You may think you know everything there is to know about this
summertime fruit, but allow me to surprise you… watermelon is more than
just delicious… it’s a super-healthy addition to your diet (in
moderation, of course).
You just need to be careful when eating any melon, including watermelon to follow the advice of
Wayne Pickering in my interview.
Eat melon alone or leave it alone because it will make your stomach
groan. So ideally, no food 30 minutes before or after eating melons.
6 Watermelon Facts That Might Surprise You
1. Watermelon Has More Lycopene Than Raw Tomatoes
Lycopene is a powerful carotenoid antioxidant that gives fruits and vegetables a pink or red color. It’s most often associated with tomatoes, but watermelon is actually a more concentrated source.
Compared to a large fresh tomato, one cup of watermelon has 1.5
times the lycopene (6 milligrams (mg) in watermelon compared to 4 mg in a
tomato).3 More on why lycopene is so important shortly…
2. Watermelon Juice May Relieve Muscle Soreness
If you have a juicer, try juicing about one-third of a fresh
watermelon and drinking its juice prior to your next workout. This
contains a little over one gram of l-citrulline, an amino acid that
seems to protect against muscle pain.
One study found that men who drank natural unpasteurized watermelon
juice prior to their workouts had reduced muscle soreness 24 hours later
compared to those who drank a placebo.4
You do need to be careful with drinking watermelon juice, though, as
it contains a significant amount of fructose. It may be better to eat
the entire fruit, or opt for these other tips to prevent muscle soreness.
3. Watermelon Is a Fruit and a Vegetable
Remember how watermelon is related to cucumbers, pumpkin, and
squash? That’s because it’s part vegetable and part fruit (it’s a sweet,
seed-producing plant, after all).5 The other clue that watermelon is both fruit and vegetable? The rind is entirely edible…
4. You Can Eat Watermelon Rind and Seeds
Most people throw away the watermelon rind, but try putting it in a blender with some lime for a healthy, refreshing treat.6
Not only does the rind contain plenty of health-promoting and
blood-building chlorophyll, but the rind actually contains more of the
amino acid citrulline than the pink flesh.7
Citrulline is converted to arginine in your kidneys, and not only is this amino acid important for heart health
and maintaining your immune system, but it has been researched to have
potential therapeutic value in over 100 health conditions.8
While many people prefer seedless watermelon varieties, black
watermelon seeds are edible and actually quite healthy. They contain
iron, zinc, protein, and fiber. (In case you were wondering, seedless
watermelons aren’t genetically modified, as they’re the result of
hybridization.9)
5. It’s Mostly Water
This might not be surprising, but it’s still a fun fact; watermelon is more than 91 percent water.10
This means that eating watermelon with you on a hot summer day is a
tasty way to help you stay hydrated and avoid dehydration (it’s not a
substitute for drinking plenty of fresh water, however).
6. Some Watermelon Are Yellow
The Yellow Crimson watermelon has yellow flesh with a sweeter, honey
flavor than the more popular pink-fleshed Crimson Sweet. It’s likely
that yellow watermelon offers its own unique set of nutritional
benefits, but most research to date has focused on the pink-fleshed
varieties.11
Lycopene: Watermelon’s Nutritional Claim to Fame
Watermelon is an excellent source of lycopene, with upwards of 6,500
micrograms (6.5 mg) in less than half a cup (the red-fleshed varieties
will contain significantly more lycopene than yellow-fleshed
watermelon).
Also noteworthy, the lycopene in watermelon appears to be quite
stable, with little deterioration occurring even after it’s been cut and
stored in the refrigerator for more than two days. In one study, it
took about seven days of storage for the lycopene to deteriorate, and
then it was only by about 6 percent to 11 percent.12
So what makes lycopene so important? Lycopene's antioxidant activity
has long been suggested to be more powerful than that of other
carotenoids, such as beta-carotene. In one study, after controlling for
other stroke risk factors, such as older age and diabetes, they found
that men with the highest blood levels of lycopene were 55 percent less
likely to have a stroke than those with the lowest.13
A 2014 meta-analysis also revealed that lycopene decreased stroke
risk (including stroke occurrence or mortality) by more than 19 percent.14 In addition to lowering your risk of stroke, lycopene has been shown to have potential anti-cancer activity, likely due to its potent antioxidant properties.
A 2014 meta-analysis of 10 studies also showed that dietary lycopene
may protect against the risk of ovarian cancer among postmenopausal
women.15 There is also some evidence from animal studies that lycopene may help with cancer treatment as well.
One study found that lycopene treatment reduced the growth of brain
tumors while another showed frequent lycopene intake suppressed breast
tumor growth in mice.16
Watermelon Extract May Significantly Reduce Blood Pressure
New research also highlights the role of watermelon nutrients on
heart attack prevention, via a significant reduction in blood pressure.
Obese study participants who received citrulline and arginine
supplements derived from watermelon extract had significant improvements
in blood pressure and cardiac stress, both while at rest and undergoing
a stressful cold-water test.17 According to the researchers:
“Watermelon supplementation reduced aortic BP [blood pressure]
and myocardial oxygen demand during CPT [cold pressor test] and the
magnitude of the cold-induced increase in wave reflection in obese
adults with hypertension. Watermelon may provide cardioprotection by
attenuating cold-induced aortic hemodynamic responses.”
Remember, in your body the citrulline in watermelon is converted
into L-arginine, which is a precursor to nitric oxide. Adequate nitric
oxide is required to enable you blood vessels to stay relaxed and open
for blood flow, which is one reason why it may help lower blood
pressure.
Watermelon for Inflammation, Sexual Health, and More
L-arginine may also help with erectile dysfunction
by helping to relax your blood vessels, including those supplying blood
to your penis – and that’s why watermelon is sometimes referred to as
“Nature’s Viagra.” In fact, citrulline supplementation has been found to
improve erection hardness in men with mild erectile dysfunction.18
What else is watermelon good for?
It’s rich in anti-inflammatory substances. For instance, watermelon
contains the anti-inflammatory antioxidant lycopene as well as
cucurbitacin E, or tripterpenoid, which reduces the activity of the pain
and inflammation-causing enzyme cyclooxygenase – the same enzyme
blocked by COX-2 inhibitors, which include most NSAIDs like aspirin and
ibuprofen. While being very low in calories (about 46 calories in a
cup), watermelon also contains an impressive variety of other important
nutrients in which many Americans are lacking, including:
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin B6
- Potassium
- Vitamin A
- Magnesium
