Nothing defines an American summer picnic more than a big, juicy slice of bright red watermelon. The watermelon is a fruit that we all love to eat and that has become a virtual cultural icon of summertime enjoyment. That is odd in a way since it originated in far-off southern Africa (source), but another little-known fact about watermelons is that they are a practically “health and wellness powerhouses.”
Watermelon is packed with important nutrients like beta-carotene, vitamins A, B1, B6, and C, potassium, magnesium, biotin, copper, pantothenic acid, and more. It is also a great weight-loss tool since it has an incredibly puny calorie count- only 30 calories in a 100-gram serving. Even the seeds and the rinds have health benefits! This is a truly amazing fruit.
A partial, but rather long, list of watermelon’s many health benefits (source) is as follows:
- Going on a “watermelon fast” can help to cleanse your kidneys of toxins and give your body a chance to kill off unwelcome bacteria. Thus, it is helpful at fighting urinary tract infections that are based in the kidneys. Just eat nothing but watermelon for a full day, and the benefits will accrue.
- Make watermelon-seed tea to help treat kidney stones. Crush up a tablespoon of watermelon seeds, throw them in the cup, and then pour some boiling water over them. Let it steep and cool off for a few minutes, then enjoy.
- Drink three glasses of pure, fresh watermelon juice a day. This will help clear excess ammonia out of your liver, which is a good step in a total body detox program. This can also help cleanse your colon and fight edema.
- Watermelon’s high water and fiber content make it a great cure for constipation. One should not “overdose,” however, since that could result in the opposite problem.
- Instead of just throwing the rind out, you can rub it on your skin. Nutrients in the rind have anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. Thus, pimples and skin fungi can be treated with the rind of a watermelon.
- Studies have found that L-citrulline, an amino acid that watermelon abounds with, can reduce blood pressure, relax arteries, and improve blood circulation.
- Watermelon’s alkalinity and high water content make it effective at washing out gout-causing uric crystals.
- Watermelon can have a soothing effect on your stomach. So, if you are suffering with heartburn, eat five or six chunks of this fruit daily. Eating them slowly also seems to help, so just take the time to pick the seeds out in order to slow down the consumption rate.
- Watermelon is high in Lycopene, a carotenoid that is important to overall cardiovascular health. Lycopene is at its peak levels in watermelon just after the fruit ripens to a white-pink color.
- Watermelon is a good anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant. It is much better to get these benefits naturally, if possible, than with artificial drugs.
With so many health benefits being discovered in regard to watermelon, we have good reason to keep on eating this fruit that we all love to eat anyway. While watermelon is not an “elixir” that magically solves all of your health woes in an instant, it does have the ability to assist with a wide range of health-related problems. Its nutrients serve to keep you going strong and to clear up various issues should they arise. Incorporating a big dose of watermelon into your diet will prove a wise choice, boosting your body’s overall health level on multiple fronts.
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