Health benefits of watermelons

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Health benefits of watermelons

Tonnie Mello

10th January 2016

Health benefits of watermelons: AntiFresh, cold watermelon on a hot day – in my opinion, life doesn’t get much better! It’s high water content at approximately 92% makes watermelon thirst-quenching and provides hydration and refreshment to the body. Did you know that not all watermelons are pink? There are some varieties that have orange, yellow and even white flesh; however, they are probably not as high in lycopene (a carotenoid phytonutrient that’s important for cardiovascular and bone health) as the pink watermelons. And if that’s not enough, watermelon brings to the body many more health benefits making it a fruit that you may want to enjoy every day. Recent studies indicate the nutritional importance of allowing a watermelon to fully ripen. This research shows that the biggest jump in lycopene content occurs at the time when a watermelon’s flesh turns from white-pink to pink. When that flesh is allowed to continue to ripen, resulting in a color change from pink to red, the lycopene content becomes even more concentrated.

READ: Annie Nyaga: The 28 Year Old Watermelon Millionaire

How to Choose a Fully Ripe Watermelon

1) When purchasing a watermelon that has already been sliced into halves or quarters, choose the flesh that is deepest in color and lacks any white streaking. If the watermelon is seeded, the seeds should also be deep in color, or white.

2) When purchasing a whole watermelon, there are three features to look for. Weight – A fully ripened watermelon will feel heavy for its size. Heaviness in a watermelon is a good thing because the water content of a watermelon will typically increase along with ripening, and a fully ripened watermelon will be over 90% water in terms of weight, and water is one of the heaviest components in any food. Rind – Look for a watermelon with a relatively smooth rind that is slightly dulled on top. The top and the bottom of a watermelon are worth determining and examining on a watermelon. The bottom is the spot where it was resting on the ground. A fully ripened watermelon will often have a ground spot that has turned creamy yellow in color. Opposite from the ground spot will be the top of the watermelon. In a fully ripened watermelon, that spot will typically not be shiny but somewhat dulled. The green color may appear in many different shades, however, from light green to deeper shades. Thumping – Even though somewhat controversial (who can resist thumping?), most experts seem to believe that a fully ripened watermelon will have a deeper, hollower “bass” sound rather than a solid and shallow “soprano” sound.

Are seedless watermelons genetically engineered? I have read a good bit of controversy over the exact nature of seedless watermelons. Contrary to some information that is found on various websites, seedless watermelons are not the result of genetic engineering but instead the result of hybridization. By crossing a diploid watermelon (with two sets of chromosomes) and a tetraploid watermelon (with four sets of chromosomes), it is possible to produce a watermelon that contains triploid seeds (with three chromosomal sets). When planted, these triploid seeds will grow into seedless watermelons. Seedless watermelons will typically appear to contain some white seeds even though they are labeled as seedless. These white seeds are not actually seeds, but only empty seed coats.