What Is The Most Useful Part Of The Watermelon?
Author: Nia Rouseberg
Time for reading: ~1
minutes
Last Updated:
August 08, 2022
One of the symbols of summer - watermelon is among the most valuable sources of the phytonutrient lycopene.
Along with tomatoes, watermelon is one of the richest foods in lycopene . Lycopene is a phytonutrient from the group of carotenoids - plant pigments that act as pro-vitamins , when ingested accumulate in the liver and, if necessary, be converted into vitamin A .
A study of more than 47,000 people over a six-year period found that consuming lycopene more than twice a week reduced the risk of developing cancer by between 21% and 34%. A study from Harvard Medical University showed that taking lycopene with watermelon , red grapefruit or guava at least 5 times a week reduces the risk of prostate cancer by 20%, and 10 times a week - by 45%. In women, this pigment can reduce the risk of developing cervical cancer by up to 5 times.
The melon richness of citrulline - a useful alpha amino acid, also has great benefits for the health of the consumer. This acid accumulates in the kidneys and other organ systems and is converted to arginine . Good arginine levels are essential for the cardiovascular system, and watermelon consumption can reduce the risk of heart attack by up to 50%.
No one disputes that in a ripe watermelon, the tastiest part is the middle: the sweetest, juiciest and tastiest of the surrounding tissues. But if you think that this automatically makes it the most useful part of the watermelon - you are sorely mistaken.
Botanists have conducted a study in which they evaluate the usefulness and nutritional value of the most common varieties of watermelon, dividing it into four parts: the core - a third of the watermelon, everyone's favorite; stem - that one third of the watermelon, which is closer to the stem from which the watermelon grows; flowering - the last one-third, from the opposite end of the stems and peripheral - composed of the tissues closest to the rind of the watermelon. It turns out that the location of the various beneficial components depends strongly on the variety of watermelon, but in all, the highest concentration of antioxidants , flavonoids , lycopene and vitamin C. is right in the peripheral part.
Compared to the Approximate Daily Intake (EDP), 500 grams of watermelon contains 71% of the ODP for vitamin C, 58% of the ODP for vitamin A, 15% potassium, 13% magnesium and only 5% of the calories needed for the day or about 150 calories.