Watermelon
Watermelon is an annual herbaceous plant from the Pumpkin family. Blooms in early summer with large yellow unisexual flowers. The fruits ripen in the period from mid-July to September.
They can be spherical, oval, flat or cylindrical depending on the variety. The color of the rind of the fruit is white and yellow to dark green with a coloration in the form of a grid, stripes or spots.
The fleshy part/the inner part that is suitable for human consumption/of the watermelon is pink, red, dark red and less often /such varieties are not found in Bulgaria/ is white and yellow. The taste of the fruit is sweet, juicy and tender.
South America /Brazil and Paraguay/ is considered the homeland of the watermelon, as it is still found growing wild there.
Currently, the annual herbaceous plant from the Pumpkin family is grown in 96 countries and there are more than 120 varieties.
Nutritional composition per 100 grams
• Proteins – 0.6 grams;
• Fats – 0.1 grams;
• Carbohydrates – 5.8 grams;
• Mineral composition – 0.4 grams;
• Water – 92.6 grams;
• Caloric content – 25 kilocalories;
Watermelon – useful properties
Watermelon consists of 90% water, and its juice is low-calorie – 38 kilocalories/100 grams. The fleshy part of the fruit contains a negligible amount of proteins and practically does not contain fat.
The inner part of the watermelon contains vegetable fibers, pectin, hemicellulose, vitamin B1, B2, C, PP, folic acid, provitamin A, carotene, manganese, nickel, iron, magnesium and potassium, from 5 to 11% easily digestible sugars, and also a small amount of ascorbic acid and very little thiamine, riboflavin and nicotinic acid.
The pulp of the fruit is also rich in organic acids, stimulating the digestive and metabolic processes.
Watermelon seeds, in addition to the concentrated nutrients in the fleshy part, contain carotenoids, tocopherols, vitamins of group B /thiamine, riboflavin, nicotinic and folic acid/, a wide range of macro- and microelements including zinc and selenium and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Watermelon seed oil is rich in vitamin D.
Thanks to its juicy fleshy part, this fruit also has diuretic properties and is recommended for edema due to diseases of the cardiovascular system and kidney diseases. including the presence of stones.
Nutritionists are of the opinion that a person can eat up to 2-2.5 kg of watermelon per day. For example, with a diagnosis of kidney stone disease – urate and calcium oxalate stones in the kidneys and in the bladder, these salts are deposited during an acidic reaction of the urine.
The consumption of this fruit facilitates the passage of these deposits into more soluble forms, and its diuretic effect creates conditions for their removal from the body.
In such cases, doctors recommend eating watermelon in moderate portions, even at night. There is nothing better than this fruit for people suffering from multiple sclerosis, gout, hypertension, arthritis and diabetes.
Watermelon cellulose has a tonic effect, stimulates intestinal peristalsis, helps remove excess cholesterol from the body.
This fruit quenches thirst and favors the cleansing of the body from toxic substances.
Contraindications
Undoubtedly, ripe and sweet watermelon is useful for almost everyone, however, consumption and in large quantities is contraindicated for people suffering from diabetes mellitus, as well as in a very advanced stage of nephrolithiasis, and also in severe pathologies of the pancreas or prostate cancer.
This fruit should not be consumed together with very salty foods such as pickles and pickles, as sodium chloride contributes to fluid retention, which in turn causes swelling.
