Your Favorite Summer Fruit, Watermelon, is Nature’s Viagra.

Watermelons, watermelons, watermelons! By just hearing this, sort of like quenches our thirst, right? Watermelons are indeed the perfect summer fruit, or should I say, the perfect fruit for these days’ global warming. Its sweetness, crisp, juicy and refreshing goodness makes it our number one thirst-quencher. But do you know that watermelon is more than just a thirst-quencher?

 It’s more than just a refreshing juice. It is in fact, a puddle of essential nutrients and of health-beneficial compounds. A recent study has just revealed that watermelons as well as its juice have similar effects as Viagra. Water melon is even called “nature’s Viagra”. Why? Read along about watermelon juice benefits.

Aside from being an excellent source of vitamins A and C, potassium, lycopene, and other health-boosting carotenoids, watermelons recently has been discovered to contain a specific compound called citrulline. This compound is a potent amino acid which name came from the Latin word “citrullus”, also the Latin word for watermelons. This beneficial amino acid was first isolated and identified from watermelons.

No other fruits contain much citrulline as watermelons. Anyway, citrulline is associated to the production of Arginine, another beneficial compound that increases blood flow, improves blood circulation and combat erectile dysfunction. I bet men would love to hear this and they would definitely be compelled to eat watermelons and indulge into watermelon juice.

So how exactly does watermelon’s citrulline act as Viagra? 

When we eat watermelon or drink its juice, our bodies absorb its natural component, citrulline in significant amounts. Inside our system, citrulline is converted into I-arginine. Arginine relaxes our blood vessels and smooth muscles, improving blood flow throughout the body, especially into the male reproductive organ.

Understanding the Physiology behind..

I bet we all know how erection takes place right? It occurs when a man is sexually stimulated commonly through sight, touch, thought or even through smell and auditory stimulus. These stimuli will make the brain signal the relaxation of the smooth muscles surrounding the arteries in the male organ. These arteries supply blood to the spongy and cavernous tissues of the organ. Hence, the more these arteries are relaxed and dilated, the more blood flows into these tissues, making them swell. 
As swelling gets to the limit of the penile skin, the organ gets firm. Erection is then maintained by the pressure around the tissues which partially close the veins within the organ. Penile erection isn’t consistent during sexual intercourse and that is normal, however, it should occur long enough to sustain a satisfying sexual performance. Some men are suffering from erectile dysfunction due to various physiological causes.

Watermelon, Proven and Tested by Experts

So a recent study was conducted among 24 middle-aged men having “mild” erectile problems that interfere with their sex performance. They were asked to take citrulline supplements for a month. After the consistent supplementation, half of them reported diminished erectile difficulties and improvement in sexual performance.

Moreover, experts have revealed that drinking few glasses of watermelon juice everyday can improve the levels of arginine in our blood. They even recommend watermelons more than arginine or citrulline supplements as watermelons are absorbed more easily by our digestive system plus they don’t have side-effects which are common in synthetic supplements.

So what are you waiting for guys? Grab those watermelons, make some really refreshing watermelon juice and experience its benefits!

Juicing: Extracting and Experiencing the Health Benefits of Juices

Juicing seems like one of the basic and simple ways to consume fruits and vegetables. What most people do not know is that juicing may hold the key to radiant health. According to health authorities, every human being needs to consume 6-8 servings of fruits and vegetables everyday to achieve optimum health. If we meet this recommended amount, we no longer need to include nutrient supplements in our diet since most fruit juices contain all the essential nutrients our body needs. 

Aside from providing us the basic essential nutrients, fruit and vegetable juices offer us additional phytonutrients called antioxidants. These would be the greatest bonus we could get from juicing. Unlike cooking which could alter the chemical composition of nutrients, fresh juices offer us pure, complete and undamaged micronutrients which are efficiently absorbed by the body.  Most fruits are great when juiced but  not all types of vegetables taste good as fruit juices. There are some exceptions, of course, like tomatoes, carrots and cucumbers. But we don't really have to worry since there are a lot of ways we can enhance the taste of those bland-tasting vegetables such as blending them with other fruits when juicing.

What You Can Get from Juices

Different Fruit Juices

Fresh Juices made from fruits and vegetables are more than just a refreshment during summer and ordinary days. Here are the numerous juice health benefits you need to be aware of:

• There are no additional sugars in 100% juices.What you get are the natural sugars found in the whole fruit or vegetable.  

• Juicing allows you to include a wider variety of vegetables in your diet. A lot of people eat the same kind of vegetables on a regular basis, thus violating the principle of regular food rotation and increases their risks to develop allergies to certain food. But with juicing, you can try different types of vegetables that you may not normally appreciate eating whole. 

• Drinking fruit and vegetable juices is a great way to obtain a complete list of essential nutrients plus antioxidants. Most of these fresh juices are a very good source of Vitamins C and A, folate and potassium. Some may even contain lycopene, beta carotene and other antioxidants which are believed to reduce our risks to developing cancer.

• A pre-digested nutrients are offered to us by 100% fresh juices making it easier for our tummies to absorb all the nutrients. 

• With juicing, the shape and chemical compositions of the micronutrients in fruits and vegetables remain pure and untouched unlike cooking.

• Juicing allows us to meet the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables per day which is 6-8 servings. A glass with 4-ounce of fruit juice is equivalent to one serving of fruit. 
• Most 100% juices are nutrient dense but calorie-rich. The calorie content may vary from different types of  fruit juices but most of them most contain 40-80 calories per 4-ounce portion. 
•  Juices which are made from 100% fruits and vegetables are proven to be excellent body cleansers. It hydrates the body and helps the colon function normally to remove wastes and undigested food in the body. Most fruit juices are high in fiber which helps maintain healthy colon.
• Drinking fresh juices hydrates our body, thus preventing dryness and  maintaining the beauty of our skin and hair.
  

So now that you're aware of the different health benefits of juices, plan what fruits and vegetables you'll try juicing. For starters, try  those simple juice recipes found on the internet, make your juice taste great, make it a habit and have a radiant healthy life!

Juices and its Health Benefits Live on YouTube

Watch and learn from what chefs, dietitians, and health experts say about juicing! These videos will teach you how to make juices using a variety of raw fruits and vegetables,and how these juices cleanse the body, in addition to helping us maintain beautiful skin, hair and eyes. Experts also talk about the healthiest and unhealthiest juices that offer us the most amounts of antioxidants.

 This video, "Drinking Healthy juices" talks about the top 5 healthiest juices that contain the highest amount of antioxidants. Watch and enjoy learning the many benefits of cranberry juice, black cherry juice, grape juice, blueberry juice, and the popular pomegranate juice.

This is another interesting video about making a healthy body cleanser by simply juicing various fruits and vegetables. You'll be enchanted with how colorful these juices are, and by just looking at it, you'll know it's loaded with  healthy enzymes, antioxidants and nutrients.