Watermelon is a summer fruit loved by adults and children alike. It’s a treat that just keeps on giving.
Looking to stay hydrated through the day? Watermelon juice.
Have a sweet tooth? Watermelon’s got your back with its natural sugars.
Need a hand clearing your system of toxins? Yeah, watermelon comes to the rescue with its antioxidants, ready to clean house.
Surprisingly, watermelon is a fruit AND a vegetable. When was the last time you heard of that combination?
Watermelon juice has many health benefits thanks to its water and vitamin-rich content, regulating blood pressure and keeping the skin hydrated and moisturized, among other things. We have compiled a list of benefits watermelon juice for you so that you can enjoy this tasty treat while knowing just how good it is for your health.
Benefits of Watermelon Juice
1. Nutritional Value
Following are some of the nutritional facts about watermelon;
| Serving Size | 2 cups diced (10 oz / 280 g) |
| Calories | 80 (Calories from Fat 0) |
| Total Fat | 0g (0%) |
| Total Carbohydrates | 21g (7%) Dietary Fiber: 1g (4%) Sugars: 20g |
| Cholesterol | 0mg (0%) Sodium: 0mg (0%) Potassium: 270mg (8%) Protein: 1g |
| Vitamin A | (30%) Vitamin C: (25%) Calcium: (2%) Iron: (4%) |
Watermelon juice offers a dense nutrient intake. One cup of juice will give you enough vitamin C and A to last up to 3 days with some to spare! Almost 30% and 25% more than what you need per day, respectively.
You also get a boost of potassium, fiber, calcium, and iron. Watermelon juice is no enemy for those of you looking at your calorie intake, containing only 40 calories per cup. Other useful ingredients include antioxidants, beta-carotene, amino acids, and flavonoids
Fun Fact 1: The world's heaviest watermelon ever grown weighed 268.8 lbs. (121.93 kg).It was grown in Arkansas, US.
1. Promotes Hair Growth
The Vitamin C content of watermelon juice along with Arginine (amino acid) helps give your skin and hair texture along with promoting blood circulation in the scalp. This encourages hair growth, bringing your hair back to their natural health and shine.
2. Anti-Aging Agent
Another very sought-after benefit of watermelon juice is that it prevents skin aging. This is not only because of the dose of Vitamin C you get from it but also the Lycopene (antioxidant and anticarcinogen) in it.
Lycopene decreases the free radicals (produced naturally in the body as a result of metabolism) in your body, slowing the ageing process significantly.
The Vitamin C content enables your body to create collagen, which keeps skin hydrated and in good health. Apart from that, collagen also helps maintains cells structure, keeps immune system at its toes, and promotes healing.
3. Diuretic Nature
Ever had the urge to run to the toilet soon after drinking a refreshing glass of watermelon juice? That’s because you mixed the already 90% water-rich water melon with a cup of water, magnifying watermelon’s diuretic properties.
In doing so, the body removes excess water and salt present in the body, refreshing your kidneys and reducing blood pressure.
4. Asthma
As mentioned above, watermelon contains antioxidative properties. While removing free radicals form the body, watermelon juice cleans out the lungs of free radicals among other parts of the body, helping reduce the risk of asthma in patients.
5. Lowering Blood Pressure
Watermelon juice is beneficial especially for people with high blood pressure. A study revealed that the juice helped reduce blood pressure for people suffering from obesity and hypertension.
The core heroes here were the L-citrulline and L-arginine antioxidants.
6. Heart Disease Prevention
Lycopene, along with helping your skin stay young, has been known to help protect against heart diseases. It does so by reducing intra-venous inflammation.
The lack of any cholesterol in watermelon juices also serves to give you a tasty treat without posing any health issues.
Fun Fact 2: Watermelons were introduced in Europe by the Moors in the 13th century. The US, however, was introduced to watermelons by African slaves much later.
7. Hydration
Watermelon is water-rich, that much is no secret. Consuming watermelon juice can help you maintain your electrolytes such as potassium, making it one of the healthiest summer-time treats.
8. Brain & Nervous System Enhancement
Choline, another antioxidant present in watermelons abundantly, helps enhance the brain and nervous system functionality. Following are some factors that it contributes to;
- Muscle movement
- Retention capabilities
- Reinforce cell membranes
- Induce nerve impulse transmission
- Brain growth and development
Although not tested or backed up with evidence, it is widely suggested that the choline content of watermelon juice may help slow down Dementia.
Fun Fact 3: All parts of a watermelon can be eaten, even the rind.
9. Metabolism
As evident from the heart-disease prevention section, another prime benefit of watermelon juice is that it may help people with metabolic syndrome, significantly reinforcing hearts of people with obesity and cardiovascular diseases.
10. Digestion and regularity
Watermelon’s water content mixed with its 4% fiber help promote a healthy digestive system. From the stomach to intestines to bowels, watermelons keep pushing undigested food, preventing constipation and regulating bowel movements.
11. Cancer
Free radicals boost carcinogens, promoting certain types of cancers. Lycopene plays an important role in fighting cancer cells (because of its anticarcinogenic properties) and expelling free radicals. One particular type of cancer watermelon juice helps tackle is prostate cancer.
12. Muscle Activity & Athletic Prowess
If you love sports, are an outgoing person, or simply want a way to reduce muscle soreness after a workout session, watermelon juice is the way to go.
The amino acids in watermelon citrulline and arginine help improve blood circulation within muscles and around the bone structure, reducing the post-workout muscle soreness and regulate heart rate. Citrulline also enhances muscle functionality, giving them more power and increasing stamina.
Citrulline comes in the form of supplements as well, indicating just how powerful a glass of watermelon juice can be pre-exercise.
13. Weight Loss
Looking to shed some weight? Because a watermelon’s water-sufficiency, watermelon juice can be one of the best fruits for weight loss.
Beside water content, the arginine within helps burn body fat quickly. A glass of this juice before a meal can also induce a feeling of fullness, giving you more control over your appetite.
Too Much Watermelon?
Although watermelon juice is extremely beneficial, too much of it can have certain side effects as well. Any fruit, if eaten in alarming quantities, can have side effects. Excess watermelon leads to excess Lycopene and potassium, leading to nausea, diarrhea, bloating, and indigestion.
1. People with Hyperkalemia
Excess potassium in the blood can lead to hyperkalemia. Patients are advised to control their watermelon juice intake, limiting their consumption to about one cup per day. The target should be just 140 mg potassium per day – an amount patients’ body can process easily.
Hyperkalemia patients have irregular heartbeats often associated with other cardiovascular problems along with a lack of muscle control.
2. Digestion Problems
Excess watermelon lead to numerous digestive problems such as nausea, diarrhea, bloating, or even end up diluting your stomach’s acidity because of its water content.
3. Increased Glucose Levels
As mentioned above, watermelons contain natural sugars. It has a high Glycemic Index of 72-80, leading to increased sugar levels if consumed excessively.
4. Liver Inflammation
The Lycopene content of watermelons might have the opposite effects as the ones mentioned above if consumed with alcohol in your system. The Lycopene and alcohol reaction may lead to excess oxidative stress on your liver, which might cause inflammation.
Fun Fact 4: Between United States and Mexico, there are about 300 watermelon varieties, but only about 50 are popular.
Remember to introduce variation into your fruit intake. Although watermelon juice has numerous benefits, taken excessively or without variation might cause more harm than good.
Watermelon: Vegetable or Fruit?
Watermelon is classified as a fruit since it originates in the plant’s ovary after flowering, holding its seeds and ready to continue its lineage. Anything derived from any other part of the plant classifies as a vegetable. But watermelon is classified as a vegetable solely because of its heritage.
It can be traced back to the Cucurbitaceae family where cucumbers, pumpkin, and squashed reside. Its biological name is Citrullus lanatus and is cultivated much like a vegetable, progressing on vines, being ‘an edible part of a plant’ since every part can be eaten. The state of Oklahoma officially declared watermelon as a vegetable in 2007.
As an all-time summer favorite, it is natural to want more and more watermelon juice in your system because of its taste and nutritional value. Just remember to introduce a little variety and enjoy the refreshing drink to your heart’s content!