Health Benefits Of Melon

Melon fruit contains a lot of water (about 95% of the fruit) also rich in vitamins and minerals, so it has many benefits for our health. From the side of water content, melons can give sense of cool and soothing effect, so it can relieve heartburn and cleanse the kidneys from the remnants of metabolism.

Benefits of melon fruit itself has been tested to treat various types of diseases ranging from mild to chronic diseases. Melons are low in calories, with just 64 calories in a 1-cup serving of honeydew balls and fewer calories in cantaloupe, casaba or watermelon balls. At the same time, melons are high in essential vitamins and minerals. They contain almost no fat or saturated fat, making them an excellent choice for snacks or a side dish.

Melon Nutritional Values is 15.00 mg calcium; 25.00 mg phosphorus, 0.5 mg iron, 34 mg of Vitamin C; 640 mg IU Vitamin A, and 0.03 mg of Vitamin B1. Melon contains an anticoagulant called adenosine so it can stop the clotting of blood cells that can lead to stroke or heart diseases.

Melons are part of the gourd family that includes cucumbers and squashes with the difference that melons are consumed as fruits due to their much sweeter and juicy flavor. There are different types of Melons like:

• Watermelon (tarbooz)
• Cantaloupe (kharbooja)
• Honeydew Melon etc

Melon Health Benefits

1. Cancer Prevention

Melon fruit contains high carotenoid that this fruit can prevent cancer and reduce the risk of lung cancer. Melon fruit can prevent and kill cancer seeds that will invade our bodies. So try to eat melons, to avoid cancer.

2. Stroke and heart disease Prevention

Melon contains an anticoagulant called adenosine to stop clotting of blood cells which can lead to stroke or heart diseases. So the melons will help smooth the blood in the body so that a small risk of stroke or heart diseases incidence.

3. Good for digestion

Melons can launch a bowel movement, when we are experiencing digestive problems then eat melon to be easy and smooth bowel movement. Water content in the melon is very good for digestion. Mineral content is able to eliminate the acidity of the body need to be eliminated because it can interfere with digestion, particularly in the stomach organ.

4. Maintaining healthy skin

Melon contains collagen, the protein compounds that affect the integrity of the cell structure in all connective tissues such as skin. Collagen also serve For accelerates wound healing and maintain skin firmness. If you often eat melon means the skin will not be rough and dry.

5. Helps heal kidney disease and eczema.

Melon has a very good diuretic power so that it can help cure kidney disease and severe diseases and acute eczema. If combined with lemon, then a melon can cure gout. So a good idea to consume melons regularly once a day in the morning.

6. Boost of Energy

Most melons are contain B vitamins. B vitamins are responsible for a lot of your body's energy production (they are necessary for the body to process sugars and carbs). Hence, eating melons can give you substantial energy

7. For weight loss

Melons are ideal food for people who want to lose weight because they are low in sodium, fat-free, cholesterol free and low in calories (a whole cup of watermelon contains only 48 calories). They will also make you feel fuller because of the high water content. The natural sweetness found in melons will help you not to be tempted to grab those high calorie sweets.

Bitter Melon Nutrition Fact And Health Benefits

Bitter melon save a lot of health benefits. Bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.) is from Asia has been used for herbal medicine for centuries. Bitter melon is generally used to treat diabetes in China and other Asian countries. And also it has an important role in the fight against cancer. Researchers from the University of Colorado Cancer Center found that bitter melon juice can stop the progression of pancreatic cancer cells. Bitter melon known to stop the supply of glucose in cancer cells. This is very important because cancer cells require glucose for growth.

In addition, bitter melon also contains beta-carotene are two times larger than the broccoli, potentially able to prevent the occurrence of cancer and reduce the risk of heart attack or virus infection. Bitter melon leaves useful for curing diarrhea in infants, purify the blood for a woman who just gave birth, reduce fever, remove pinworms, and can cure cough.

Calcium levels in the Bitter melon classified as very high so as to increase the production of beta cells in the pancreas to produce insulin. If insulin is sufficient, then the possibility high glucose levels can be prevented so that the blood sugar levels to normal. Thus Bitter melon very good consumed by diabetics. And also Vitamin C contained in Bitter melon can prevent the emergence of black spots and wrinkles on the face so as to maintain the beauty of the skin.

Nutrition Fact of Bitter Melon

The content of compounds in Bitter melon fruit are saponins, flavonoids, and polyphenols (powerful antioxidants), as well as cucurbitacin glycosides, momordicin, and charantin, karatin, hydroxytryptamine, vitamins A, B, and C. Meanwhile the seeds contain momordisin. Almost all parts of this plant, seeds, flowers, leaves, and roots, efficacious for medicine.

Nutritional value per 100 g based on USDA
Energy	79 kJ
Carbohydrates	4.32 g
Sugars	1.95 g
Dietary fiber	2 g
Fat	0.18 g
Protein	0.84 g
Water	93.95 g
Vitamin A equiv.	6 μg
beta-carotene	68 μg
lutein and zeaxanthin	1323 μg
Thiamine	0.051 mg
Riboflavin	0.053 mg
Niacin	0.28 mg
Pantothenic acid	0.193 mg
Vitamin B6	0.041 mg
Folate	51 μg
Vitamin C	33 mg
Vitamin E	0.14 mg
Vitamin K	4.8 μg
Calcium	9 mg
Iron	0.38 mg
Magnesium	16 mg
Manganese	0.086 mg
Phosphorus	36 mg
Potassium	319 mg
Sodium	6 mg
Zinc	0.77 mg

Health Benefits Of Bitter melon

1. Antibacterial and antiviral

Bitter melon contains many biochemical compounds that have antibacterial and antiviral activity. Extracts of bitter melon leaf have been shown to be effective against many types of bacteria including E. coli, Staph, Strep and Salmonella, as well as Helicobacter pylori, the bacteria that cause stomach ulcers. Bitter melon also has anti-viral activity against HIV, herpes and Epstein-Barr viruses, and increases resistance of animals and humans to viral infections.

2. Anti-cancer

Clinical studies have shown that bitter melon has anti-cancer activity. Water extracts of the whole plant inhibit growth of prostate and mammary tumors in animals, and in vitro studies showed anti-cancer activity against several melanoma, sarcoma, leukemia and liver cancer cell lines.

3. Diabetes (Blood sugar regulating)

Biochemical constituents in bitter melon lower blood sugar levels, increase glucose uptake by cells and improve the release and activity of insulin. The blood sugar regulating chemicals are found in the highest concentration in the fruit.

4. Antimalarial

Bitter melon is traditionally regarded in Asia as useful for preventing and treating malaria.[citation needed] Tea from its leaves is used for this purpose also in Panama and Colombia. In Guyana, bitter melons are boiled and stir-fried with garlic and onions. This popular side dish known as corilla is served to prevent malaria. Laboratory studies have confirmed that species related to bitter melon have antimalarial activity, though human studies have not yet been published

5. Maintain the beauty
Bitter melon contains vitamin C, which can overcome the threat of ultraviolet rays. Vitamin C in Bitter melon very well to prevent wrinkles on the face and slow down the aging process. In addition, it can also strengthen the immune system. In every 100 grams of Bitter melon contained 120 mg of vitamin C.

6. Other health benefits

Bitter melon has also been shown to decrease blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and it detoxifies, cleanses the blood, enhances the immune system and reduces inflammation.

Caution

Bitter melon may contain alkaloid substances like quinine and morodicine, resins and saponic glycosides, which may be intolerable by some people. The bitterness and toxicity may be reduced somewhat by parboiling or soaking in salt water for up to 10 minutes.

Excessively high doses of bitter melon juice can cause abdominal pain and diarrhea. Small children or anyone with hypoglycemia should not take bitter melon because this herb could theoretically trigger or worsen low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Furthermore, diabetics taking hypoglycemic drugs (such as chlorpropamide, glyburide, or phenformin) or insulin should use bitter melon only under medical supervision, as it may potentiate the effectiveness of the drugs and lead to severe hypoglycemia. Bitter Melon has also been found to have abortative properties; pregnant women should use consult a doctor before consuming it in excessive amounts.