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There is nothing better than biting into a cool slice of watermelon on a hot, summer day. Well, at least for those of us that enjoy eating watermelons. When I was a little kid, one of my favorite fruits to eat was watermelon. I think it was because it was juicy and sweet. On the parents end, it was a very easy way for them to keep their kids hydrated throughout the summer. Plus it contains Vitamin C, A, B6 and B1.
Oh, and did I mention it's also low in calories? Just 1 cup of watermelon=48 calories.
So, besides being tasty, nutrient-dense and low-calorie, what else is watermelon good for?
Lowering blood pressure.
With high blood pressure affecting 25% of U.S. adults, this discovery could be revolutionary.
Two Ferris State University Professors, Arturo Figueroa and Bahram H. Armandi, were the ones that discovered this. They extracted the amino acid, L-citrulline/L-arginine, from watermelon. Then, they administered this extract daily for six weeks to a group of 9 subjects, all the prehypertension. Prehypertension is a condition where your blood pressure is elevated, but not high enough to be categorized as hypertension. The subjects were four men and five women between the ages of 51-57.
After six weeks, every person experienced a lowering in their aortic blood pressure. As for side effects, none were found from consuming the amino acid from watermelon. One of the shortcomings of this study was that the size of the testing group was fairly small. In order to further confirm that watermelon can be attributed to the reduction of blood pressure, the researchers would like to conduct a study with more people.
For those of you that aren’t too fond of watermelon, maybe its time to reconsider. It could just help you live a longer, healthier life.
For more information about just how good watermelon is for you, check out its nutrient profile.
Sources:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101013173847.htm
http://www.fyiliving.com/diet/special-diets/bite-into-watermelon-lower-your-blood-pressure/
http://www.naturalnews.com/032183_watermelon_blood_pressure.html
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=31
Big Dave
Awesome to know that such a delicious fruit is also so good for you.
I recall reading somewhere that grilled slices of watermelon can make a great vegetarian substitute for burgers. I'm tempted to give that a try next summer...
Commented on HelloLife November 17 2011 at 11:04 am
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