The Amazing Benefits of Watermelon Smoothies

Love those yummy, juicy slices of watermelon too much? That’s great- watermelon is packed with essential nutrients and micronutrients you wouldn’t want to miss.

While you can always enjoy this superfood on its own, why not experiment a bit and try a watermelon smoothie? If you’re not really sure how to whip up a watermelon smoothie, here we’ve made it easy, and put down a quick and tasty watermelon smoothie in minutes.

Quick Watermelon Smoothie Recipe

Here’s how you can whip up a good watermelon smoothie in minutes- power packed yummy goodness ready in a jiffy.

You will need:

• 3 cups of cubed watermelon, de-seeded
• Juice of 2 limes
• 2-3 sprigs of mint (optional)
• Salt and pepper to season
• Procedure: Blend together all ingredients with some ice in a food processor till it forms a uniform mixture- you’re done!

Amazing Health Benefits of Watermelon Smoothies

Now that we’ve sorted out a quick way to whip up a watermelon smoothie, its time to have a closer look at the different health benefits it offers. Here we’ve put down the best benefits of watermelon smoothies.

Better eye health: You already know that carrots are good for the eye, but it turns out, watermelons too, are excellent to maintain eye health. This is because watermelons contain beta-carotene, the same compound present in carrots, that the body converts to vitamin A. Consuming watermelon smoothies therefore, produces pigments in the retina of the eye that prevent eye conditions like night blindness, age related macular degeneration and more.
It is also believed that the vitamin A also helps maintain mucus membranes, soft tissue, skeletal tissue, teeth and skin health.

Anti-inflammatory benefits: Watermelon itself contains many phenolic compounds including carotenoids, triterpenoids and flavonoids which help reduce inflammation and fight free radical damage occurring in the body, thereby preventing diseases like cancer. Tripterpenoid cucurbitacin E present in watermelon (and therefore, watermelon smoothies too!) blocks the activity of cyclo-oxygenase enzyme which is linked to inflammatory actions.

A good point to note before picking up watermelons for your smoothies is to choose a riper watermelon, since it contains a higher amount of nutrients that are essential for health.

Muscle and nerve support: Watermelons are a good natural source of potassium- an element that doesn’t just play a role in maintaining bone health, but also keeps the muscles and nerves healthy. As an electrolyte, potassium helps regulate the action of nerves and muscles in the body, and determines the degree at which the muscles control the excitation of nerves in our body.

Alkalizing extra: Junk foods and packaged foods are now an inseparable part of our daily diet, which causes a build-up of acidic environment in the body, which is harmful. Thankfully, by just drinking watermelon smoothies, you could alkalinize the environment in the stomach, and reduce your risk of developing some potentially dangerous diseases and health conditions.

Immune support: One of the best benefits of drinking watermelon smoothies is that it gives your immune system a special boost and helps it function better. Watermelon contains extremely high amount of vitamin C, which is a great immunity enhancer. It is known to protect the cells from the action of different harmful processes and accelerate healing of wounds.

Numerous studies have also reported how watermelon smoothies were wonderfully effective in forming collagen (which accelerates healing of damaged tissues) and that repairs wounds in a jiffy!

Bone and cardiovascular health: Watermelon is a good source of lycopene and contains a higher amount of lycopene than any other fruit or vegetable. It is this lycopene that plays an important role in promoting bone and cardiovascular health.

Consuming watermelon smoothies could help improve blood flow (thereby reducing blood pressure), reduce oxidative stress (which reduces the activity of cells involved in osteoporosis) and help build stronger bones, which are less susceptible to damage.

Weight loss benefits: Surprisingly, watermelon smoothies also carry amazing weight loss benefits too! It is believed that citrulline in watermelon plays a role in reduction of fat in the fat cells of our body by blocking the activity of a compound that is responsible for fat depositions in the cells.

Drinking watermelon smoothies could therefore, slash your risk of obesity and over-accumulation of body fat considerably!