Dangerous sugar: is it in watermelon?
Who doesn't want to eat sweets and lose weight? Watermelon gives such an opportunity. It is low-calorie, healthy, gives a feeling of satiety, rids the body of waste and toxins, and is also a source of iron, calcium, and magnesium. The question arises: is there sugar in the sweet berry and what is the secret to losing weight on the watermelon diet?
In the article, we will look at how much sugar watermelon contains, its calorie content, whether it can be used as a product for weight loss, whether it is harmful for people with diabetes, what contraindications and possible side effects exist.
Chemical composition of watermelon
Fruit pulp contains 92% water, dietary fiber, digestible carbohydrates, amino acids, fats, vitamin complex (retinol, beta-carotene, B, E, K), nicotinic, folic and ascorbic acids, mineral salts (calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus) , alkaline substances.
How much sugar is in watermelon
Does watermelon have sugar? Yes, definitely. The edible part contains from 5.5 to 13% easily digestible carbohydrates (fructose, sucrose, glucose). The sugar content of watermelon depends on the variety, growing and storage conditions, and degree of ripeness. By the time of ripening, glucose and fructose predominate in the composition, and only during storage does sucrose accumulate.
The sugar content in watermelon varies between 6-10 g, of which fructose - 4.3 g, glucose - 2.4 g, sucrose - 2 g. That is, 200-300 g of fruit pulp contains only 20-30 g of sugar. But if you eat 0.5-1 kg of watermelon at a time, then this will already be 50-100 g of sugar.
Calorie content
The main advantage of watermelon for weight loss is its low calorie content.: 27 kcal per 100 g. The berry contains virtually no fat (0.1 g), but is rich in carbohydrates (5.8 g) and proteins (0.7 g).
Doubts about whether watermelon can be consumed as a product for weight loss are associated with its high glycemic index (GI). For watermelon it is 75 units. When foods with a high GI enter the digestive tract, they are quickly digested and increase blood sugar levels, stimulating the release of the hormone insulin, which reduces glucose concentrations.
Despite the high glycemic index, the diuretic effect of watermelon pulp allows you to use it for weight loss. Fruits cleanse the intestines well of toxins, normalize metabolism, and remove excess fluid, which reduces swelling. There are varieties of the watermelon diet with which you can achieve excellent results - minus 10 kg in 10 days.
Properties of the berry
Watermelon pulp has a pronounced diuretic, carminative, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and antipyretic effect. Watermelon helps with constipation, normalizes stool, and facilitates bowel movements. It also fights kidney and liver diseases, stabilizes high blood pressure to normal levels, activates metabolic processes, relieves muscle pain, and reduces weight.
The berry has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the cardiovascular system and endocrine glands.
For reference. Watermelon is used in therapeutic nutrition when gallstones, anemia, and uric acid diathesis are detected.
Eating low-quality watermelon, especially in large quantities, can cause health problems even in a healthy person.. Let's consider the benefits and possible harm of fruit pulp for the body.
What is good for the body
The unique properties of watermelon help improve overall health, influence the course of certain diseases, and minimize the likelihood of pathologies occurring in the heart, blood vessels, gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidneys, and nervous system.
Vitamin C increases the body's resistance: protects against influenza, upper respiratory tract infections, increases the density and elasticity of vascular walls, reducing their permeability, plays an important role in the formation of connective and bone tissue.
Large amount of iron - good prevention of anemia. Watermelon increases body tone and potency. Folic acid (vitamin B9) improves the functionality of the nervous system, normalizes fat metabolism, and lowers cholesterol levels, which is important for people suffering from hypertension.
Watermelon is recommended to be consumed for pathologies liver and kidneys, arterial hypertension, coronary heart failure and other diseases accompanied by swelling. The fact is that fruit pulp increases the outflow of urine, without creating additional stress on the kidneys.
Due to diuretic action watermelon quickly eliminates from the body waste, toxins, excess fluid, reduces peripheral vascular resistance, reduces the load on the heart muscle.
High dose of vitamin A the edible part has a positive effect on health. The main functions of the vitamin:
- slows down the aging process;
- stimulates the production of steroid hormones;
- neutralizes aggressive free radicals, inhibits oxidative processes;
- plays an important role in the formation of new cells;
- moisturizes the eyes, protects them from drying out, provides night vision;
- reduces the risk of cancer;
- participates in the formation of new cells.
According to nutritionists, with the help of watermelon pulp you can get rid of extra pounds in a few days.
What causes weight loss? Watermelon contains fiber, which cleanses the gastrointestinal tract, quickly removes excess fluid from the body, eliminates swelling, thereby reducing body volume. Plus, it has a beneficial effect on the skin: it becomes smooth, moisturized, beautiful and even in color.
Dietary fiber has a laxative effect, activates digestion, normalizes metabolism, and accelerates lipolysis. In addition, pectin fibers, when they enter the digestive tract, swell and occupy all available space, which ensures quick saturation, allows you to reduce the volume of subsequent servings, and give up snacking.
For reference. Frequent consumption of watermelon in moderate quantities has a beneficial effect on mood, increases endurance and performance, which leads to stimulation of physical activity and additional calorie burning.
Harm and contraindications
Side effects are associated with the properties of watermelon to accumulate nitrates. Once in the body, they are converted into nitrosamines and nitrites. These are highly toxic compounds that affect the liver, causing involuntary muscle contractions and hemorrhages. They have carcinogenic properties and increase the likelihood of cancer.
Eating watermelons stuffed with nitrates, may cause food poisoning. People complain of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, dizziness, and double vision.
Harmful to health unripe or overripe fruits. During long-term storage, the taste, nutritional and beneficial properties of watermelon change, it loses some of its beneficial compounds and becomes toxic to the human body. Green fruits can also be harmful to health: they do not have time to process nitrate substances and can cause poisoning.
Advice. Melon growers do not recommend buying watermelons before mid-August. The time from August to September is the period of their biological maturation in nature. When purchasing watermelon early, there is a high probability of seeing on the table a product generously stuffed with nitrates.
There are contraindications for consuming watermelon. Among the absolute ones is an allergy to fruits.
Due to the presence of amino acids in the composition that irritate the mucous membrane, it is recommended to use it with caution for certain gastrointestinal diseases. These include gastritis with high acidity, peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum. You should not include watermelon in your diet if you are prone to abdominal bleeding or the formation of large stones in the urinary system.
To special groups of people whose health may be harmed by fruit pulp, include patients with diabetes mellitus. Children, elderly people, and breastfeeding women should also consume watermelon with caution.
It can be useful:
How to choose a ripe and sweet watermelon
Can you eat watermelon if you have diabetes?
People suffering from diabetes should understand that fructose or glucose, sucrose contained in watermelon can affect the course of the disease.Due to the low content of plant fiber, fructose is not fully absorbed, which contributes to a rapid increase in blood sugar levels. Sharp fluctuations in sugar cause life-threatening conditions: hyper- and hypoglycemic coma.
But there is another side to the coin when Watermelon may be beneficial for mild to moderate diabetes. It supports and restores skin cells, ensures the conductive work of the heart, increases the elasticity and strength of vascular walls, inhibits oxidative processes, which has a beneficial effect on the course of the disease.
Besides, watermelon is a source of magnesium, which activates intestinal motility, reduces cholesterol levels in the blood, serves as a good prevention of the formation of gallstones.
The permissible single serving and daily intake depend on the stage diabetes mellitus, severity of symptoms, age and gender, presence of contraindications and concomitant diseases.
1 type
For mild cases of illness, it is permissible to consume watermelon in limited quantities.. A single serving is on average 100-200 g, frequency is several times a day. The daily norm should not exceed 400-800 g.
A uniform distribution of carbohydrates allows you to maintain basal metabolism and a stable level of glucose in the blood, respectively, minimizing the risk of exacerbations.
2 types
The development of moderate diabetes mellitus dictates reducing the portion of fruit pulp to 100 g, and the daily norm is up to 300 g. Even a small amount of watermelon pulp can provoke a sharp rise in blood glucose. Therefore, people suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus need constant treatment and monitoring of blood glucose levels.
How much can you eat per day
All depends on health status and goals. To lose weight, a healthy person is recommended to eat 1 kg of ripe pulp per day per 10 kg of body weight. In this case, it is necessary to exclude all carbohydrates - only water, green tea, rye, whole grain or bran bread.
In a typical diet, the average serving of watermelon for an adult is, without health problems, is 250-300 g, for patients with diabetes - 100-200 g (depending on the severity of the disease).
Conclusion
Watermelon is a valuable food product. Although the percentage of sugar in it is not so low - the figure is 13%, still, with moderate consumption, the fruit will bring great benefits to the body.
The berry is a source of a complex of minerals and vitamins. It improves heart function and normalizes the functions of the urinary system. In addition, it is low in calories and contains no fat, so it is considered an excellent dietary product.