We will briefly discuss watermelon nutritional benefits. Watermelon is famous because the fruit is sweet and fresh. peoples commonly consume the fruits, but until now it is still classified as a vegetable. Starting from 5000 years ago, watermelon began to be recorded in human history. The watermelon’s ancestors are believed to have originated in southern Africa, and then spread northward, and eventually spread to more areas. Currently, watermelon has become a common commodity in the world. Its distribution and production are evenly in all countries. Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family. The Cucurbitaceae family is a monoecious plant. Male and female flowers are separate on the same plant.
What kind of vitamins does watermelon have?
Citing data from the USDA’s food data center, about 91% of watermelon content is water. So that we will feel the freshness when eating watermelon. However, the water does not reduce the benefits of vitamins in watermelon. Watermelon contains several essential vitamins that we need. The following is data from Nilaigizi.com. From the total value of our daily nutritional needs, in every 100 grams of watermelon, there is 20% vitamin A, 5% vitamin B1, 5% vitamin B2, 2% vitamin B3, 6.67% vitamin C. Still from the same data, it turns out that in 100 grams of watermelon also contain 28 kcal calories, 0.5 grams of protein, 0.2 grams of total lipids, and 6.9 grams of carbohydrates.
What is the superior nutrition content of watermelon?
Data from the USDA’s food data center states that watermelon has a high lycopene content. Lycopene concentration is very dominant than other several compounds. As a pigment, lycopene gives red or pink color to various fruits, including watermelon. Lycopene also is one of the antioxidants whose function is to ward off excess free radicals in the body.
Another superior compound is Citrulline. Citrulline is an amino acid that is naturally also found in watermelon, in addition to the human body. One of the functions of Citrulline in the human body is to increase vasodilation. Vasodilation is the process of widening the arteries or veins, thereby reducing pressure and increasing blood flow.
Benefits of eating watermelon
From the nutritional content data, consuming watermelon has several benefits for the body, such as:
Body hydration
Consumption of watermelon is the same as providing water intake to the body. Why? Because the water content in watermelon is very high. The ancestor of the watermelon from Africa is famous for its use as a fruit that is taken for water in the heat of the desert.
Potential to Prevent cancer
The formation and growth of several types of cancer cells are associated with free radicals in the body. Several antioxidants in watermelon, such as lycopene and vitamin C have been shown to be effective in reducing the concentration of free radicals so that the risk of developing cancer decreases. Several studies have also reported on the effectiveness of lycopene in reducing the risk of prostate cancer.
May Prevent AMD
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a gradual degeneration process. This process will slowly interfere with vision in the elderly. This disease causes blurry vision, which starts from the midpoint of vision. The cause of macular degeneration is not known with certainty, but it is thought to involve several factors, such as genetics and environment. This seems to be related to the abundant lycopene content in watermelon. The results of some research, states that lycopene can help prevent the AMD process.
Increase performance
consuming watermelon before exercise will help reduce muscle pain and heart rate after completing activities. This seems to be related to the content of citrulline and arginine in watermelon. Both play a role in helping improve blood circulation. Currently, citrulline has become a commercial supplement for athletes.
Watermelon nutritional benefits for men to Prevent Erectile Dysfunction
Another reason to enjoy watermelon which is high in citrulline, because it has to do with its ability to prevent erectile dysfunction. Citrulline will produce another amino acid, arginine. Arginine functions in the urea cycle, the result of which is to remove ammonia from the body, and convert it to nitric oxide. Nitric oxide serves to relax blood vessels and lower high blood pressure. the process is the same as when you take Viagra to prevent erectile dysfunction. Because of its nutritional content, watermelon can also be a natural Viagra (Lucotti et. al, 2006).
Watermelon nutritional benefits for skin and hair
Watermelon has a high content of Vitamins A and C. Vitamin A is very good for your skin. Every 100 grams of watermelon contains about 20% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin A.
Lack of vitamin A causes the skin to look dry and unhealthy. Vitamin A helps keep skin and hair moisturized and promotes the growth of healthy new collagen and elastin cells. While vitamin C helps the body to produce collagen, a protein that is responsible for supple skin and strong hair.
Watermelon nutritional benefits to maintain heart health
The risk of heart attack increases with age as well as complications with other diseases such as diabetes. The high lycopene in watermelon has the potential to help maintain heart health by: lowering the concentration of excess free radicals, lowering low-density lipoprotein levels, and at the same time, increasing high-density lipoprotein levels.
Watermelon nutritional benefits during pregnancy, Can reduce the risk of preeclampsia
Preeclampsia is a condition of increased blood pressure accompanied by the presence of protein in the urine of pregnant women. The report from the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.
It turns out that consumption of 4 milligrams of lycopene per day can reduce the risk of preeclampsia by up to 50 percent. Whereas every 100 grams of watermelon, contains 4.53 mg of lycopene. What’s more, scientists have also proven that watermelon also contains vitamins A, C, and B6, as well as quite high potassium and magnesium. Some of the compounds above are important for the development of the fetus in the womb.
References
- Lucotti et. al.. 2006. Beneficial effects of a long-term oral L-arginine treatment added to a hypocaloric diet and exercise training program in obese, insulin-resistant type 2 diabetic patients. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab:291(5): E906-12
- https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/167765/nutrients
always love to learn from nature. Passionate on studying plants in some aspects: the DNA, Identification, propagation, and their uses
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[…] watermelon also has high potassium as well. As additional information, watermelon also contains citrulline. Citrulline is an amino acid that relaxes blood vessels and keeps fluids from leaking into nearby […]