清新多汁的西瓜是許多人的最愛(ài)。它的皮是青青綠綠的，而它的瓤卻有紅色和黃色，外形也是多種多樣。也許你只知道西瓜可以消暑，其實(shí)西瓜除了可以消暑還有很高的藥用價(jià)值呢！本期我們就跟大家來(lái)聊一聊西瓜。

Perhaps nothing else screams summer time quite as much as a juicy， ripe watermelon. Its sweet and refreshing and addsa huge burst of color to just about everything. But there is so much more to watermelon than meets the eye. Watermelon is simply bursting with numerous health benefits， too. Summeris the Water melon Season and its no suprise why. Besides being tasty and super hydrating，watermelon is super healthy. Check out our list of some healthy benefits， and interesting facts， you never knew about this summer time treat.

1. Immune support， wound healing， and helps prevent cell damage.

Watermelons are surprisingly high in Vitamin C. Vitamin C is great at improving ourimmune system by protecting our cells from reactive oxygen. Reactive oxygen damages our cells and DNA. Vitamin C has long been known to help heal wounds in the body andis essential to making new connective tissue. Enzymes involved in forming collagen， the main compound needed when wound sare healing， simply cannot function without Vitamin C. If you should find you are suffering from slow healing wounds， seriously up your consumption of Vitamin C heavy fruit such as watermelon！

2. Watermelon has more lycopene than tomatoes.

Just one cup of watermelon has l.5 times more lycopene than a large fresh tomato. Why should you care？ Lycopene is a super antioxidant， which is important for stopping those free radicals that damage your cells， mess with your immune system， and lead to advanced aging. Research shows that lycopene， which is found in most red fruits and veggies， helps fight against several types of cancer. To get the most antioxidants possible， store your watermelon at room temperature.

3. Relieves Sore Muscles; supports eye health.

A study conducted in Spain discovered that drinking about 16 0unces of watermelon juice before working out had less musclesoreness， as well as a lower heart rate， within24 hours. This is attributed to a compound in watermelon called citrulline that has been found to improve the functioning of arteries and lower blood pressure overall. In fact， watermelon can relax the blood vessels somuch. Unfortunately， most of that citrulline is found in the green rind， not so much in the red flesh.

Watermelon is a fantastic source of beta-carotene， which your body will turn into Vitamin A. Vitamin A helps to make the pigments in the retina of your eyes and this helps to protect you against macular degeneration.

4. Alkaline; its both a fruit and aveggie.

When fully ripe， watermelons have an alkaline effect in the body. Eating plenty of alkaline forming fruits and veggies helps to reduce your risk of developing illness and chronic disease.

Its both a fruit and a veggie. Almost unbelievable， but true！Like almost all fruits， watermelon comes from seeds but its roots can be traced to pumpkins， squash， and cucumbers. Talk about an over achiever！

5. Its absolutely packed with， well， water; reduces body fat.

Of course！We are really talking about some serious hydration when we start talking watermelon！Its 91.5 percent water！ This is good to know since being dehydrated is rebad for your health. Its a good thing we these when we are under the hot summer， so we can keep ourselves hydrated.

We are talking about that wonderful compound citrulline again. Its been shown in studies to help our bodys stop the accumulation of fat. This amino acid， with a little help from our kidneys， coverts into arginine， which blocks the activity of TNAP， which makes our fat cells， accumulate less fat. Kinda complicated， but a beautiful thing all the same.

6. Anti-inflammatory; diuretic and kidney support.

Watermelons are high in phenolic compounds such as carotenoids， flavonoids， and triter penoids. Carotenoids are super helpful in reducing inflam mation and killing off those nasty free radicals. Tripter penoid Curcurbitacin E is another great compound in watermelons， which is another great anti-inflammatory. Be sure to eat really ripe watermelons as they have much higher levels of these helpful compounds.

A natural diuretic， watermelon can help increase the flow of urine but doesnt place as train on the kidneys the same way caffeinedoes. Also， watermelons help your liver process ammonia which will help you get rid of excess fluid in the body while making it easy on the kidneys.

7. Nerve and muscle support; supports cardiovascular and bone health.

Watermelon is a great， all natural electrolyte that helps to regulate the nerves and muscles. Potassium is important in the determination of how much our muscles contract and controls the over stimulation of the nerves in the body. Since watermelon is high in potassium， its super good for those nerves and muscles.

Those high lycopene levels that are in watermelon are important to both our bone health and cardiovascular health. Consuming large amounts of watermelon has been linked to improved cardiovascular function as it improves blood flow due to the relaxation of blood pressure as well as reducing the oxidative stress which is involved in thepathogenes is of osteoporosis， This means you will get stronger bones when you eat foods rich in lycopene， yes， such as watermelons.

8. About those yellow watermelons;cube-shaped watermelons.

If you havent seen them， there are watermelons that are not that beautiful pinkish-red red color. Its called Yellow Crimson. It has a yellow interior with a sweeter taste that will remind you of honey. Both types of watermelons are green on the outside sounless they are labeled， you cant tell which one is which！Just remember that no one knows what， if any， nutritional value the yellow kind might have to offer. If you love the yellow kind， mix up a batch of both colors， just to beon the safe side.

也許沒(méi)有什么能比吃上一只多汁的熟西瓜更能消遣夏季時(shí)光的了。它香甜可口，讓入神清氣爽，讓你看到的所有事物都鮮活亮麗起來(lái)了。但西瓜遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不止我們看到的這樣。西瓜也能給我們的身體健康帶來(lái)極大的好處。毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)夏季就是西瓜的季節(jié)。除了好吃和水分多，西瓜也是超級(jí)健康的。看看我們列出的幾條健康小貼士，結(jié)合一些有趣事實(shí)，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)原來(lái)夏天還可以大補(bǔ)呢！

l.免疫保障，傷口修復(fù)，防止細(xì)胞損傷。

西瓜富含維生素C。維生素C能保護(hù)我們的細(xì)胞免受活性氧的侵害，從而極大地保護(hù)我們的免疫系統(tǒng)。活性氧會(huì)損壞我們的細(xì)胞和DNA。長(zhǎng)久以來(lái)，維生素C都被大家所知是可以幫助修復(fù)體內(nèi)傷口的，是促生結(jié)締組織的必需微量元素。如果沒(méi)有維生素C，酶也無(wú)法參與生成膠原蛋白的過(guò)程，而膠原蛋白是傷口修復(fù)很重要的一種化合物。如果你發(fā)現(xiàn)你的傷口一直沒(méi)有好起來(lái)，那就趕緊多吃些富含維生素C的水果，比如西瓜！

2.西瓜比番茄富含更多的番茄紅素。

一杯子西瓜汁所富含的番茄紅素是一個(gè)新鮮大番茄的1.5倍。為什么你要在意這個(gè)呢？番茄紅素是一種超級(jí)抗氧化劑，它可以阻止自由基侵害你的細(xì)胞、擾亂你的免疫系統(tǒng)、提前衰老。研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，存在于大多數(shù)紅色水果及蔬菜中的番茄紅素，能幫助我們抵御一些癌癥。為了盡可能保證番茄紅素的含量，請(qǐng)把西瓜置于室溫中保存。

3.緩解肌肉酸痛，保護(hù)眼睛健康。

在西班牙組織的一項(xiàng)研究表明，在鍛煉前喝上大約16盎司的西瓜汁，可以在24小時(shí)內(nèi)減輕肌肉酸痛，降低心率。這是由于西瓜里的一種叫瓜氨酸的物質(zhì)，它被發(fā)現(xiàn)可以提升動(dòng)脈功能，降低血壓。事實(shí)上，西瓜可以很大程度地放松血管。但可惜的是，大多數(shù)瓜氨酸都在西瓜皮里，而不是在果肉里。

西瓜里有豐富的β-胡羅卜素，并由你的機(jī)體轉(zhuǎn)化為維生素A。維生素A能幫助你生成視網(wǎng)膜上的色點(diǎn)，防止患上黃斑變性。

4.西瓜是堿性的，既是水果也是蔬菜。

熟透的西瓜在體內(nèi)呈堿性。吃大量的堿性水果和蔬菜可以減少你得一些小病及慢性疾病的幾率。

它既是水果也是蔬菜。難以置信吧，不過(guò)這是真的！和幾乎所有水果一樣，西瓜是由種子而來(lái)的，但它的根源可以追溯到南瓜，南瓜屬植物，以及黃瓜。說(shuō)起來(lái)它好像是個(gè)成就感爆棚的水果！

5.西瓜么，當(dāng)然是水做的;減少脂肪。

還用說(shuō)么！我們談?wù)撐鞴?，其?shí)是在正兒八經(jīng)地談水合作用。西瓜91.5%都是水分。對(duì)于人體健康來(lái)講，最怕的就是脫水。炎炎夏日要是能吃上西瓜真是開(kāi)心，同時(shí)也保證我們能得到充分的水分供應(yīng)。

又談到神奇的瓜氨酸。研究表明瓜氨酸能阻斷脂肪的堆積。這種氨基酸，在腎臟的幫助下，能轉(zhuǎn)化成精氨酸，精氨酸能抑制TNAP（組織非特異性堿性磷酸酶）的活動(dòng)，而TNAP會(huì)產(chǎn)生脂肪細(xì)胞的。聽(tīng)起來(lái)是不是有點(diǎn)復(fù)雜啦？但整個(gè)過(guò)程還是很美妙的。

6.消炎作用：利尿益腎。

西瓜也富含酚類化合物，比如類胡蘿卜素、黃酮類和三萜系化合物。類胡蘿卜素對(duì)于減輕炎癥有非常好的效果，并且可以殺死自由基。三萜葫蘆素E是西瓜里另外一種優(yōu)良的化合物，同樣可以減輕炎癥。一定要吃真正熟了的西瓜，因?yàn)檫@些化合物的含量更高。

西瓜是一種天然的利尿劑，幫助尿液流動(dòng)，但是又不像咖啡因那樣對(duì)腎臟造成一定的壓力。此外，西瓜還能幫助肝臟分解氨，排解體內(nèi)多余的液體，以減輕腎臟的負(fù)擔(dān)。

7.利于神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)和肌肉組織;利于心血管和骨骼健康。

西瓜真是一種純天然的電解質(zhì)，讓你的神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)和肌肉保持正常運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)。鉀元素決定了人體肌肉的收縮，也能控制體內(nèi)神經(jīng)的過(guò)激。因?yàn)槲鞴细缓?，因此?duì)于神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)和肌肉非常有利。

西瓜里富含的番茄紅素對(duì)我們的骨骼和心血管健康都有好處。多吃西瓜被認(rèn)為能促進(jìn)心血管功能，原因是它能夠降血壓，促進(jìn)血液流動(dòng)，此外還能減少導(dǎo)致骨質(zhì)疏松的氧化壓力。這就意味著多吃富含番茄紅素的食物會(huì)讓你的骨骼更加強(qiáng)健，是的，比如西瓜。

8.關(guān)于黃西瓜;方形西瓜。

也許你沒(méi)見(jiàn)過(guò)（說(shuō)實(shí)話在中國(guó)這東西還是蠻常見(jiàn)的），黃西瓜的里面看起來(lái)不是那么的紅彤彤。這個(gè)也叫Yellow Crimson（這個(gè)說(shuō)法有點(diǎn)費(fèi)解，黃色的深紅色？）。這種西瓜的內(nèi)瓤是黃色的，更濃的甜度會(huì)讓你覺(jué)得味道像蜂蜜。當(dāng)然啦，無(wú)論是紅西瓜還是黃西瓜，外面都是綠油油的。要是沒(méi)標(biāo)簽，你還真不知道哪個(gè)是哪個(gè)。不過(guò)現(xiàn)在也沒(méi)人知道黃色的西瓜是否更具營(yíng)養(yǎng)價(jià)值。要是你喜歡黃西瓜，為保險(xiǎn)起見(jiàn)，吃的時(shí)候還是和紅的一起吃吧（以確保營(yíng)養(yǎng)全面）。