Tuesday Truths July 25, 2023
So sometimes you feel off?
That’s the kind of week or two I have been having……Getting blood work done and trying to get to the bottom of what may be causing it.
So, today’s message will be sweet, light, and easy!
It’s Watermelon Season!
Based on Food Revolution Network, committed to inspiring and advocating for healthy, ethical, and sustainable food for all through education about plant-powered foods.
Watermelon is one of the most beloved fruits everywhere in the world!
They have the most significant world production of any tropical gourd, exceeding 63 million tons. China is the largest producer of watermelons, harvesting over 38 million tons annually.
And suppose you needed any more proof that Americans aren’t unique in their affection for giant and beautiful watermelons. In that case, you should know that in Japan, you can buy a cube-shaped luxury watermelon — grown in a square box — at a high-end department store for several hundred dollars. Popular gifts, they are solely for display and harvested before ripening.
The sweet flavor and distinct juiciness of watermelons make them popular fruits.
But are watermelons too sweet to have health benefits? I mean, all that sugar! Plus, as the name says, they’re mostly water. Does that mean they lack nutrients?
So, what’s the truth about watermelon?
Is watermelon healthy, or is it just a large sack of sugar water in a rind?
Are there any downsides to eating it?
How else can you prepare the fruit besides just slicing it?
Watermelon is a beautiful fruit, but its diversity is truly stunning. While many watermelon varieties look similar outside, their flesh can come in a rainbow of colors, including red, pink, orange, yellow, or white.
Cutting into a watermelon can become its own “species reveal” party without explosions.
The three most popular types of watermelon enjoyed in the US are :
1. Icebox Watermelons
This is a smaller type of watermelon, which you can usually store in your refrigerator whole.
It weighs anywhere from 5-15 pounds.
Some popular icebox watermelon varieties include Sugar Baby, Cal Sweet Bush, and Garden Baby.
2. Picnic Watermelons
Weighing between 15-50 pounds, the picnic watermelon is huge and is best cut before storing in your fridge (unless your fridge interior is the size of a walk-in closet.)
Some popular varieties of picnic watermelon include Black Diamond, Crimson Sweet, and Dixie Sweet.
3. Seedless Watermelons
Usually similar in size to picnic watermelons, seedless types are the most watermelons you’ll find in grocery stores.
Seedless watermelons came about around 50 years ago. And while they don’t contain mature black seeds, they may have some immature and edible white seeds.
While there’s a common misconception that seedless watermelons are genetically modified, this isn’t the case.
They’re a sterile hybrid created by cross-pollinating male pollen for watermelon with a female flower.
Watermelon Nutrition Facts
Let’s check out the nutritional value of watermelons.
They do contain lots of good-for-you compounds!
As their name suggests, watermelons have a high-water content, which helps keep you hydrated.
They also have vitamins A and C, potassium, and carotenoids.
Watermelons are high in the antioxidant-rich carotenoid lycopene, which gives the flesh its pinkish-red color.
(As a result, red watermelons are naturally higher in lycopene than yellow or pink ones.)
Watermelons are also high in natural sugars (about 9.4 grams of sugar per cup), so they’re high on the glycemic index.
But because they’re so high in water, they still are low on the glycemic load scale.
This means they likely won’t spike your blood sugar when you eat them despite their sweetness.
The watermelon is mighty in its size and shape and its potential health benefits.
Research has found that watermelon is a functional food because its flesh, seeds, sprouts, and leaves contain compounds that may offer protective properties to those who eat them.
1. Can watermelons help you lose weight?
Watermelon is rich in water and fiber, which helps fill you up when you eat it.
These nutrients can reduce appetite and prevent overeating that would otherwise contribute to unwanted weight gain.
2. Are watermelons good for your heart?
Watermelon is high in compounds that may reduce 3inflammation, offer antioxidant effects, and help improve lipid profiles, which may play roles in protecting your cardiovascular system.
Additionally, eating watermelon has been observed to help increase the synthesis of nitric oxide, a colorless gas that dilates your blood vessels and helps prevent blockages.
Eating plenty of naturally antioxidant-rich foods is one way that you can help your body better defend itself against cancer.
3. Watermelon and cancer
Watermelon may also regulate the expression of DNA repair enzymes to combat cancer in mice.
4. Watermelon and ulcerative colitis
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease characterized by widespread inflammation throughout the digestive tract.
It’s a risk factor for colorectal cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and psoriasis.
Some research has found that watermelon can help UC by increasing antioxidant activity and alleviating inflammation.
5. Is watermelon good for your skin?
The antioxidants in watermelon help protect your skin from sun damage and fight oxidative stress.
Antioxidants, like the lycopene in watermelon, may help minimize wrinkles and slow other aging effects of UV damage.
Watermelon Side Effects There are plenty of benefits to enjoying watermelon, but there are also some potential downsides to consider.
Watermelon Diet
Like other diets with similar single-food names, the watermelon diet is a fad diet intended for quick weight loss.
You eat only watermelon for three days in this diet, then gradually add more foods. Not only is this way of eating unsustainable, but it can also be dangerous to do the watermelon diet.
Watermelon contains many vitamins and minerals but lacks protein and other essential macronutrients.
Watermelon is best when eaten in moderation as part of a balanced diet. It’s never a good bet to rely on one food to meet all your nutritional needs.
Allergies
Though a true watermelon allergy is rare, some people may experience an allergy-like reaction to eating it due to oral allergy syndrome. This phenomenon often coexists with an existing ragweed and pollen allergy.
Oral allergy syndrome can occur because the proteins in raw watermelon are like pollen proteins found in common allergic plants like ragweed. Bodies occasionally get confused, resulting in a similar allergic reaction.
Watermelon IS Healthy
Watermelon is a refreshing fruit that humans have loved for thousands of years. In modern times, it’s become, in many places, an iconic symbol of summer.
There are many types of watermelon out there — both seeded and seedless — and you can eat them in various ways, on their own, or as part of another dish.