3. Watermelon a fruit AND a vegetable.
Talk about an overachiever. Like most fruits, watermelon is the product of a seed-producing plant and has a signature sweet taste. But it can be traced back to the squash, pumpkin, and cucumber family known as Cucurbitaceae. Remember how you can eat the rind? The dual nature of watermelon makes it all edible, so there’s no excuse to leave any part behind.
4. Watermelon produces cancer-fighting alkaline. Watermelons have an alkaline-forming effect in the body when fully ripe. Eating lots of alkaline-forming foods (fresh, ripe, fruit and vegetables) can help reduce your risk of developing disease and illness caused by a high-acid diet (namely, meat, eggs and dairy).
5. Watermelon is nature’s viagra. Men who suffer from erectile dysfunction may benefit from drinking watermelon juice, “nature’s Viagra,” to improve blood flow to the penis without the side effects of the blue pill. In 2008, a team of researchers at Texas A&M found ingredients in watermelon that deliver Viagra-like effects to the body’s blood vessels may even increase libido. “Arginine boosts nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels, the same basic effect that Viagra has, to treat erectile dysfunction and maybe even prevent it,” said Dr. Bhimu Patil, director of Texas A&M’s Fruit and Vegetable Improvement Center in College Station. Although watermelon may not be as organ-specific as Viagra, it can give Viagra-like effects without the drug’s side effects.
Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
National Watermelon Day: 5 Amazing Facts About the Delicious Fruit was originally published on blackdoctor.org
