Watermelons are a vine-like flowering plant that probably
originated almost 5,000 years ago in the Kalahari Desert of Africa where
botanists have found its wild ancestors still growing.
I love watermelon.
Watermelon is sweet and delicious, refreshing and nutritionally
beneficial. (I am referring to seeded
watermelon). I eat it by itself, freeze it for smoothies, make salads with it,
and sauces.
I love that Watermelon is good for prostate health,
erectile dysfunction, dehydration, constipation, infection, detoxifying, kidney
health, blood pressure, appetite, diabetes, and heart health, which all benefit
(or improve) with watermelon. Watermelon,
since it is 91% water, can help with hydration and electrolytes. Watermelon hydrates our cells and balances
the pH in our bodies.
Due to the citrulline content, watermelon may also reduce
and treat erectile dysfunction. Citrulline
relaxes and dilates blood vessels. Watermelon
also is high in vitamin C (antioxidant), vitamin A (beta carotene), lycopene (phytonutrient)
and citrulline (an amino acid). In fact,
a same serving of watermelon is said to contain more lycopene than tomatoes. Scientists
have found that lycopene molecules in tomatoes that are combined with fat and
subjected to intense heat during processing are restructured in a way that
appears to ease their transport into the bloodstream and tissue. You do not have to cook watermelon in order
to receive this same benefit.
Accessing the total medicinal benefits of watermelon is
highly dependent on the variety of watermelon and the ripeness. Beta carotene
and lycopene are usually bio-available in the highest quantities once the
watermelon is completely ripe. Watermelon seeds and rind also pack quite a few nutrients
as well, particularly roughage and fiber.
Blood Pressure
Relaxed blood vessels mean a lower blood pressure. The
arginine in watermelon that relaxes blood vessels has other health benefits. It
promotes production of nitric oxide. In addition to relaxing blood vessels,
this compound has been shown to reduce blood clotting and encourage smooth
blood flow, preventing heart attacks and strokes. Also, increased hydration
helps lower blood pressure and can help detoxify the blood as well.
Prostate Health
Watermelon contains more lycopene than any fresh fruit or
vegetable. Lycopene has known antioxidant qualities to keep the skin, heart,
and prostate healthy. Studies have shown that people who ingest lycopene can
help the prostate regenerate faster and stay healthier longer.
Colon Health
Watermelon is particularly useful in fighting colon
cancer due to its cleansing effect, its alkalinity, and its ability to hydrate
cells. Watermelon aids in flushing the colon, kidneys, and to a lesser degree,
the liver.
Erectile
Dysfunction
Arginine and citrulline make watermelon a wonderful
natural remedy for impotence. Both arginine and citrulline relax blood vessels,
including the vessels in the male reproductive system. Relaxed vessels allow
for a natural erection response. Watermelon is also anti-inflammatory.
Macular
Degeneration
With beta carotene, vitamin-C, lutein, and zeaxanthin,
watermelon is one of the best foods for nourishing the eyes. These antioxidants
will protect your eyes from other age-related ailments such as drying of eyes
and optical nerves, as well as glaucoma.
Anxiety
Watermelon contains vitamin B6 which is a superb weapon
against anxiety. This vitamin influences brain chemicals responsible for
calming moods and allows you to make better decisions under stress.
Skin
Lycopene is also beneficial for the skin. The
antioxidants decrease free radicals from the body known for causing age-spots,
fine lines, and wrinkles. Hydration also plays a huge role in looking and
feeling younger. Hydrated skin looks much younger and heals much faster than
dehydrated skin. Watermelon also aids
skin in other ways as well, like removing excess oil from the skin that helps
cause acne.
Detoxification
Dr. Ariel Policano, a naturopathic physician, says that
watermelon helps the liver process ammonia, a toxic nitrogen-containing waste
product left over from amino acid metabolism — and convert it into a molecule
known as urea, a component of urine that is safely excreted from the body.
Along with benefits to the colon, the liver, and the kidneys, watermelon is
very good at flushing out the body, moving undesired waste to be evacuated.
Watermelon Seeds
Watermelon seeds also have properties similar to pumpkin
seeds that are good for your prostate. Watermelon
seeds are a good source of the B vitamins Thiamin, niacin, and folate.
Watermelon seeds are rich in minerals like magnesium, manganese, phosphorus,
zinc, iron, potassium and copper. 100 grams of watermelon seeds provides around
139%, 87%, 82%, 74%, 44%, 20% and 37% of daily dietary values of these minerals
respectively. Watermelon seeds are also a good source of dietary fiber which is
essential for healthy bowel movements and digestion.
Watermelons are a vine-like flowering plant that probably
originated almost 5,000 years ago in the Kalahari Desert of Africa where botanists
have found its wild ancestors still growing. Today, in the United States, in
the Southern states such as the Carolinas and Georgia, watermelons flourish as
commercial crops.
Seedless
Watermelon
Seedless watermelons are not genetically modified, in the
way we think of genetic modification. In
other words, they haven’t been spliced and diced and genetically altered with
the DNA from another species.
However, they are genetic hybrids. (In my humble opinion, there’s not much
difference, and I’m going to try and share why)
Seedless watermelons are relatively new, having been
created only in the last 50 years or so. Seedless watermelons are sterile
hybrid fruits cross bred similar the way breeding a horse with a donkey creates
a mule.
Seedless watermelon is grown two ways. The first way is through
breeders. Usually watermelons are diploid, meaning they have two sets of 11
chromosomes. Seedless watermelon is a triploid because it has 3 sets of
chromosomes and are sterile. In order to produce seedless watermelons, a
diploid watermelon is pollinated by a tetraploid (4 chromosomes) watermelon. In
the process of reproduction, the new watermelon gets one chromosome from the
diploid parent and two from the tetraploid which makes it triploid. Since the triploids have three sets, the eggs
inside the watermelon are never formed and thus, seeds don’t grow. This change is a genetic modification of the
original melon, which is why I consider it a genetically modified organism.
The second way to grow seedless watermelon is by using a
drug called Colchicine, a chromosome-altering chemical widely used to treat
rheumatism and gout. This drug is a toxic natural product and secondary
metabolite, originally extracted from plants of the genus Colchicum (autumn
crocus, Colchicum autumnale, also known as "meadow saffron").
Since chromosome segregation is driven by microtubules,
colchicine is also used for inducing polyploidy in plant cells during cellular
division by inhibiting chromosome segregation during meiosis; half the
resulting gametes, therefore, contain no chromosomes, while the other half
contains double the usual number of chromosomes (i.e., diploid instead of
haploid, as gametes usually are), and lead to embryos with double the usual
number of chromosomes (i.e., tetraploid instead of diploid). WHILE THIS WOULD BE FATAL IN MOST HIGHER
ANIMAL CELLS, IN PLANT CELLS IT IS NOT ONLY USUALLY WELL TOLERATED, BUT ALSO
FREQUENTLY RESULTS IN LARGER, HARDIER, FASTER-GROWING, AND IN GENERAL MORE
DESIRABLE PLANTS THAN THE NORMALLY DIPLOID PARENTS; FOR THIS REASON, THIS TYPE
OF GENETIC MANIPULATION IS FREQUENTLY USED IN BREEDING PLANTS COMMERCIALLY.
When such a tetraploid plant is crossed with a diploid
plant, the triploid offspring are usually sterile (unable to produce fertile
seeds or spores), although many triploids can be propagated vegetatively.
Growers of annual triploid plants not readily propagated must buy fresh seed
from a supplier each year.
In certain species, colchicine-induced triploidy has been
used to create "seedless" fruit, such as seedless watermelons (Citrullus
lanatus). Since most triploids do not produce pollen themselves, such plants
usually require cross-pollination with a diploid parent to induce fruit
production.
Colchicine's ability to induce polyploidy can be also
exploited to render infertile hybrids fertile, for example in breeding
triticale (× Triticosecale) from wheat (Triticum spp.) and rye (Secale
cereale). Wheat is typically tetraploid and rye diploid, with their triploid
hybrid infertile; treatment of triploid triticale with colchicine gives fertile
hexaploid triticale.
Side effects include gastrointestinal upset and
neutropenia. High doses can also damage bone marrow and lead to anemia, and
cause hair loss. All of these side effects can result from hyperinhibition of
mitosis.
Organic Seedless
Watermelon
What about organic seedless watermelons? We need to remember that organic simply means
that organic foods are produced by organic farming. While the standards differ
worldwide, organic farming in general features cultural, biological, and
mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological
balance, and conserve biodiversity. Synthetic pesticides and chemical
fertilizers are not allowed, although certain organically approved pesticides
may be used under limited conditions. In general, organic foods are also not
processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or synthetic food additives.
But since chemicals or special hybridization methods were
used to alter the seeds, even certified organic melons are genetically modified
food.
Unfortunately, it is hard to find seeded watermelon in
regular stores, even during season. You usually have to go to a local farmers
market to get them.
The first and
final authority on why I would never eat seedless watermelon even if it were “healthier”
for me
B’Rashyth/Genesis 1:29
And Alahym said, Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed,
which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit
of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food:
U’Yaqra/Leviticus 19:19 “You shall keep my statutes. You
shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your
field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two
kinds of material.
Dbarym/Deut. 22: 9 “You shall not sow your vineyard with
two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be destroyed the crop that you have sown and the yield of
the vineyard. 10 You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. 11 You shall
not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together.
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