Watermelon is the fruit of summer, can be found in the markets from June until September and isn’t just colorful, juicy and delicious but also rich in healthy properties! Watermelon is indeed a source of antioxidants, counteracts free radicals, protects the skin from sun radiation and, according to a recent study (Massa et al, Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2016), are also able to decrease the levels of bad cholesterol in blood.
The research divided the participants, all with high levels of blood cholesterol, into two groups. The first group was supplemented daily for 42 days with watermelon extract while the second group with a mixture of carbohydrates that can be found in the fruit. The results indicated that the use of watermelon extract decreased the levels of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, the bad one, without modifying the levels of HDL, or good cholesterol. In the group that took the mixture of carbohydrates no changes were observed although the diet was the same. The researchers consider that this property to lower cholesterol is due to two substances contained in the fruit, the arginine and the citrulline. The study concludes that the watermelon is a fruit that can be used together with therapy to treat patients with high values of cholesterol by improving health and minimizing the development of cardiovascular diseases.
