Juicy, bright red, watermelon is not just a summer pleasure, it is a powerhouse when it comes to adding nutrients to your everyday diet. Loaded with a high-water content, Vitamin C and Vitamin A, one serving of this fruit is enough to satiate your quest for a vibrant, fit, and healthy lifestyle. Beating the summer heat becomes easy if you stay hydrated. As the mercury levels soar up, many people tend to lose their appetite and struggle with dehydration issues. If you too face such problems, watermelon is the perfect snack for you. Packed with a wide range of nutrients and with 90% water, its juiciness can refresh and energize you after a good summer workout while providing you satiety while curbing your sweet cravings.
Health Benefits Of Watermelon
Let's discern some surprising health benefits of watermelon. Read on to know some of the top healthy reasons to pick up watermelon on your next supermarket visit.
1. Lowers Blood Pressure
Watermelon is extremely helpful when it comes to lowering blood pressure levels. It is a potent source of potassium and magnesium, well-known electrolytes that help lower blood pressure and improve exercise performance in young healthy adults. Watermelon also has citrulline, an amino acid that boosts nitric oxide levels in your body. Nitric oxide helps your blood vessels expand, thereby keeping blood pressure in check.
2. Aids Weight Loss
Thanks to its high-water content, watermelon has a low-calorie density, implying that a large slice of watermelon has a relatively small calorie contribution. This makes it both filling while substantially being low in calories, helping promote fullness while reducing appetite.
3. Helps Skin And Hair
Watermelon‘s high levels of vitamins A and C are best friends for healthy hair and skin, too. Vitamin C present in the fruit helps your body make collagen- a protein that strengthens your hair and the dermis layer of the skin. Vitamin A helps create and repair skin cells. Meanwhile, the lycopene and beta-carotene present in this deliciously healthy fruit may help protect your dear skin from the harsh rays of the sun.
4. Supports Hydration
Maintaining hydration is key for good health with even modest levels of dehydration likely to manifest as tiredness, headaches, muscle cramps, and possible blood pressure problems. This seasonal fruit is largely made up of water (90%) and including it can make a useful contribution and especially so for the elderly who are less responsive to the sensation of thirst.
5. Helps Fight Inflammation
Watermelon is a rich source of antioxidants like lycopene and Vitamin C, which may help combat inflammation and oxidative stress that eventually leads to pain, swelling, and chronic conditions. Lycopene inhibits several inflammatory processes and also works as an antioxidant to neutralize free radicals. Besides, watermelon contains choline, which helps keep chronic inflammation down.
6. Promotes A Healthy Heart
Watermelon's high-water content helps this fruit to reduce bad cholesterol from accumulating in the blood which is linked to many heart diseases. It also stops fatty tissue from being deposited in the blood vessels. All you need to do is to consume one cup of watermelon daily and this will do the magic.
7. Helps Maintain Bone Health
Consuming watermelon is linked with improving bone health, thanks to the ample Vitamin C and essential nutrients present in the fruit. Besides, it also helps in preventing osteoporosis and bone fracture.
8. Prevents Heat Stroke
Watermelon is a cool way to help combat the summer heat. The significant amount of water and electrolytes in the fruit prevents the body from suffering heatstroke. All you need to do is just sip some watermelon juice before heading out in the sun, and this will keep your body cool and help regulate body temperature.
Now you know why it's important to add this healthy fruit to your daily diet. Simply consume a cup of watermelon fruit or a glass of juice and this will do you good. From cutting down on the weight to healthy digestion and better immunity, you need to add this to your daily diet and reap its benefits!
