Watermelons are generally believed to have originated in Africa several thousand years ago and to have traveled over time from Africa to Asia to Europe to North America. Nowadays over four billion pounds of watermelon are produced each year in the U.S. On an average, per person basis, we eat over 15 pounds of fresh watermelon each year.

Why is watermelon healthy suitable for our body system? We have listed just several preferred ingredients of watermelon, out of many.

1. Lycopene is a carotenoid phytonutrient that's especially important for cardiovascular and bone health as well.  Watermelon has moved up to the front of the line in recent research studies on high-lycopene foods..

2. Citrulline is an amino acid that is commonly converted by our kidneys and other organ systems into arginine (another amino acid). The flesh of a watermelon contains about 250 milligrams of citrulline per cup. When our body absorbs this citrulline, one of the steps it can take is conversion of citrulline into arginine. Higher levels of arginine can help improve blood flow and other aspects of our cardiovascular health.

3. Nitric oxide synthase – NOS (found in many of our body's cell types) is able to take the amino acid arginine and use it to help produce a very small molecule of gas called nitric oxide (NO), which is a muscle relaxant. For example, when NO tells the smooth muscles around our blood vessels to relax, the space inside our blood vessels can expand, allowing blood to flow more freely and creating a drop in blood pressure.

4. Watermelon seeds can provide us with small but helpful amounts of both iron and zinc. There is a study showing that the iron and zinc in watermelon seeds is surprisingly bioavailable (85-90%), despite the oxalates and phytates that are contained in the seeds. 

5. Protein in watermelon seeds is approximately 1 gram per 24 seeds. At this rate, we're likely to get several grams of protein when we eat several slices of whole, seeded watermelon.

By Marina Vjetrovic