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Viva Watermelon, Nature’s Tastier Viagra?

Summertime means fun in the sun and many people enjoy a refreshing slice of cool, juicy watermelon to quench thirst and fuel the fun. This delicious summertime favorite may be much more than simply delicious and refreshing, though.

New scientific research indicates this favorite melon of summer may provide many health benefits, among them is the ability to relax the blood vessels, much like the popular drug, Viagra.

Dr. Bhimu Patil, director of the Fruit and Vegetable Improvement Center at Texas A&M University (TAMU), says the list of healthy benefits of watermelon grows with every new study.

Calling the fruit “amazing,” Patil attributes watermelon’s healthy benefits to the phytonutrients that occur naturally in the melon. Phytonutrients are considered bioactive compounds due to their ability to promote reactions in the body that are beneficial to one’s health.

Water makes up about 92% of a watermelon but the remaining 8% of the fruit is loaded with beneficial nutrients that include beta-carotene, lycopene, and citrulline, a nutrient Patil describes as a rising star of phytonutritional elements.

It’s the citrulline thought to be behind the relaxation of blood vessels although eating the fruit produces this effect on all the vessels of the bloodstream and isn’t organ specific, like Viagra is. Arginine helps fortify the action of nitric oxide, known to relax blood vessels and increase blood flow. This increase in blood flow helps with erectile dysfunction, of course, but it also helps with high blood pressure, angina, and other disorders of the cardiovascular system and it does so without any of the distressing side effects that are sometimes associated with drug therapies for these conditions.

Through enzymatic action, citruline converts to arginine, which has been proven in previous studies to enhance heart and circulatory function and strengthen the immune system, effects that can be very attractive to individuals suffering from type 2 diabetes and obesity as well as those with concerns about cardiovascular health.

Other wonders of the watermelon include arginine’s ability to enhance the urea cycle by aiding in the removal of ammonia and other compounds that are toxic to the human body.

Tomatoes have been on the top of the list of lycopene-rich fruits but the deep red varieties of watermelons actually contain more lycopene, an antioxidant known to promote health in the skin, heart, and prostate. The TAMU research team cautions that lycopene is a fat-soluble nutrient, meaning a certain degree of fat must accompany the lycopene for best absorption, a feat much more easily accomplished with tomatoes than watermelon.

The TAMU team advises consumers to store watermelons uncut and at room temperature to retain the fullest nutrient content. Once cut, however, watermelon is best refrigerated.

Source: Texas A&M University

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