Eating watermelon rind may boost libido, provide other health benefits

Tuesday, April 22, 2014 by: Raw Michelle
Tags: watermelon rind, libido, citrulline

(NaturalNews) Many times, people discard parts of fruits and vegetables that they consider unhealthy. Not only is this habit wasteful, but it may mean that people are missing out on health benefits they never considered. For example, while many folks tend to peel the white strands of an orange away from the fruit, those fibers are thought to have the highest concentration of flavonoids. As for kiwi, it's safe to eat the fuzzy brown skin, because it contains three times the fiber of the flesh. Interesting, isn't it?

However, one part of food that people seem least likely to think about eating is watermelon rind. They eat it right up to the rind, then toss it. Again, it's wasteful (research shows that from "farm to fork," the U.S. alone wastes about $165 billion annually from disposing food), and there are tons of health benefits to eating watermelon rind.

One caveat: Don't eat the very outer, green layer that's attached to the rind, as it may lead to stomach upset.

Health benefits of eating watermelon rind

1) Fights free radicals

According to the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, citrulline is a compound found in watermelon rind that plays a role in banishing free radicals. It's converted to an amino acid that ultimately provides heart and immune system protection and keeps harmful toxins from residing in the body.

2) May boost libido

Researchers from Texas A&M's Fruit and Vegetable Improvement Center have noted that citrulline helps blood vessels relax and can even help with erectile dysfunction. In fact, its ability to boost blood flow have led to watermelon's citrulline to be referred to as "nature's Viagra."

3) Weight loss

Once again, citrulline comes into play. Studies have shown that consuming citrulline leads to 30 percent less weight gain. The thought is that the citrulline in the rind leads to less muscle fatigue, which therefore allows people to extend the duration of their workouts and, in turn, better manage their weight.

Ways to eat watermelon rind include choosing organic watermelon and adding it to smoothies or simply even biting down deeper into the white part of the rind when eating the juicy flesh.

Sources for this article include:

http://rawandnaturalhealth.com

http://www.naturalnews.com

http://www.watermelonrind.com

http://www.sciencedaily.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com

http://science.naturalnews.com

About the author:
Raw Michelle is a natural health blogger and researcher, sharing her passions with others, using the Internet as her medium. She discusses topics in a straight forward way in hopes to help people from all walks of life achieve optimal health and well-being. She has authored and published hundreds of articles on topics such as the raw food diet and green living in general. >>> Click here to see more by Michelle