Watermelon is a familiar fruit and is loved by many people because of its attractive color and cool, sweet taste. In addition, watermelon also has abundant nutrients and contains many vitamins that are good for health. However, not everyone can eat watermelon, so who specifically should not eat watermelon? Let’s find out through the following article!
Watermelon is known as the “fruit of summer”, with its sweet taste and health benefits, watermelon is a favorite fruit of many people. So what are the specific benefits that watermelon brings to our body and health? Can everyone eat watermelon, who should not eat watermelon?
Some uses of watermelon
Before learning about people who should not eat watermelon, we will first learn about some of the uses of watermelon for human health.
Helps relieve muscle pain, supports nerves
Watermelon contains many electrolytes and the amino acid citrulline, so eating watermelon can help relieve muscle pain after strenuous exercise. Drinking watermelon juice also helps muscles recover faster and better. On the other hand, watermelon also contains abundant potassium, which helps stimulate the activity of the nervous system and muscle groups in the body. Potassium plays a decisive role in the frequency and intensity of muscle contraction and relaxation and has the effect of controlling the level of stimulation of the nervous system.
Eating watermelon can help soothe muscle soreness after strenuous exercise.
Improve cardiovascular health
According to scientific research, consuming a slice of watermelon every day helps prevent the accumulation of bad cholesterol. This helps prevent cardiovascular diseases and reduce fat accumulation in the blood vessels. Watermelon contains citrulline, a nutrient commonly found in fruits, which helps watermelon bring cardiovascular benefits such as beneficial effects on atherosclerosis.
Antioxidants and anti-inflammatories
Watermelon contains many phenolic compounds such as flavonoids, triterpenoids and carotenoids. The carotenoid lycopene compound helps reduce inflammation and helps neutralize free radicals. Triterpenoids have anti-inflammatory effects by blocking the activities of inflammatory factors from within the body such as the enzyme cyclo-oxygenase.
Cancer prevention
Watermelon contains lycopene, which has the effect of inhibiting and reducing the growth of cancer. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant, so it has the effect of preventing the attack of some cancers.
Digestive aid
Thanks to its high water content, watermelon is one of the fruits that has the effect of supporting and improving the digestive system. In addition, watermelon also contains fiber, which helps prevent constipation and promotes effective digestion.
Good for the skin and eyes
Eating watermelon helps provide the body with a large amount of beta carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A, helping to promote the production of pigment in the retina and limit macular degeneration. In addition, watermelon contains a lot of vitamin C, lycopene, along with beta carotene, eating watermelon regularly can help you have smooth and soft skin, preventing sunburn.
Eating watermelon regularly can help you get smooth, supple skin.
Kidney tonic and diuretic
Eating watermelon is a natural diuretic method by increasing the amount of water in the body without putting pressure on the kidneys like alcoholic beverages or coffee. Watermelon helps the liver filter ammonia, helping to reduce the burden on the kidneys during the water processing process.
People who should not eat watermelon
In addition to its high nutritional value, watermelon is also a popular fruit, easy to buy and very cheap, so it is often used in family meals. However, not everyone can eat watermelon. People who should not eat watermelon are the following specific subjects:
People with kidney failure
Patients with kidney disease often have swollen feet due to reduced water excretion function. Eating too much watermelon can cause the body to retain water and the kidneys cannot excrete water from the body in time. At this time, the amount of water in the body can exceed the body’s water storage capacity, leading to increased blood volume and making the swelling worse. This makes the patient tired and exhausted. Therefore, people with kidney failure should not or should eat less watermelon to avoid health risks.
People with stomach ulcers
According to Oriental medicine, the cause of stomach ulcers is due to internal heat deficiency. Watermelon has a diuretic effect, eating too much watermelon will cause the amount of water in the body to be excreted quickly and in large amounts, causing the mouth to lack water. The mouth becomes increasingly dry, causing internal heat, yin deficiency, thereby making the disease worse and longer, making treatment difficult.
Pregnant women
During pregnancy, women’s psychology and physiology change unstably, the amount of insulin secreted decreases, causing blood sugar to decrease. Eating a lot of watermelon causes blood sugar levels to increase, easily causing gestational diabetes. On the other hand, watermelon is cold and can cause pregnant women to have stomachaches and diarrhea.
People who should not eat watermelon include pregnant women.
People with high blood pressure
Watermelon has the effect of lowering blood sugar, so it is very good for people with high blood pressure. However, overusing watermelon can lead to excessively low blood pressure, which is dangerous for the patient. Therefore, people with high blood pressure should not eat too much watermelon.
People with diabetes
Watermelon contains a lot of sugar such as sucrose, glucose, fructose, so eating a lot of watermelon will cause blood sugar levels to increase. For normal people, the body will usually secrete insulin to maintain the balance of sugar levels in the blood and urine. However, for diabetics, eating too much watermelon causes blood sugar levels to increase and disrupts the body’s metabolism. This can cause poisoning or even endanger the patient’s life.
People with colds
Watermelon is a cooling fruit, has a cold nature and can be processed into many types of cooling drinks with delicious flavors. However, when you have a cold, your body temperature drops below normal, and eating watermelon will cause your body temperature to drop. This leads to symptoms such as high fever, more severe sore throat and thirst, etc.
Things to note when eating watermelon
You can refer to some of the following notes to ensure your health when consuming watermelon:
- Do not eat watermelon before meals and immediately after meals.
- Do not eat too much watermelon.
- Do not eat chilled watermelon.
You should not eat watermelon before main meals and immediately after meals.
Hopefully the above article has provided you with useful information about watermelon and helped you answer the question of who should not eat watermelon. Although it is a cool fruit and contains many health benefits, it should be used properly to avoid unnecessary risks to the body!
