,” Dr. Bhimu Patil, director of Texas A&M’s Fruit and Vegetable Improvement Centre in College Station, said. He added that “we’ve always known that watermelon is good for you, but the list of its very important healthful benefits grows longer with each study.”
Watermelon is a good source of thiamin, potassium and magnesium which protects the body from numerous diseases, a research published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Nutrition has said.
The journal added that eating lycopene-rich fruits like watermelon could reduce a man's risk of developing prostate cancer and could lower inflammation that may cause hypertension and heart disease.
And if the information given by a study done by Indian Association of Urologists is to be followed, it will be helpful to eat watermelon because of its lycopene content. Lycopene, the study said, is helpful in increasing male fertility by improving both sperm concentration and motility.
Aparup Mukherjee, in his “Health Benefit of Watermelon”, answered a question on if water melon isn’t nothing more than a ball full of water” by stating that “the health benefits of water melon include kidney disorders, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart care, heat stroke, macular degeneration, impotence, etc.”
He wrote that the fruit contains a lot of potassium, which helps in cleaning off toxic deposits in the kidney. Invariably, eating watermelon may help ward off kidney disorders,
experts believe. Mukherjee believes that watermelon is “helpful in reducing concentration of uric acid in the blood, thereby reducing the chances of kidney damages and formation of renal calculi in it. Added to these, being high in water content, it induces frequent urinating, which is again helpful for cleaning the kidneys. Also, the anti-oxidants present in it ensure healthy kidneys.”
Terri Hall-Jackson, in her own “Surprising Health Benefits of Watermelon”, stated that “Watermelons are an excellent source of several vitamins: vitamin A, which helps to maintain eye health and an antioxidant; vitamin C, which helps to strengthen immunity, heal wounds, prevent cell damage, promote healthy teeth and gums; and vitamin B6, which helps the brain function and helps to convert protein to energy. It is a great source of potassium, which helps to maintain the body’s proper electrolyte and acid-base balance, and helps to lower the risk of high blood pressure. Watermelon also contains the amino acids, citrulline and arginine, which can help to maintain arteries, blood flow and overall cardiovascular function.”
Dr Femi Fasina, a human nutritionist in Ibadan, Oyo State, recommends that people eat watermelon to prevent high blood pressure. He explained that the amount of magnesium and potassium found in watermelon is very good in bringing down high blood pressure. He also said that studies have found that “carotenoids in watermelon serves in the capacity of preventing the veins and the arteries walls from hardening, thereby working as an agent of reducing high blood pressure.”
According to a published article on WHFoods, watermelon serves as protection against macular degeneration, which is a primary cause of loss of vision in older adults. It cited a study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology, which stated that eating three or more servings of fruit per day may lower an individual’s risk of age-related macular degeneration by 36 per cent, compared to persons who consume less than 1.5 servings of fruit daily.”
Watermelon has been linked with prevention of heat stroke, experts have concluded. They said because watermelon is effective in reducing an individual’s body temperature and blood pressure, it is recommended that people in the tropical region eat this fruit daily during the hot season.
Since this fruit serves as energy booster, according to experts, people living with diabetes will particularly find it useful. “Watermelon is rich in the B vitamins necessary for energy production. Our food ranking system also qualifies watermelon as a very good source of vitamin B6, vitamin B1, magnesium, and potassium. Part of its high-ranking is due to the high nutrient richness of watermelon. Because this fruit has higher water content and lower calorie content than many other fruits (a whole cup of watermelon contains only 48 calories), it delivers more nutrients per calorie—an outstanding health benefit!,” WHFoods said.
And as Mukherjee wrote, diabetes patients, who are supposed to have low energy and low sugar diet, often complain of starving since they don’t get to eat their staple diet to their full, giving them a feeling of being half fed. Watermelons can be a good supplement for them. In spite of being sweet in taste, its thick wedge will give you very few calories, since 99 perbcent of its total weight is composed of water and roughage.
“Moreover, the various vitamins and minerals in watermelons help in proper functioning of insulin in the body, thus lowering the blood sugar level. Arginine, another component found in water melons, is very effective in enhancing the impact of insulin on sugar. Diabetes patients can also have curries, steaks, salads made from water melon rinds which are even lower in sugar,” he added.
Dr Fasina recommends that children should be introduced to daily consumption of watermelon as early as possible so it can help their muscle and nerve function.
The watermelon falls in the family of fruits like cantaloupe, pumpkin and similar plants that grow on vines on the ground. Watermelons can be round, oblong or spherical in shape; light to dark green in colour, with white mottling stripes. Its flesh are commonly bright red in colour but there are also other varieties where its flesh are dark brown, orange, yellow, pink or even white.Watermelon is another of my all-time favourite. Not only is it cooling for the body in our tropical climate, it is excellent for flushing out the kidney and bladder, taking out waste materials. As the red watermelon juice can be very sweet on its own, better to juice them together with the rind as well. Rind is the whitish green part of the watermelon, between the skin and the red flesh. This part of the fruit contains the highest level of quality minerals and chlorophyll, and should not be discarded.
Nutritional BenefitsThe water content in watermelon is extremely high at 92%. It is rich in beta-carotene, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin B5 and smaller amounts of B1, B2, B3 and B6. This big fruit is a rich source of essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and smaller amounts of copper, iron and zinc. As in tomatoes, watermelon is loaded with lycopene, the red carotenoid pigment that gives it the red colour. This important anti-oxidant is powerful in neutralising harmful free radicals in our body.
Health BenefitsWatermelon is basically very cleansing, alkalinising, diuretic and mineralising. It is very effective in promoting intestinal elimination, keeping the body free from toxic wastes. Its juice is easily digestible and is completely absorbed for all its minerals, providing much needed nutrients to the body.The alkalinising effect maintains the acid-alkaline balance in the body, neutralising the toxic condition of the body resulting from excessive intake of acid-forming foods. Drawing from the rich anti-oxidant and beta-carotene, the health effects of watermelon juice are immense.
Asthma: The powerful anti-oxidant in watermelon reduces toxic matters in the body that in turn reduces asthma attacks.
Arthritis: The rich beta-carotene and vitamin C content in this big fruit do wonders in quenching inflammation that contributes to conditions like osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.
Bladder problems: Its cleansing and natural diuretic effect is totally healing for kidney and bladder problems
Cholesterol: Watermelon juice is healthful in preventing cholesterol from clogging arteries and can increase the good cholesterol, reducing the risks of cardiovascular diseases.
Constipation: Drink a big glass of watermelon juice. It is very effective in aiding the elimination of wastes. Consuming plenty of this red juice will do a lot of good.
Fluid retention: Its diuretic action helps to eliminate excess fluids from the body, reducing water retention, especially for women during their monthly menstruation cycle and in pregnant women.
Heart attack: The combination of folic acid and the other essential vitamins in this fruit plays an important role in reducing the risks of heart attacks, strokes and colon cancer.
Itchiness: As watermelon juice cleanses the body of toxic wastes, it also greatly reduces itchiness that result from toxicity of acidosis.
Prostate Cancer: Lycopene (from red watermelons) has been extensively researched for its anti-oxidant and cancer-preventing properties. It is reported to be especially protective against prostate cancer.
Skin Blemish: Use watermelon externally by applying a small piece liberally on your face. Leave for ten minutes, then wash off with warm water, followed by a splash of cold water.
Consumption TipsIf you cannot finish a whole watermelon and wish to keep it for later, cover the uneaten portion (cut in as few pieces as possible) with plastic cling wrap to prevent them from drying out. This also prevents it from absorbing the odors of other foods. Keep refrigerated to best preserve its freshness, taste and juiciness.Watermelon is best eaten on its own, in fruit salads, or juiced. You may also freeze pureed watermelon in ice cube trays. Kids love this, especially on a hot day!
Using watermelon as a detox:The cooling qualities of watermelon make it ideal for a quick and easy 3-Day Summer Detox. Cleansing with watermelon is easy to do, delicious and extremely effective. The watermelon is a whole body cleanser. It has positive effects on the kidney, bladder, heart, stomach, colon, liver and more. Protein, alcohol and caffeine all put strain on the kidney. One thing that watermelon does is it helps the liver to process the waste from protein digestion into the safer form of urea. This increased effectiveness in production of urea takes some strain off of the kidneys. There are several ways to do a watermelon cleanse. You can use the juice alone, separated from the pulp. You can toss the melon in the blender, then consume it as a smoothie. You can add lemon, ginger or herbs. There are some specific watermelon cleansing recipes that you can use during your cleanse.Every part from flesh, rind and seed can be consumed with some benefit. A watermelon cleanse can be used to shed a few pounds in a short time. Menopausal women can use the cleanse to relieve hot flashes. The extreme heat of August can be released through the cleansing power of watermelon. The colon is cleansed by watermelon. Watermelon can act as a blood tonic and therefore be very regenerative.
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