Watermelons are a deliciously sweet fruit – they’re low in calories and fat, rich in nutrients and vitamins and high in antioxidants, making them a bit of a wonder fruit and a great fruit for your healthy eating and pregnancy weight loss plan.
Watermelon also contains a particularly large amount of water, making it incredibly hydrating – which could reduce your cravings of calorific fizzy drinks in the summer months.
The health benefits of watermelons
Watermelon is rich in potassium, which is a nutrient that could potentially lower your blood pressure, keep your heart healthy and reduce your risk of stroke and heart disease.
Guidelines show that a diet rich in potassium helps to prevent the salt in your diet interfering with your blood pressure, which keeps your blood pressure stable. A potassium rich diet could also help to reduce your risk of developing kidney stones and osteoporosis.
Watermelons also contain a wide range of antioxidants, including vitamin C and beta-carotene. Vitamin C helps to prevent numerous diseases such as certain types of cancers, heart disease and other chronic illnesses, and beta-carotene can help to reduce your risk of certain eye disorders, such as macular degeneration, certain skin disorders and can also help to boost your immune system.
The rich red colour of watermelon comes from an antioxidant, lycopene, which is known for its cancer fighting properties. Lycopene helps to neutralise potentially damaging free radicals. Free radicals can cause numerous health problems as they travel through the blood vessels, narrowing them as they go – which could lead to a heart attack or stroke. Lycopene is known to be particularly useful in preventing prostate cancer. And the best thing of all? Watermelon contains more lycopene than any other fruit or vegetable.
Watermelon contains lots of water – in fact, watermelon is made up of 90% water, meaning that it is very hydrating, but it also contains other nutrients that make it both hydrating and incredibly useful in boosting your energy levels. Watermelon contains sodium and potassium which are lost through the body during exercise, as well as vitamins B1 and B6, which improve energy production. Snack on watermelon before and after a workout to boost your energy levels during exercise and to help repair and hydrate your body after exercise.
The antioxidants found in watermelon also help to reduce your risk of numerous auto-immune disorders and diseases, including asthma, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, heart disease and arthritis.
Weight loss and watermelons
Watermelon is also an excellent food to eat for weight loss, as it is very low in calories and fat, containing just 80 calories in 2 cups of chopped, prepared watermelon and zero fat. It’s very difficult to overindulge on watermelon, because it is just so low in calories – the Mayo Clinic states that watermelon is a food that has a low energy density, which means that it has a small number of calories for a large serving of food – and they also state that including low energy density foods in your diet could help you to lose weight, as you get to indulge on foods and keep fuller for longer without taking in any extra calories.
Watermelon is also very versatile – enjoy a big wedge of watermelon as a breakfast or as a dessert, chop it up and serve it in a fruit salad, whiz it into you healthy mummy smoothies or layer into a salad with some thin Parma ham.
If you are ready to lose weight then the Lose Baby Weight plans offer a healthy and safe exercise and diet routine.
And don’t forget to check out our current promotions and discounts page to see what specials we have on this week on our Healthy Mummy product range
