Watermelon lovers, rejoice!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Watermelon is packed with essential nutrients missing from American diets. Some supplements are the equivalent of a quarter of a watermelon every day. But what if we just ate the real thing?
Enter Kristin and Victor Fulgoni at Nutrition Impact in Battle Creek, Michigan. They analyzed data from fifty thousand people, comparing watermelon lovers and noneaters. No supplements — just real food.
And? Watermelon eaters got more key nutrients, and less sugar and saturated fat! Compared to other fruits, watermelon contained over six times more vitamin precursors! Real watermelon is the fix our diets need.
So, watermelon just changed the whole fruit game. Call it Fruit Ninja!
Reference: Fulgoni, K., & Fulgoni, V. L., III. (2022). Watermelon intake is associated with increased nutrient intake and higher diet quality in adults and children, NHANES 2003-2018. Nutrients, 14(22), 4883. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14224883