Everyone loves watermelon – both adults and children. However, it, like any other product, can do both good and harm. For example, with the help of a watermelon, you can seriously lose weight and improve the body, or vice versa – it is banal to get poisoned …
The benefits and harms of watermelon depend primarily on the freshness of the fruit and on the conditions in which it was grown. Often, the desire of people to get as much of this berry as possible in one season leads to the fact that an excellent dietary product turns into a source of toxins and poisons. In order for the watermelon to quickly gain weight and ripen, it is fed with fertilizers. These are mainly nitrogen fertilizers – nitrates, which can cause certain health problems.
To avoid serious consequences, you should not offer watermelon to children under 2 years of age. At 2-3 years old, 80-100 grams is enough for a child. watermelon, and children 3-6 years old – 100-150 gr .. And only on condition that the watermelon is of high quality. The younger the child, the less his body is able to withstand the harmful effects of nitrates, toxins and microbes. Children in general should use watermelon only during the period of natural ripening of this berry, that is, in late August and early September. At this time, watermelons are able to ripen without fertilizers, and the taste of watermelon during this period is much higher.
But even a high-quality watermelon can cause harm if it is eaten by those for whom it is contraindicated. So, the berry should be discarded:
in violation of the outflow of urine;
in pride and colitis;
people who have kidney stones;
suffering from diabetes mellitus,
with pyelonephritis,
with severe pathologies of the pancreas and prostate glands.
It is also worthwhile to use it with attention for pregnant women, since watermelon is a strong diuretic, and in women in late pregnancy, the fetus compresses the bladder so that natural urges will occur more often than usual. You need to be prepared for the fact that after eating a portion of watermelon, you will experience a feeling of overflow and some discomfort.
In addition, you should heed the advice of nutritionists and do not mix watermelon with any other food. The fact is that when watermelon is consumed along with other products, instead of digestion in the stomach, the fermentation process begins, which naturally leads to unpleasant sensations, and sometimes to serious disruptions in the gastrointestinal tract.
Watermelon contains a lot of nutrients. For example, it is rich in antioxidants such as carotene, thiamine, ascorbic acid, niacin and riboflavin. In addition to prolonging the life of the human body and protecting it from age-related damage, these substances resist the development of cancer, and carotene, for example, improves vision.
It is also important that watermelon contains folic acid (folacin or vitamin B9), which contributes to the normal development of the human body. When building RNA and DNA, folacin is required, which is also involved in the process of cell division and regulates the absorption / processing of proteins. In addition, folic acid gives the skin a healthy color, improves digestive processes and increases milk production in new mothers.
Drinking watermelon helps to fight overweight, in other words, losing weight on watermelon is real and simple. Firstly, this is due to powerful diuretic properties, due to which body weight becomes objectively 1-2 kilograms less due to the removal of excess fluid from the body. Secondly, watermelon perfectly satisfies hunger.
With its low calorie content – only 38 kcal per 100 grams of pulp – watermelon fills the stomach, making it possible to forget about hunger.
At the same time, the sweet taste of this vegetable berry is of no small importance. Physiological studies have shown that sweetness is the best trigger for feelings of satiety. As a result, the fasting day “under the sign” of watermelon will pass in a light mode, without unpleasant and painful thoughts about food.