5 Surprising Facts About Watermelon

No other gives us real enjoyment in hot summer quite like a cold watermelon. The burst of red color and the refreshing sweetness easily give brightness to our plate. Thing is, we can find more interesting things about watermelon. At only 46 kcal for each cup, watermelon could already give us 17 percent of daily intake of vitamin A and 20 percent vitamin C. Its dietary fiber and potassium content could keep our blood pressure capped.



Higher lycopene than tomatoes: Thanks to its bright red color, we could get 1.5 times the amount of lycopene from a cup watermelon than red tomato. Lycopene is widely considered as a powerful antioxidant that stops free radicals from messing with our immune system and damaging our cells. Lycopene is also found in other red-colored veggies and fruits. It could also help us reduce risks of cancer and fight heart disease. Avoid storing watermelon at warm areas to retain much of the antioxidant.

It relieves muscle soreness: After a gruelling physical activity, people find that drinking cool watermelon juice could soothe their sore muscle. Studies showed that athletes who drink a big glass of watermelon juice before an exercise suffered less muscle soreness. The fruit contain citrulline, a substance that can lower blood pressure and improve artery function. However, much of the citrulline is found in the bland rind, so it would better to consume it along with the red flesh as juice.

It is also a vegetable: Watermelon is widely considered as fruits, due to its signature sweet taste and presence of seed. However, the watermelon plant is still genetically related to cucumber, pumpkin and squash; all placed inside the Cucurbitaceae family. All parts of watermelon, including seeds and rind, are edible.

It's really packed with water: We know that watermelon is loaded with water, but it could still be surprising for some that the fruit/vegetable combo contains about 92 percent water. For this reason, watermelon can be considered as nutritious water container, which may prevent us from being dehydrated during trips.

The yellow variety is also as nutritious: Yellow Crimson is the primary yellow variety of watermelon and it provides much of the health benefits, except for the lower lycopene content. It has honey-like, sweeter taste and sunny interior. However, both types could be very identical to the untrained eyes, so it could be difficult to tell without reading signs at farmers’ markets or grocery stores.

 

I love watermelon, too bad we cant grow them here.

 

There seems to be a few foods like that such as tomatoes. I am pretty surprised that there is a website dedicated entirely to watermelon lol (the one you linked)