The History of Watermelon

The first reference to watermelons was discovered in ancient hieroglyphics on the walls of Egyptian buildings. Watermelon is thought to have originated there in the Kalahari Desert of Africa some 5,000 years ago. They were often placed in the burial tombs of kings. 

Later watermelon made its way on merchant ships into countries along the Mediterranean Sea, then later into China.  By the 13th century watermelon spread through Europe, and later made it’s way to the US on slave ships coming from Africa.

Growing Watermelon

Today watermelons are grown commercially in almost 100 countries. China, Turkey, Iran and the US are top producers, with California, Florida, Georgia and Texas being the top producing states in the latter.

This scrumptious food is related to the cantaloupe, squash, pumpkin and other vining plants. There are over 1,200 varieties of watermelon, with about 50 varieties most commonly grown in the United States and Mexico.  The top favorites fall into four general categories: Allsweet, IceBox, Seedless and Yellow Flesh.

What Makes Watermelon So Good?

Lycopene! Just like tomatoes, watermelons are full of lycopene. This is supposed to help prevent colorectal and prostate cancers. They also have a lot of good-for-you beta-carotene.

So slice off a hunk and eat it, put melon cubes or balls in fruit salads, make cubes of juice to add to drinks, or puree it into soup. Or you could even combine it with feta cheese, a sweet and salt combination often enjoyed in Israel and Egypt.

However you like it best, eat that watermelon.  It’s a summer time treat that’s also a great health food!

Post from: Health Food Made Easy

Watermelon – Summertime Treat & Health Food

Packed full of carotenoids, tomatoes have:

• alpha-carotene
• beta-carotene
• lutein
• lycopene
• phytoene
• phytofluene

All of these are good for your health, but lycopene is really blue ribbon material. It’s reported to reduce rates of cancer, especially prostate cancer. Combined with the lutein, it also helps prevent macular degeneration.

Tomato Super Hero Sidekicks include watermelon and pink grapefruit. That may sound a little strange, but remember that technically, tomato is also a fruit!

Keep in mind that although uncooked tomatoes have higher over-all levels of carotenoids, lycopene in cooked tomatoes is more readily absorbed by the body. A good goal is to eat a daily serving of cooked tomatoes (1/2 cup) or a wedge of watermelon or half a pink grapefruit, and several servings of fresh tomatoes throughout the week.

It also happens to be a great time of the year to get garden fresh tomatoes, so don’t miss out on TOMATOES, a powerful Super Hero Health Food.

Post from: Health Food Made Easy

Tomatoes are Tops for Health!