Aside from watermelon's thirst quenching taste it has many health benefits. It is green on the outside. It is part of the cucurbitadae family. The edible part is inside the watermelon and has a red pinkish color. Watermelon comes in many forms. You can buy seedless, baby, and regular watermelons at your local walmart.
Health Benefit
* energy production
* protects against macular degeneration
* fights heart disease
* loaded with antioxidants
* reduces the risk of cancer
* prevents erectile dysfunction
* good source of vitamins and minerals
Energy Production
Watermelon is concentrated with b-vitamins. B-vitamins are responsible for alot of your body's energy production. This means eating watermelon can give you substantial energy. It also has high amounts of the the energizing nutrients magnesium and potassium. Eating watermelon is a safe alternative to taking energy drinks prior to exercise. It also hydrates you due to its high water content as opposed to caffeine filled energy drinks that dehydrate you.
Antioxidants
Watermelon is a natural source of nature's most powerful antioxidants. It is a good source of the antioxidant vitamins C and A. It is also a good source of the powerful antioxidant beta-carotene. Watermelon's antioxidants can help prevent a number of things. It reduces the risk of colon cancer, asthma, heart disease, osteoperosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and prostate cancer.
Antioxidannts should be a staple in everyone's diet. They provide health benefits that other nutrients cannot. When it comes to things that are benefiticial to your health antioxidants are at the top of the list. They are better than vitamins, minerals, protein, carbs, and any other nutrient because they have so many benefits. If you do not take some sort of antioxidant whether it be through food or something else you should consider incoporating a food that contains antioxidants or supplement with them. You can buy all sorts of antioxiant drinks. This is one of the biggest health benefits of watermelon.
Macular Degeneration
Eating watermelon can protect against the negative effects of macular degeneration. Macular degeneration is just a fancy word for loss of vision. It fights the age-related symptoms of vision loss. Studies show that eating watermelon is actually healthy for your eyes than eating carrots. That is true in both short-term and long-term vision loss.
Cancer Fighting Properties
Supplementing watermelon into your diet can help prevent and fight cancer. It does this because of its rich antioxidant profile. The antioxidants of the watermelon are very concentrated and kill the cancer causing free radicals. They especially help prevent heart and colon cancers. Of all health benefits of watermelon this is probably the most significant one. Any food that fights cancer provides great health benefits.
Nutrient Profile Per Serving
* Vitamin A: 10%
* Vitamin C: 25%
* Vitamin B6: 10%
* Vitamin B1: 10%
* Magnesium: 7%
* Potassium: 5%
The health benefits of watermelon are largely attributed to its nutrients. Vitamin C is the main nutrient of watermelon and is one of the strongest antioxidants of any kind. Magnesium is one of most important minerals of the human diet. Magnesium diffeciency has negative effects.
History
The watermelon was first cultivated in Egypt. It was a very sought after fruit in egypt. Some heiroglyphics suggest that it was put in the tombs of some pharoahs. It is thought that the watermelon was so heavily sought after in egypt because of its high water content. The hydration that eating watermelon is probaly the reason it was so heavily regarded due to egypts hot weather, lack of water, and deserts. Many people probaly depended on watermelon as a primary water source. After all watermelon is 92% water. The health benefits of watermelon have been know about for a long time. It is not just a recent find.
