There is probably no vegetable, fruit, or berry in the world that overweight people would not try to use for the purpose of losing weight. Watermelon is no exception. Many sites claim that it helps to reduce weight, cleanses the body of toxins, provides it with vitamins, minerals and other useful substances. Is this true or is it fiction? Let us reflect on this topic.
Properties of watermelon
Watermelon is a treasure trove of vitamins and minerals that provide tremendous benefits to your body. Have you ever come across such phrases while surfing the Internet? Probably yes. But in reality, a watermelon is not a treasure. Rather, a small puddle. There are few vitamins and minerals in it. To receive at least some in daily doses, watermelon will need to be absorbed in kilograms.
Watermelon has a pronounced diuretic effect. Surely lovers of this product know that you can only enjoy a good watermelon if you are not far from the toilet. Some sources claim that due to its diuretic effect, watermelon "flushes the kidneys" and reduces the likelihood of urolithiasis. Forced to let you down - this is unlikely.
The buds are regularly "washed" without watermelon. There is a small chance that with its help you can actually reduce the risk of developing urolithiasis. But, in the first place, to be convinced of this from your experience, you should eat a watermelon every day for several years. Secondly, no one knows for sure whether watermelon prevents urolithiasis, since this information can only be obtained in the course of clinical studies, which no one has yet conducted.
Benefits of watermelon for weight loss
Watermelon is a food product. It has little nutritional value. It contains carbohydrates, although there are not many of them. Therefore, it would be foolish to say that watermelon contributes to weight loss. No, you can heal from it too, as from any other food. If you eat a watermelon in kilograms, you will not see a slim figure.
Of course, watermelon doesn't burn fat. The more you eat, the rounder your belly will become. But if you consider watermelon not as a means of losing weight, but as a dietary product, you can find some undeniable benefits.
- Low calorie.Obviously, the fewer calories a food contains, the more attractive it is to obese people. Even a sweet watermelon contains less than 30 kcal per 100g, less than most fruits or berries. The nutritional value of watermelon is lower than that of some vegetables. After eating a pound of watermelon, you will probably not feel hungry, but at the same time only 300 kcal will enter your body.
- High water content.Why is it good? First, the water provides a large volume of watermelon. When you eat it, you feel that there is something in the stomach. Thus, it satisfies hunger, even if for a short time. Secondly, a person who is trying to lose weight needs to drink a lot of water, but often forgets about it. Lack of fluid in the body causes a decrease in the effectiveness of the diet. Together with a watermelon, a person receives a sufficient amount of water.
Disadvantages of watermelon for weight loss
As mentioned above, watermelon has a very low energy value, which gives us reason to call it a dietary product. But it should be remembered that most of the calories enter the body with carbohydrates. In addition, they are simple sugars, easy to digest and which pose the greatest threat to your figure.
Watermelon contains glucose, fructose, sucrose. All of these carbohydrates are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream and stimulate the release of insulin, which converts glucose into fat. Watermelon has one of the highest glycemic indices among all fruits and berries. This is its biggest flaw. And this is the only reason why watermelon shouldn't be consumed in excessive quantities.
Among the disadvantages, the low content of insoluble dietary fiber is also noted. Watermelon cannot satisfy hunger for long. It fills the stomach only for a short time, as it consists mainly of water, which quickly enters the intestine and then into the blood. There is very little fiber in watermelon, which could create the necessary volume and retain fluids in the digestive tract.
Watermelon can be a quick snack to kill your appetite. The simple sugars contained in its composition almost immediately enter the systemic circulation, interact with vascular receptors and dull hunger. But the feeling of fullness passes quickly, as the concentration of glucose in the blood quickly returns to normal.
Production
With the help of watermelon, you can lose weight, but only if you use it instead of other, more high-calorie foods. You shouldn't abuse watermelon, as it contains simple sugars and has a high glycemic index. It has low nutritional value, but consuming watermelon in large quantities can lead to a lot of calories. In addition, these calories will enter the body with simple carbohydrates - the most dangerous nutrients for the figure.