Watermelon is one of the favorite fruits of many people in hot summer. This fruit not only has a sweet and refreshing taste but also brings many health benefits because it contains many essential nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals and plant compounds.
1. What is watermelon?
Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a large fruit native to southern Africa, related to cantaloupe, zucchini, pumpkin, and cucumber.
Watermelon is typically sweet and refreshing, containing only 46 calories per cup, but is rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, and other plant compounds such as citrulline and lycopene, which are good for health.
In addition, this type of melon also brings many health benefits to users, including improving insulin sensitivity, reducing muscle pain, and lowering blood pressure.
Watermelon is often eaten directly, frozen, made into juice or smoothies.
2. Nutritional value of watermelon
The main ingredients in watermelon are water (accounting for 91%) and carbs (accounting for 7.5%). On the other hand, watermelon has almost no protein or fat, and is very low in calories.
Here are the nutritional facts for 2/3 cup (100 grams) of watermelon:
Calories: 30
Water: 91%
Protein: 0.6 grams
Carbs: 7.6 grams
Sugar: 6.2 grams
Fiber: 0.4 grams
Fat: 0.2 grams
91% of watermelon is water
2.1. Carbs
A cup of watermelon (152 grams) contains 12 grams of carbs, mostly simple sugars, including fructose, glucose, and sucrose. In addition, watermelon also provides very little fiber.
In addition, the glycemic index (GI – a measure of how foods affect blood sugar after a meal) of watermelon ranges from 72-80, reaching a high level. However, because watermelon contains quite a few carbs, it does not affect blood sugar levels much.
2.2. Fiber
In 2/3 cup (100 grams) of watermelon, it only provides about 0.4 grams of fiber. However, because watermelon’s fructose content is quite high in FODMAP, or fermentable short-chain carbohydrates. Therefore, eating large amounts of fructose can cause unpleasant digestive symptoms because the body cannot fully digest them, such as bloating, constipation, gas, or diarrhea.
2.3. Vitamins and minerals
Watermelon is a fruit that provides many essential vitamins and minerals for the body, such as vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B5 or potassium.
Vitamin C: accounts for a large proportion in watermelon, acts as an antioxidant, helps improve skin health and strengthens the immune system.
Vitamin B5: also known as pantothenic acid. This is a water-soluble vitamin, found in many foods such as peanuts, milk, cheese, broccoli, … This vitamin has the effect of preventing infection, aging, increasing resistance, reducing the risk of diseases such as asthma or heart disease.
Vitamin A: watermelon contains beta carotene, when entering the body it will be converted into vitamin A. This vitamin plays an extremely important role in health, including treating digestive diseases, skin problems, preventing diabetes and cancer.
Potassium: helps control blood pressure and protect cardiovascular health.
Copper: is an important mineral for the body, has the effect of preventing cancer, anti-oxidation and improving the functions of the nervous system.
2.4. Other plant compounds
Although watermelon provides fewer antioxidants than other fruits, it is rich in the amino acids citrulline and lycopene, which are antioxidants that provide many health benefits:
Citrulline: is found most abundantly in the white rind surrounding the watermelon. Citrulline is converted in the body to the amino acid arginine. Both of these substances play an important role in the synthesis of nitric oxide, which helps reduce blood pressure by relaxing blood vessels in the body. On the other hand, arginine is also essential for some organs such as the kidneys, lungs, liver, immune and reproductive systems.
Lycopene: is a powerful antioxidant, creating the bright red color of watermelon. In fact, the amount of lycopene in watermelon is much higher than in tomatoes, so watermelon juice is effective in increasing the concentration of beta carotene and lycopene in the blood.
3. Health benefits of watermelon
Because watermelon contains many important nutrients, it can bring certain health benefits. Specifically:
3.1. Preventing cancer
Researchers have said that lycopene and some other plant compounds in watermelon have excellent anti-cancer effects.
These substances work strongly, reducing the risk of cancer by reducing insulin-like growth factors (IGF) – a protein involved in cell division, high levels of IGF can cause cancer.
In addition, watermelon also provides a large amount of cucurbitacin E, which can inhibit the growth of tumors in the body.
Lycopene in watermelon has excellent anti-cancer effects
3.2. Improve cardiovascular health
It can be said that heart disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Incorporating watermelon into your daily diet will significantly reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke by controlling cholesterol and blood pressure levels.
Studies also show that the amount of lycopene in watermelon is effective in reducing blood pressure and cholesterol levels, while preventing oxidative damage to cholesterol.
For obese people or postmenopausal women, lycopene also has the ability to reduce the stiffness and thickness of coronary artery walls, preventing the risk of heart disease.
3.3. Effectively reduce inflammation
Inflammation is one of the main factors causing chronic diseases. Regular consumption of watermelon can help reduce inflammation and oxidative damage, as it is rich in the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory lycopene and vitamin C.
In addition, lycopene also brings many special benefits to brain health, such as delaying the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
3.4. Preventing macular degeneration
Lycopene is also found in some parts of the eye, helping to fight oxidative damage and inflammation. In addition, it also has the effect of preventing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a common eye problem that can cause blindness in older people.
3.5. Reduce muscle pain
Citrulline is an amino acid in watermelon that can effectively reduce muscle pain. Drinking watermelon juice will help your body absorb more citrulline.
3.6. Improve skin and hair health
The two vitamins A and C found in watermelon play an extremely important role in skin and hair health.
Vitamin C helps the body produce collagen, a protein that keeps skin smooth, firm and elastic, and also helps keep your hair strong and shiny.
Vitamin A is also essential for healthy skin because it helps regenerate and heal damaged skin cells. If your body does not have enough vitamin A, your skin will become dry and flaky.
In addition, watermelon contains both lycopene and beta-carotene, which can also help protect your skin from sunburn.
