Watermelon – What we need to know!

Recently the USDA released two reports that looked at watermelon. I’m sure many listeners eat watermelon at least in the summer, so a little information on what studies say could help us get the most out of our watermelon!

The first study looked at the impact that storage had on the nutrient content of watermelon. Watermelon contains lycopene, which is a red carotenoid pigment that has strong antioxidant properties. It’s these antioxidant properties that help us decrease risks of disease and help fight aging. For watermelon, lycopene content can be quite high. In fact, in the below study, we’ll next investigate which types are the highest. But, for now, just know that for a 180 gram serving, which is about 1 cup, will provide 8-20 mg of lycopene. To give you an idea of how that compares, there is about 22.9mg in a 1 cup serving of tomato juice, which is known for it’s high lycopene content. Although there is no recommended amount of lycopene that we should eat, health experts do believe that the higher the diet is in fresh fruits and vegetables, the higher the antioxidant intake in general and the more favorable results we can see in our health.

Researchers stored three different types of watermelons at three different temperatures for 14 days and compared amount of lycopene and carotenoid levels, flesh color, composition and compared them to similar melons that were just picked. They found that the melons stored at the temperatures comparable to room temperature, for 14 days, actually had higher levels of lycopene and carotenoid content than freshly picked watermelons! They found that the increase was 40% higher in lycopene and 50-139% higher in beta-carotene, which the body naturally converts to vitamin A.

The second study compared 50 different varieties of seeded and seedless red watermelons. The bottom line was that although there was a wide variety in lycopene content, ranging from 33 to 100 mg/kg of melon, it was found that most of the seeded varieties had average content and that 16, or 48%, of the seedless varieties tested in the high and very high ranges of content.

So what can we learn from all of this? First, it sounds like the better choice is to find a seedless watermelon that you like. Then don’t be afraid to let it sit on the counter for a few days before cutting it open. Then store it on the counter instead of putting it in the refrigerator. Researchers found that at refrigerated temperatures, watermelon starts to decay and develop lesions after a week.

So, enjoy your watermelon room temperature and get more benefit from the higher content of antioxidants!

To read the abstract, or full study, on the effects of storage on watermelon, click here.

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