You are here

Some of the Benefits Of Watermelon

Nearly every article you're apt to come across extolling the healthy benefits of watermelon is going to start out by visualizing the enjoyment of eating a watermelon on a hot summer's day. It's hard not to do this. The watermelon is a staple of the family summer time picnic. Few things taste better than a cool slice of watermelon, and one of the joys of the summer picnic would be a good old-fashioned seed spitting contest. We also remember the feel of watermelon juice on the sides of our face as we got deeper into the slice.

Good, And Good For You - Back in our younger years, we usually didn't give much thought to the health benefits of watermelon. Now it's nice to come to the realization that something that tastes so good is at the same time very good for you. Even though it's mostly water (water is good for us, too), the watermelon is a highly nutritious vegetable. It is a distant relative of the squash and the pumpkin. Some insist on calling it a fruit, but rather than argue about it, simply call it a melon, the cantaloupe being a close relative. However you classify it, it's a very healthy food.

Among other things, the watermelon is packed with several highly important nutrients. These are:

Vitamin C

Vitamin A

The all-purpose vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)

Vitamin B1 (thiamine)

Potassium

Magnesium

A Powerful Antioxidant - Vitamins A and C, and other elements contained in the watermelon, specifically beta-carotene and lycopene, make up a potent group of powerful antioxidants. Antioxidants neutralize the free radicals which are always present in our body, and always doing a certain amount of damage to tissues and organs. Antioxidants yield a wide range of benefits, everything from slowing the aging of our skin, to protecting us from heart disease by preventing the oxidation of cholesterol by free radicals, which leads to clogged arteries. A nice thick slice of watermelon will provide nearly a quarter of a person's daily requirement of vitamin C.

Beta Carotene And Lycopene - Beta carotene and lycopene, two other antioxidants, also play a role in the prevention of cancer. The effectiveness of the prevention of cancer in humans that lycopene offers has been the subject of numerous studies. Findings have verified that a greater presence of lycopene correlates fairly well to a lesser chance of cancer developing, especially prostate, breast, lung, and colorectal cancers.  That should not be interpreted to say that eating lots of watermelon will cure cancer, it won't, or that it is guaranteed to prevent cancer. The benefits found in watermelon simply help prevent cancer. In other words, watermelon is good for you.

Many Varieties Available - It used to be that one could only enjoy the benefits in mid summer. That's no doubt one reason why we have such fond memories of the watermelon. These days they are available in the supermarket almost any day of the year. There are a number of varieties one can choose from. The large ones a small child can barely carry are often a favorite, though you can purchase a half watermelon or quarter watermelon, or buy one of the softball-sized miniature varieties.

There are yellow watermelons as well. Many of the watermelons purchased nowadays are of the seedless variety, which are usually the best choice once you've graduated from the seed spitting habit.

The watermelon still seems to taste best in the summer.  We may never accept sliced watermelon as part of a Christmas or Thanksgiving meal, though you'll often find watermelon in fruit dishes at wintertime parties. Winter or summer, the watermelon tastes a little better, now that we know how many benefits it provides.

Explore more Information

Watermelon Nutrition and Its Benefits

While dieticians have long known the value of watermelon nutrition, the public is just now finding out how healthy a watermelon really is. For instance, a cup of watermelon has vitamin A for healthy eyes, vitamin C to help strengthen your immune system, vitamin B6 which helps the brain to make chemicals for psychological health, and potassium, which every cell in the body needs for water balance.

Is Watermelon Good For You?

Why is watermelon good for you? What are the health benefits in adding watermelon in your regular diet? What are the essential vitamins and minerals you can find in this fruit? These are the questions we aim to answer in this short article. But before answering, let us have an overview of existing trends that provide the background to questions like these.

How to Choose Watermelon Varieties

While most of us can remember enjoying watermelons in the summertime as far back as childhood, it may be surprising to find out that today there are around two hundred different watermelon varieties grown. The traditional oblong green watermelon with pink flesh and black seeds is no longer the only choice. Today there are seedless varieties as well as the traditional watermelons with seeds.

Watermelon Nutrition

Are you interested in watermelon nutrition facts? There is a lot of hearsay that surrounds watermelon, such as “watermelon can help you lose weight” or “watermelon can help prevent cancer.” The truth is that watermelon nutrition does have the possibility to stave off certain illnesses although the research conducted on that front is not solid. It definitely does make a good food choice for a hot summer’s day.

The Truth about the Watermelon Diet

The watermelon diet is one of many which are considered fad diets. They become extremely popular for a time because people maintain that they lost weight, and everyone wants to lose weight. But, let’s face it, none of us want to eat only watermelon for the rest of our lives and if you stick to this diet for a long period of time, you will lose your health rather than gain it.

All About the Square Watermelon

Everyone loves to eat watermelon in the summer, but its round, oblong shape makes it hard to carry, hard to slice, and hard to store but now there’s a solution the square watermelon. Developed by a farmer in Japan almost twenty years ago, the square watermelon can now be purchased throughout Japan.

Still, most of the people in the world have never seen or eaten a square watermelon. In Japan, they are only purchased by the wealthy. 

Top Tips on How to Identify a Ripe Watermelon

It is sometimes not an easy task to figure out if you have a ripe watermelon or not. This is especially true if you have dozens of watermelon plants in your garden. The most accurate way is one that is usually only used by commercial producers, and that involves using a hand refractometer to measure the sweetness of the watermelon. The middle of a ripe watermelon should have a sugar level of around ten percent.

Tips for Growing Watermelon

Growing watermelon can be a challenging endeavor. It’s not that there is anything out of the ordinary about planting watermelon, but it takes approximately ninety days to get to harvest time. Because of the length of time needed to grow a watermelon, there is ample opportunity for diseases and pests to find their way into the watermelon patch. It also means that watermelon can be exposed to many different weather conditions. Watermelon is beneficial to keep body healhty, there are several health benefits taken into consideration.