WATERMELON FRUIT is large, smooth, and oval to round. The skin can be solid green or green striped with yellow.The edible flesh is usually pink with many flat, oval, black seeds throughout. Seedless varieties also exist, as well as types with orange, yellow, or white flesh.Watermelons are extensively used for their sweet taste and beneficial properties upon our health. Watermelon is the fruit of a vine-like herb and has a dark green skin and rich red fresh.Watermelon is the tasty and flavoured fruit that helps to keep our bodies hydrated and refreshed, as it contains 90 percent water. This fruit has been used since ancient times by various peoples to protect the body from losing the necessary amount of water and from getting dehydrated during periods of drought. Watermelon was also used extensively in the past when water sources were polluted. The ancient Egyptians used to welcome tired and thirsty travellers that reached their regions with watermelons. They traditionally offered the visitors big slices of watermelons on trays in order to help them quench their thirst in the most natural and pure way.The high content of water makes watermelons very beneficial when used in weight loss programmes, as they give the impression of satiety, but have a reduced number of calories. But besides water, melons are laden with vitamin A and C, beta-carotene, iron, zinc, potassium and other nutritive minerals that makes them twice as efficient in all kinds of diets, as they help us lose weight or stay fit and also give the body all the vitamins and nutrients it needs to continue functioning in an appropriate manner.Also, due to the amount of water contained, they are frequently used for body detoxification processes, as the water from melons purifies the body of all waste and then is partially eliminated through urine. This also helps in cleaning our kidneys.Melons intake is also extremely important for preserving our health because they are as rich in iron content as spinach, which means they are the richest fruits in iron. Plenty of iron is found in red meat too but watermelons are more appropriate to be eaten because they are not that rich in calories. Iron as a nutritive mineral boosts energy in our bodies, makes us active and provides us with stamina. Iron is tightly linked to the hemoglobin, which transports oxygen from the lungs to all body cells and is also part of key enzyme systems for energy production and metabolism. Iron also strengthens and protects all the organs within our body and is crucial for menstruating, pregnant or lactating women whose bodies usually lack iron. Iron plays a decisive role in the growth and physical development of children and teenagers, as it helps their bodies grow in a healthy and harmonious way.Besides tomatoes, watermelons are one of the richest sources of lycopene a naturally occurring red pigment in plants that is a very potent antioxidant and anti-anticancer agent. Lycopene is the most active carotenoid and works as an antioxidant against free radicals. Antioxidant properties of the natural pigments fight against molecular oxidation by the free radicals. In our body, an infinite number of chemical reactions take place every day. A part of the chemical changes in the cells that use oxygen give birth to free radicals, which are harmful to the cells. An excessive amount of free radicals interact with the DNA or parts of the other cells in the body and may damage them. But the antioxidants in fruits and vegetables counteract and neutralise these organic enemies. Moreover, watermelons provide our bodies with high doses of vitamin C that is also a very potent antioxidant and not only.Besides antioxidant properties, lycopene also helps improving short and long term memory, protects and prevents from heart disorders and some types of cancer. It is extremely beneficial and prevents skin, cervical, breast and prostate cancer. Lycopene is also a detoxifier of the waste in the body and inhibits cholesterol formation.Vitamin A and beta-carotene are also abundant in these fruits and improve the accuracy of our vision, preventing, at the same time, eyes related diseases such as cataracts and macular degeneration. Beta-carotene and vitamin A are usually tightly connected within our body. They help the heart to function accurately, strengthen the immune system, prevent against cancer and are anti-aging and anti-wrinkling agents for the skin.The writer is a doctor at the Rwanda Military Hospital – Kanombe.
