Watermelon - Oh How I Love Thee!

I'm so looking forward to the first bite of this delicious, delectable treat that I'm about to dive into. This beautiful bright red fruit is one of my all-time favorite foods. When it's in season, I eat it every day, typically as a nighttime snack. There's something so wonderful about that crisp, crackly sound the knife makes when it cuts through the green rind that tells you it's a "good one". But this fantastic rotund fruit isn't just tasty, I was surprised to learn all the health benefits it offers:

• Watermelons are full of nutrition, they hydrate with a high water content, and they're low fat. (Gotta love that!)
• They are an excellent source of Vitamin A, which helps maintain eye health and is an antioxidant, and
• Vitamin C, which helps strengthen immunity, heal wounds, prevent cell damage, promote healthy teeth and gums, and
• Vitamin B6, which helps brain function and helps convert protein to energy. (Who knew?)
• When you think of Lycopene - a powerful antioxidant that helps fight heart disease and several types of cancer - prostate cancer in particular - tomatoes always come to mind. And while tomatoes have long been touted as a great source for Lycopene - watermelon actually has the highest concentrations of Lycopene of any fresh fruit or vegetable. (Pretty impressive!)

How fantastic is that? So the next time you're at a summer BBQ don't pass up that slice of watermelon!

Nutritional information taken from Discovery Health "Surprising Health Benefits of Watermelon"