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 say that it helps reduce weight, cleanses the body of toxins, provides it with vitamins, minerals and other useful substances. Is it true or fictitious? Let’s think about this.
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 fact, a watermelon is not a treasure. More like a small puddle. It contains few vitamins and minerals. To receive at least part of it in daily doses, watermelon will need to be absorbed in kilograms.
Watermelon has a pronounced diuretic effect. True, 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 risk of urolithiasis. Forced to disappoint you - it's 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, first, to be convinced of this by your own experience, one would have to eat a watermelon every day for several years. Second, no one is sure whether watermelon prevents urolithiasis, because this information can only be obtained during 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 aren't many. Therefore, it would be foolish to say that watermelon contributes to weight loss. No, you can also improve yourself, just like with any other food. If you eat a watermelon in kilograms, you will not see a slender 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 way to lose weight, but as a diet product, you can find some undeniable benefits in it.
- Low in calories.Obviously, the less calories a food contains, the more attractive it is to obese people. Even a sweet watermelon contains less than 30 kcal per 100 g, which is less than most fruits or berries. The nutritional value of watermelon is lower than that of some vegetables. After eating a kilogram of watermelon, you probably will not be 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 your stomach. Thus, it satisfies hunger, albeit for a short time. Second, a person who is trying to lose weight needs to drink a lot of water, but often forgets it. Lack of fluid in the body leads to a decrease in the efficiency of the diet. With a watermelon, a person receives a sufficient amount of water.
Cons of watermelon for weight loss
As mentioned above, watermelon has a very low energy value, which gives us reason to call it a diet product. But it should be remembered that most of the calories enter the body along with the carbohydrates. Plus, they're simple sugars that are easy to digest and pose the biggest threat to your figure.
Watermelon contains glucose, fructose, sucrose. All of these carbohydrates are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and stimulate the release of insulin, which turns glucose into fat. Watermelon has one of the highest glycemic indexes of all fruits and berries. This is his biggest flaw. And this is the only reason why watermelon should not be consumed in too much quantity.
Among the disadvantages is also the low content of insoluble dietary fiber. Watermelon cannot satisfy hunger for a long time. It only fills the stomach for a short time, since it consists mainly of water, which quickly enters the intestines, and then into the blood. There is very little fiber in watermelon, which could create the necessary bulk and retain fluid 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 alleviate hunger. But the feeling of fullness passes quickly, because the concentration of glucose in the blood quickly returns to normal.
Go out
With the help of watermelon, you can lose weight, but only if you use it instead of other foods that are higher in calories. Watermelon should not be abused, as it contains simple sugars and has a high glycemic index. It has low nutritional value, but consuming large amounts of watermelon can give you a lot of calories. In addition, these calories will enter the body along with simple carbohydrates - the most dangerous nutrients for the figure.