Summer Fruits : Hydrate yourself with Watermelon!
Watermelons are super-cooling fruits and very refreshing especially during the hot summers. Watermelons are tropical to subtropical plants. To survive these plants require around 25 °C (77 °F) temperature. It belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family of plants and its botanical name is Citrullus lanatus. The plant is a creeper and gives a large round fruit with hard rind and fleshy inside. The outer skin is usually is dark green to lighter shade of green in color with the inside rind being white and flesh is dark pink to red. The flesh is sweet and juicy with dark brown to black colored seeds. Now-a-days even seedless varieties are being grown.
The white rind in harder than the flesh, it can’t be eaten directly as such; though it can be cooked and eaten. It can be used as any other cooked vegetable and added to curries, soups, gravy and as a side dish.
The pink-red fleshy part is eaten raw. It contains a lot of water and is a perfect food during summers to avoid dehydration.
Hydrator and Low Calorie:
Plus it is very low on calories making it a great option for those watching their weights. Hence the portion size eaten can be more than the other fruits containing higher calories and thus you can experience the satiety for a longer time and avoid over eating. 100 grams of watermelon contain only 30 calories! It is 91 % water, 6% sugars and contain negligible amounts of fat.
Other Nutrients:
Along with being low on calories it is rich in some other nutrients as well.
It contains Vitamin C, Carotenoids and Lycopene.
All three of which are powerful anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants help in scavenging the damaging free radicals. Free radicals are harmful for your body since they attack the body cells and DNA and are responsible for the destruction of healthy cells in the body, thus leading to dangerous effects such as early aging of important organs such as heart, brain, kidneys etc. and are one of the major culprits when it comes to lifestyle related disorders and diseases such as heart problems, diabetes, metabolic disorders, skin issues, vision problems, cancer and many more.
These free radicals can be generated due to faulty food habits, pollution, smoking etc.
Anti-oxidants are your defense system against these free-radicals. Thus vitamin C, carotenoids and lycopene help in fighting with these damaging substances.
Enjoy this yummy fruit your way!
The fruit can be eaten along with other fruits as a fruit salad or individually as well. Also, watermelon juice is a great thirst quencher and a tasty option as compared to other high calorie beverages. Always remember to not waste the fiber and include it in the juice for maximum benefits.
