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July 19, 2012
Summer is the best season for enjoying the benefits of watermelons. These amazing juicy refreshing natural foods came to the world from North Africa and nowadays they are being widely cultivated and sold throughout the world. Cultivators make true miracles, and in our times it is possible to find famous cubic watermelons, seed-free watermelons, or watermelons with orange flesh. Health benefits of watermelon are derived from rich nutritional content of these fruits. Watermelons are rich in potassium, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin B complex, vitamin A and amino acids, as well as in dietary fiber, making this natural food a very good choice for preventing various digestion problems and relieving the symptoms of digestive disorders. It was also found out recently that watermelons can be a good natural remedy for atherosclerosis prevention, and it is possible to benefit from this amazing property by either adding watermelons to our daily diet or by drinking watermelon juice on a regular basis.
It turned out that fresh irresistible watermelons can assist us also in regulating blood pressure. Elevated blood pressure or hypertension is a very common cardiovascular condition. It usually starts with slight symptoms like dizziness, noise in ears, neck pains, and so on, quite usual and seemingly not serious. However, in most of those who suffer from hypertension, the risks of developing life-threatening health conditions like a stroke or heart attack are extremely high. That is why those with elevated blood pressure should never leave their condition unattended and monitor it very closely. 
Using natural treatments and herbal remedies for lowering blood pressure can be a very effective solution, too. According to the findings of the expert team of food scientists at The Florida State University, watermelons can be a great natural support for those who want to combat moderately elevated blood pressure, especially for people with extra weight.
The findings of this study about watermelon benefits to lower blood pressure were published in 2010 in the American Journal of Hypertension. The objective of the research was to learn more about the effects of arginine and citrulline, the components of watermelon, which were reported as potentially effective for reducing blood pressure. It was necessary to validate the findings, and the experts at the Florida State University invited 14 participants age from 50 to 65. For 6 weeks, nine of the participants were receiving watermelon extract containing 6 g of arginine–citrulline mixture, and the rest 6 of control group members were receiving placebo. After the treatment, the participants were given two-week rest time, followed by measuring their systolic and diastolic blood pressure. In turned out that those who received watermelon extract had improved systolic blood pressure by 15.1 points and diastolic blood pressure by 7.6 points compared to placebo group members.
Dr. Arturo Figueroa, one of the leaders of the research, said that these powerful benefits of watermelon can be effectively used by all of us, but they can work great especially for those who suffer from type 2 diabetes, obesity, as well as aging people. “These findings suggest that this ‘functional food’ has a vasodilatory effect, and one that may prevent prehypertension from progressing to full-blown hypertension, a major risk factor for heart attacks and strokes,” Dr. Figueroa said. The expert said that in the context of blood lowering properties, benefits of watermelon also include an opportunity to seriously decrease dosage of prescription antihypertensive drugs which are usually used for effective blood pressure control. According to Figueroa, watermelon extract can be a very good solution to prevent the development of blood pressure problems, especially on early stages, from prehypertension to hypertension. Optimal dosage of watermelon arginine-citrulline extract to prevent elevated blood pressure is from 4 to 6 grams.
You can read more about watermelon benefits and watermelon diet benefits.
Author Info: Hi! My name is Carla and I am a 5th year medical student at HYMS. I am interested in alternative medicine and I have done months researching the topic of herbal medicine. Besides, I like interviewing people and learning more about their experiences with one or another type of herbal treatments. I am willing to contribute to this site with my knowledge, and I would be happy to help you out to the best of my ability with any specific questions or problems related to alternative medicine.
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