Top 9 Health Benefits of Eating Watermelon

Watermelon is a delicious and refreshing fruit that’s also good for you.

It contains only 46 calories per cup, but is high in vitamin C, vitamin A and many healthy plant compounds.

Here are the top 9 health benefits of eating watermelon.

1. Helps You Hydrate

Drinking water is an important way to keep your body hydrated.

However, eating foods that have a high water content can also help.

Interestingly, watermelon is 92% water.

A high water content is one of the reasons that fruits and vegetables help you feel full. The combination of water and fiber means you’re eating a good volume of food without a lot of calories.

Bottom Line: Watermelon has a high water content. This makes it hydrating and helps you feel full.

2. Contains Nutrients and Beneficial Plant Compounds

As far as fruits go, watermelon is one of the lowest in calories — only 46 calories per cup. That’s lower than even “low-sugar” fruits such as berries.

A cup (154 grams) of watermelon has many other nutrients as well, including these vitamins and minerals:

• Vitamin C: 21% of the RDI.
• Vitamin A: 18% of the RDI.
• Potassium: 5% of the RDI.
• Magnesium: 4% of the RDI.
• Vitamins B1, B5 and B6: 3% of the RDI.
• Watermelon is also high in carotenoids, including beta-carotene and lycopene. Plus, it has citrulline, an important amino acid.

Here’s an overview of watermelon’s most important antioxidants:

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps prevent cell damage from free radicals.

Carotenoids

Carotenoids are a class of plant compounds that includes alpha-carotene and beta-carotene, which your body converts to vitamin A.

Lycopene

Lycopene is a type of carotenoid that doesn’t change into vitamin A. This potent antioxidant gives a red color to plant foods such as tomatoes and watermelon, and is linked to many health benefits.

Cucurbitacin E

Cucurbitacin E is a plant compound with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Bitter melon, a relative of watermelon, contains even more cucurbitacin E.

Bottom Line: Watermelon is a low-calorie fruit high in some nutrients, especially carotenoids, vitamin C and cucurbitacin E.

3. Contains Compounds That May Help Prevent Cancer

Female Hands Holding a Watermelon

Researchers have studied lycopene and other individual plant compounds in watermelon for their anti-cancer effects.

Although lycopene intake is linked to a lower risk of some types of cancer, the results are mixed. The strongest link so far seems to be between lycopene and cancers of the digestive system.

Lycopene appears to reduce cancer risk by lowering insulin-like growth factor (IGF), a protein involved in cell division. High IGF levels are linked to cancer.

In addition, cucurbitacin E has been investigated for its ability to inhibit tumor growth.

Bottom Line: Some compounds in watermelon, including cucurbitacin E and lycopene, have been studied for their potential to prevent cancer.

4. May Improve Heart Health

Heart disease is the number one cause of death worldwide.

Lifestyle factors, including diet, may lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes by reducing blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Several nutrients in watermelon have specific benefits for heart health.

Studies suggest that lycopene may help lower cholesterol and blood pressure. It can also help prevent oxidative damage to cholesterol.

According to studies in obese postmenopausal women and Finnish men, lycopene may also help reduce the stiffness and thickness of artery walls.

Watermelon also contains citrulline, an amino acid that may increase nitric oxide levels in the body. Nitric oxide helps your blood vessels expand, which lowers blood pressure.

Other vitamins and minerals in watermelon are also good for your heart. These include vitamins A, B6, C, magnesium and potassium.

Bottom Line: Watermelon has several heart-healthy components, including lycopene, citrulline and other vitamins and minerals.

5. May Lower Inflammation and Oxidative Stress

Inflammation is a key driver of many chronic diseases.

Water

melon may help lower inflammation and oxidative damage, since it’s rich in the anti-inflammatory antioxidants lycopene and vitamin C.

In a 2015 study, lab rats were fed watermelon powder to supplement an unhealthy diet. Compared with the control group, they developed lower levels of C-reactive protein (a marker of inflammation) and less oxidative stress.

In an earlier study, humans were given lycopene-rich tomato juice with added vitamin C. Overall, their markers of inflammation went down and antioxidants went up. Watermelon has both lycopene and vitamin C.

As an antioxidant, lycopene may also benefit brain health. For example, it may help delay the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

Bottom Line: Lycopene and vitamin C are anti-inflammatory antioxidants found in watermelon. Inflammation is linked to many chronic diseases.

6. May Help Prevent Macular Degeneration

Four Watermelon Slices

Found in several parts of the eye, lycopene helps protect against oxidative damage and inflammation.

It may also help prevent age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This is a common eye problem that can cause blindness in older adults.

Lycopene’s role as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound may help prevent AMD from developing and getting worse.

Bottom Line: Lycopene may help keep eyes healthy and protect against AMD through its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory functions.

7. May Help Relieve Muscle Soreness

Citrulline, an amino acid in watermelon, may reduce muscle soreness.

Interestingly, watermelon juice appears to enhance the bio-availability of citrulline.

One small study gave athletes plain watermelon juice, watermelon juice mixed with citrulline or a citrulline drink. Both watermelon drinks led to less muscle soreness and quicker heart rate recovery, compared to citrulline on its own.

The researchers also conducted a test-tube experiment, investigating the absorption of citrulline. Their findings suggest that citrulline absorption is most effective when it’s consumed as a component of watermelon juice.

Other research has also looked at citrulline’s potential to improve exercise endurance and performance. So far, citrulline doesn’t seem to improve exercise performance in the amounts studied, but it’s still an area of research interest.

Bottom Line: Watermelon juice has some potential as a recovery beverage after exercise. Citrulline may be partially responsible for its effect of easing muscle soreness.

8. Is Good for Skin and Hair

Blonde Holding a Large Slice of Watermelon

Two vitamins in watermelon — A and C — are important for skin and hair health.

Vitamin C helps your body make collagen, a protein that keeps your skin supple and your hair strong.

Vitamin A is also important for healthy skin since it helps create and repair skin cells. Without enough vitamin A, your skin can look dry and flaky.

Both lycopene and beta-carotene may also help protect your skin from sunburn.

Bottom Line: Several nutrients in watermelon are good for your hair and skin. Some help keep skin supple while others protect against sunburn.

9. Can Help Improve Digestion

Watermelon contains lots of water and a small amount of fiber — both of which are important for healthy digestion.

Fiber can provide bulk for your stool, while water helps keep your digestive tract moving efficiently.

Eating water-rich and fiber-rich fruits and vegetables, including watermelon, can be very helpful for promoting normal bowel movements.

Bottom Line: Fiber and water are important for healthy digestion. Watermelon contains both.

Take Home Message

Watermelon is a surprisingly healthy fruit. It has a high water content and also delivers many other important nutrients, including lycopene and vitamin C.

These nutrients mean that watermelon isn’t only a tasty low-calorie treat — it’s also very good for your health.

Watermelon: Health Benefits and Nutritional Information

Despite popular belief that watermelon is made up of only water and sugar, watermelon is actually considered a nutrient dense food, a food that provides a high amount of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants for a low amount of calories.

Watermelons have become synonymous with summer and picnics, and for good reason. Their refreshing quality and sweet taste help to combat the heat and also provide a guilt-free, low maintenance dessert for kids and adults alike to enjoy.

Along with cantaloupe and honeydew, watermelons are a member of the botanical family Cucurbitaceae. There are five common types of watermelon: seeded, seedless, mini (also known as personal), yellow and orange.

Possible health benefits of watermelon

Consuming fruits and vegetables of all kinds has long been associated with a reduced risk of many lifestyle-related health conditions. Many studies have suggested that increasing consumption of plant foods like watermelon decreases the risk of obesity and overall mortality, diabetes, heart disease and promotes a healthy complexion and hair, increased energy, overall lower weight.

Asthma prevention: The risks for developing asthma are lower in people who consume a high amount of certain nutrients. One of these nutrients is vitamin C, found in many fruits and vegetables including watermelon.

Blood pressure: A study published by the American Journal of Hypertension found that watermelon extract supplementation reduced ankle blood pressure, brachial blood pressure and carotid wave reflection in obese middle-aged adults with prehypertension or stage 1 hypertension and that watermelon extract improved arterial function.

Diets rich in lycopene may help protect against heart disease.

Cancer: As an excellent source of the strong antioxidant vitamin C as well as other antioxidants, watermelon can help combat the formation of free radicals known to cause cancer. Lycopene intake has been linked with a decreased risk of prostate cancer prevention in several studies.

Digestion and regularity: Watermelon, because of its water and fiber content, helps to prevent constipation and promote regularity for a healthy digestive tract.

Hydration: Made up of 92% water and full of important electrolytes, watermelon is a great snack to have on hand during the hot summer months to prevent dehydration.

Inflammation: Choline is a very important and versatile nutrient in watermelon that aids our bodies in sleep, muscle movement, learning and memory. Choline also helps to maintain the structure of cellular membranes, aids in the transmission of nerve impulses, assists in the absorption of fat and reduces chronic inflammation.1

Muscle soreness: Watermelon and watermelon juice have been shown to reduce muscle soreness and improve recovery time following exercise in athletes. Researchers believe this is likely do to the amino acid L-citrulline contained in watermelon.

Skin: Watermelon is also great for your skin because it contains vitamin A, a nutrient required for sebum production that keeps hair moisturized. Vitamin A is also necessary for the growth of all bodily tissues, including skin and hair.

Adequate intake of vitamin C (one cup of watermelon provides 21% of daily needs) is also needed for the building and maintenance of collagen, which provides structure to skin and hair. Watermelon also contributes to overall hydration, which is vital for having healthy looking skin and hair.

On the next page we look at the nutritional breakdown of watermelon, how to incorporate more watermelon into your diet and any possible health risks of consuming watermelon.

Nutritional breakdown of watermelon

One cup of diced watermelon (152 grams) contains 43 calories, 0 grams of fat, 2 milligrams of sodium, 11 grams of carbohydrate (including 9 grams of sugar) and 1 gram of fiber. One cup of watermelon will provide 17% of vitamin A, 21% of vitamin C, 2% of iron and 1% of calcium needs for the day.

Watermelon also contains thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-6, folate, pantothenic acid, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, choline, lycopene and betaine. According to the National Watermelon Promotion Board, watermelon contains more lycopene than any other fruit or vegetable.

Despite being a great source of the above nutrients, watermelon is made up of 92% water.

How to incorporate more watermelon into your dietWatermelon and feta salad

Jazz up a boring salad by adding watermelon or add to a few ice cubes in a blender for a cold refreshing treat!

Look for a watermelon that is firm, heavy and symmetrical without soft spots or bruising.

Place diced watermelon and a few ice cubes in a blender for a cold refreshing treat that's perfect for rehydrating after exercise or a day in the sun.

Jazz up a boring salad by adding watermelon, mint and fresh mozzarella to a bed of spinach leaves. Drizzle with balsamic.

Visit the National Watermelon Board's recipe site for even more fun, inventive ideas on how to incorporate more watermelon into your diet.

Potential health risks of consuming watermelon

It is the total diet or overall eating pattern that is most important in disease prevention and achieving good health. It is better to eat a diet with variety than to concentrate on individual foods as the key to good health.

Watermelon History

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus, family Cucurbitaceae) is a scrambling and trailing vine originally from southern Africa. It is a large, sprawling annual plant with coarse, hairy pinnately-lobed leaves and white to yellow flowers. It is grown for its large edible fruit, also known as a watermelon, which is a special kind of berry with a hard rind and no internal division, botanically called a pepo. The fruit has a smooth hard rind—usually green with dark green stripes or yellow spots—and a sweet, juicy interior flesh—usually deep red to pink, but sometimes orange, yellow, or white—with many seeds, which can be soft and white or hard and black.

Considerable breeding effort has been put into disease-resistant varieties and into developing a "seedless" strain with only digestible white seeds. Many cultivars are available that produce mature fruit within 100 days of planting the crop. The fruit can be eaten raw or pickled and the rind can be cooked

History

The watermelon is a flowering plant thought to have originated in southern Africa, where it is found growing wild. It reaches maximum genetic diversity there, with sweet, bland and bitter forms. In the 19th century, Alphonse de Candolle considered the watermelon to be indigenous to tropical Africa.[2] Citrullus colocynthis is often considered to be a wild ancestor of the watermelon and is now found native in north and west Africa. However, it has been suggested on the basis of chloroplast DNA investigations that the cultivated and wild watermelon diverged independently from a common ancestor, possibly C. ecirrhosus from Namibia.

Evidence of its cultivation in the Nile Valley has been found from the second millennium BC onward. Watermelon seeds have been found at Twelfth Dynasty sites and in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.

In the 7th century watermelons were being cultivated in India, and by the 10th century had reached China, which is today the world's single largest watermelon producer. Moorish invaders introduced the fruit into Europe and there is evidence of it being cultivated in Córdoba in 961 and also in Seville in 1158. It spread northwards through southern Europe, perhaps limited in its advance by summer temperatures being insufficient for good yields. The fruit had begun appearing in European herbals by 1600, and was widely planted in Europe in the 17th century as a minor garden crop.

European colonists and slaves from Africa introduced the watermelon to the New World. Spanish settlers were growing it in Florida in 1576, and it was being grown in Massachusetts by 1629, and by 1650 was being cultivated in Peru, Brazil and Panama, as well as in many British and Dutch colonies. Around the same time, Native Americans were cultivating the crop in the Mississippi valley and Florida. Watermelons were rapidly accepted in Hawaii and other Pacific islands when they were introduced there by explorers such as Captain James Cook.

Description

The watermelon is an annual plant with long, weak, trailing or climbing stems which are five-angled (five-sided) and up to 3 m (10 ft) long. Young growth is densely woolly with yellowish-brown hairs which disappear as the plant ages. The leaves are stemmed and alternate, large and pinnately-lobed; they get stiff and rough when old. The plant has branching tendrils. The flowers grow singly in the leaf axils and the corolla is white or yellow inside and greenish-yellow on the outside. The flowers are unisexual, with male and female flowers occurring on the same plant (monoecious). The male flowers predominate at the beginning of the season; the female flowers, which develop later, have inferior ovaries. The styles are united into a single column. The large fruit is a kind of modified berry called a pepo with a thick rind (exocarp) and fleshy center (mesocarp and endocarp). Wild plants have fruits up to 20 cm (8 in) in diameter, while cultivated varieties may exceed 60 cm (24 in). The rind of the fruit is mid- to dark green and usually mottled or striped, and the flesh, containing numerous pips spread throughout the inside, can be red or pink (most commonly), orange, yellow, green or white.

Variety improvement

Charles Fredric Andrus, a horticulturist at the USDA Vegetable Breeding Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina, set out to produce a disease-resistant and wilt-resistant watermelon. The result, in 1954, was "that gray melon from Charleston". Its oblong shape and hard rind made it easy to stack and ship. Its adaptability meant it could be grown over a wide geographical area. It produced high yields and was resistant to the most serious watermelon diseases: anthracnose and fusarium wilt.Others were also working on disease-resistant varieties; J. M. Crall at the University of Florida produced "Jubilee" in 1963 and C. V. Hall of Kansas State University produced "Crimson sweet" the following year. These are no longer grown to any great extent, but their lineage has been further developed into hybrid varieties with higher yields, better flesh quality and attractive appearance.Another objective of plant breeders has been the elimination of the seeds which occur scattered throughout the flesh. This has been achieved through the use of triploid varieties, but these are sterile, and the cost of producing the seed by crossing a tetraploid parent with a normal diploid parent is high.

Today, farmers in approximately 44 states in the United States grow watermelon commercially. Georgia, Florida, Texas, California and Arizona are the United States' largest watermelon producers. This now-common fruit is often large enough that groceries often sell half or quarter melons. Some smaller, spherical varieties of watermelon—both red- and yellow-fleshed—are sometimes called "icebox melons". The largest recorded fruit was grown in Tennessee in 2013 and weighed 159 kilograms (351 pounds).

Cultivation

Watermelons are tropical or subtropical plants and need temperatures higher than about 25 °C (77 °F) to thrive. On a garden scale, seeds are usually sown in pots under cover and transplanted into well-drained sandy loam with a pH between 5.5 and 7, and medium levels of nitrogen.

Major pests of the watermelon include aphids, fruit flies and root-knot nematodes. In conditions of high humidity, the plants are prone to plant diseases such as powdery mildew and mosaic virus. Some varieties often grown in Japan and other parts of the Far East are susceptible to fusarium wilt. Grafting such varieties onto disease-resistant rootstocks offers protection.

The US Department of Agriculture recommends using at least one beehive per acre (4,000 m2 per hive) for pollination of conventional, seeded varieties for commercial plantings. Seedless hybrids have sterile pollen. This requires planting pollinizer rows of varieties with viable pollen. Since the supply of viable pollen is reduced and pollination is much more critical in producing the seedless variety, the recommended number of hives per acre (pollinator density) increases to three hives per acre (1,300 m2 per hive). Watermelons have a longer growing period than other melons, and can often take 85 days or more from the time of transplanting for the fruit to mature.

Farmers of the Zentsuji region of Japan found a way to grow cubic watermelons by growing the fruits in metal and glass boxes and making them assume the shape of the receptacle. The cubic shape was originally designed to make the melons easier to stack and store, but cubic watermelons may be triple the price of normal ones, so appeal mainly to wealthy urban consumers. Pyramid-shaped watermelons have also been developed and any polyhedral shape may potentially be used.

Varieties

The more than 1200[15] cultivars of watermelon range in weight from less than 1 kg to more than 90 kilograms (200 lb); the flesh can be red, pink, orange, yellow or white.

The 'Carolina Cross' produced the current world record for heaviest watermelon, weighing 159 kilograms (351 pounds). It has green skin, red flesh and commonly produces fruit between 29 and 68 kilograms (65 and 150 lb). It takes about 90 days from planting to harvest.

The 'Golden Midget' has a golden rind and pink flesh when ripe, and takes 70 days from planting to harvest.

The 'Orangeglo' has a very sweet orange flesh, and is a large, oblong fruit weighing 9–14 kg (20–31 lb). It has a light green rind with jagged dark green stripes. It takes about 90–100 days from planting to harvest.

The 'Moon and Stars' variety was created in 1926. The rind is purple/black and has many small yellow circles (stars) and one or two large yellow circles (moon). The melon weighs 9–23 kg (20–51 lb).[20] The flesh is pink or red and has brown seeds. The foliage is also spotted. The time from planting to harvest is about 90 days.

The 'Cream of Saskatchewan' has small, round fruits about 25 cm (9.8 in) in diameter. It has a thin, light and dark green striped rind, and sweet white flesh with black seeds. It can grow well in cool climates. It was originally brought to Saskatchewan, Canada, by Russian immigrants. The melon takes 80–85 days from planting to harvest.

The 'Melitopolski' has small, round fruits roughly 28–30 cm (11–12 in) in diameter. It is an early ripening variety that originated from the Astrakhan region of Russia, an area known for cultivation of watermelons. The Melitopolski watermelons are seen piled high by vendors in Moscow in the summer. This variety takes around 95 days from planting to harvest.

The 'Densuke' watermelon has round fruit up to 11 kg (24 lb). The rind is black with no stripes or spots. It is grown only on the island of Hokkaido, Japan, where up to 10,000 watermelons are produced every year. In June 2008, one of the first harvested watermelons was sold at an auction for 650,000 yen (US$6,300), making it the most expensive watermelon ever sold. The average selling price is generally around 25,000 yen ($250).

Many cultivars are no longer grown commercially because of their thick rind, but seeds may be available among home gardeners and specialty seed companies. This thick rind is desirable for making watermelon pickles, and some old cultivars favoured for this purpose include 'Tom Watson', 'Georgia Rattlesnake', and 'Black Diamond'.

Production

In 2014, global production of watermelons was 111 million tonnes, with China alone accounting for 67% of the total. Secondary producers each with less than 4% of world production included Turkey, Iran, Brazil and Egypt.

Uses

Nutrients

In a 100 gram serving, watermelon fruit supplies 30 calories and low amounts of essential nutrients (table). Only vitamin C is present in appreciable content at 10% of the Daily Value (table).

Watermelon fruit is 91% water, contains 6% sugars, and is low in fat (table).

Food

Watermelon rinds are also edible, but most people avoid eating them due to their unappealing flavor. They are used for making pickles, sometimes eaten in the Southern US, and less often as a vegetable,where the rind is stir-fried or stewed.

The amino acid citrulline is produced in watermelon rind. Watermelon pulp contains carotenoids, including lycopene.

The Oklahoma State Senate passed a bill in 2007 declaring watermelon as the official state vegetable, with some controversy about whether it is a vegetable or a fruit.

The seeds have a nutty flavor and can be dried and roasted, or ground into flour. In China, the seeds are esteemed and eaten with other seeds at Chinese New Year celebrations.[34] In Vietnamese culture, watermelon seeds are consumed during the Vietnamese New Year's holiday, Tết, as a snack.

Watermelon juice can be made into wine or blended with other fruit juices. An alcoholic creation called a "hard watermelon" is made by pouring liquor into a hole in the rind of a whole fruit, and then eating the alcohol-permeated flesh.

C. l. lanatus var caffer grows wild in the Kalahari Desert, where it is known as tsamma. The fruits are used by the San people and wild animals for both water and nourishment. Traditionally, travelling in the desert in the dry season could only be done in a good tsamma year. Humans can survive on an exclusive diet of tsamma for six weeks.