Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Fruit and Your Health - Part 5 - Watermelon





Info from LifeScript

The watermelon is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family and is related botanically to cucumber and squash, which are incidentally fruits, not vegetables.  It's thought to be a native to Africa, where this water-yielding fruit was commonly used by natives as a valuable means of carrying water.  Today there are more than 200 varieties grown around the world with 50 varieties making their home in the U.S.

Watermelons, like the tomato, is rich in carotenoid Lycepene, offering about 7.4 mg per one cup of fruit.  What might surprise you is that the watermelon actually has about 60% more lycopene than raw tomatoes (cooked tomatoes are more lycopene-rich).

Not only is watermelon rich in this cancer-fighting carotenoid, it's also a good source of vitamin C, potassium, fiber and even supplies a small amount of calcium.


Watermelon's Good Points:
* very low in saturated fat
* no cholesterol
* very low in sodium
* high in potassium
*very high in vitamin A
* very high in vitamin C

Watermelon's Bad Points:
* very high in sugar


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