Watermelon
Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a heavy oval shaped fruit with a hard and thick outer skin, red inner flesh, and small black seeds. Some varieties come without the little seeds, which can be a nuisance when eating watermelon.
 |
Health Benefits of Watermelon
- Increased Protection from Bacterial and Viral Infections
- Increased Immune Function
- Reduced Cancer Risk
- Protection Against Heart Disease Watermelon is high in the carotenoid lycopene which is thought to be beneficial for preventing cancer.
*Some of these health benefits are due to the nutrients highly concentrated in Watermelon, and may not necessarily be related to Watermelon.
Advertisement (Bad ad? How to mute ads)
How to choose Watermelon
Watermelon can be picked by knocking on the outer skin and listening for a hollow sound.
Climate and origin
Watermelon is thought to have originated from the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa. A fruit notorious for growing in hot climates with little water, watermelon is hearty and will grow almost anywhere warm.
Taste
Watermelon has a very sweet taste and mushy texture.
Miscellaneous information
One of the most hybridized fruits, watermelons can be found with yellow or orange flesh, and even with a purple black skin. Although seedless varieties of watermelon exist, the seeds are edible and very high in iron.
Similar tasting produce
Cantaloupe, Honeydew
Natural vitamins, minerals, and nutrients found in Watermelon + Complete Nutrition Facts
Carbohydrates | Vitamin A | Lycopene | Vitamin C | Click here to compare these nutrition facts with other fruits.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Advertisement (Bad ad? How to mute ads)
Click to View Comments
- Office Of Dietary Supplements Fact Sheet: Vitamin A
- Semba RD. The role of vitamin A and related retinoids in immune function. Nutr Rev 1998;56:S38-48.
- Ross DA. Vitamin A and public health: Challenges for the next decade. Proc Nutr Soc 1998;57:159-65.
- Harbige LS. Nutrition and immunity with emphasis on infection and autoimmune disease. Nutr Health 1996;10:285-312.
- de Pee S, West CE. Dietary carotenoids and their role in combating vitamin A deficiency: A review of the literature. Eur J Clin Nutr 1996;50 Suppl 3:S38-53.
- Institute of Medicine. Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 2001.
- Ross AC. Vitamin A and retinoids. In: Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease. 9th Edition (edited by Shils ME, Olson J, Shike M, Ross AC). Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, New York, 1999, pp. 305-27.
- Ross AC, Stephensen CB. Vitamin A and retinoids in antiviral responses. FASEB J 1996;10:979-85.
- Fontham ETH. Protective dietary factors and lung cancer. Int J Epidemiol 1990;19:S32-S42.
- Albanes D, Heinonen OP, Taylor PR, Virtamo J, Edwards BK, Rautalahti M, Hartman AM, Palmgren J, Freedman LS, Haapakoski J, Barrett MJ, Pietinen P, Malila N, Tala E, Lippo K, Salomaa ER, Tangrea JA, Teppo L, Askin FB, Taskinen E, Erozan Y, Greenwald P, Huttunen JK. Alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene supplement and lung cancer incidence in the alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene cancer prevention study: Effects of base-line characteristics and study compliance. J Natl Cancer Inst 1996;88:1560-70.
- Redlich CA, Blaner WS, Van Bennekum AM, Chung JS, Clever SL, Holm CT, Cullen MR. Effect of supplementation with beta-carotene and vitamin A on lung nutrient levels. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 1998;7:211-14.
- Pryor WA, Stahl W, Rock CL. Beta carotene: from biochemistry to clinical trials. Nutr Rev 2000;58:39-53.
- Office of Dietary Suppliments Face Sheet: Vitamin C
- Gokce N, Keaney JF, Jr., Frei B, et al. Long-term ascorbic acid administration reverses endothelial vasomotor dysfunction in patients with coronary artery disease. Circulation. 1999;99(25):3234-3240.
- Audera, C (2001). "Mega-dose vitamin C in treatment of the common cold: a randomised controlled trial". Medical Journal of Australia 389: 175.
- Hemilä, Harri; Chalker, Elizabeth; Douglas, Bob; Hemilä, Harri (2007). "Vitamin C for preventing and treating the common cold". Cochrane database of systematic reviews (Online) (3): CD000980
- Fleming DJ, Tucker KL, Jacques PF, Dallal GE, Wilson PW, Wood RJ (December 2002). "Dietary factors associated with the risk of high iron stores in the elderly Framingham Heart Study cohort". The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 76 (6): 1375?84.
- Institute of Medicine. Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, and Carotenoids. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2000.
- Weinstein M, Babyn P, Zlotkin S. An orange a day keeps the doctor away: scurvy in the year 2000. Pediatrics 2001;108:E55.
- Hoffman FA. Micronutrient requirements of cancer patients. Cancer. 1985;55 (1 Suppl):295-300.
- Deicher R, Hörl WH. Vitamin C in chronic kidney disease and hemodialysis patients. Kidney Blood Press Res 2003;26:100-6.