Perhaps nothing else screams summertime quite as much as a juicy, ripe watermelon. It’s sweet and refreshing and adds a huge burst of color to just about everything.
也许没有什么能比喝上一杯果汁，吃上一只熟西瓜更能嗨翻夏季了。它香甜可口，让人神清气爽，让你所看到的所有事物都鲜活亮丽起来了。
But there is so much more to watermelon than meets the eye. Watermelon is simply bursting with numerous health benefits, too.
但西瓜远远不止我们看到的这样，还有很多奥秘呢。西瓜能给我们的身体健康带来极大的好处。
July is National Watermelon Month and it’s no surprise why. Besides being tasty and super hydrating, watermelon is super healthy. Check out our list of 13 healthy benefits, and interesting facts, you never knew about this summertime treat.
毫无疑问七月就是国家西瓜月。除了好吃和水分多，西瓜也是超级健康的。看看我们列出的13条健康小贴士，结合一些有趣事实，你会发现原来夏天还可以大补呢!
1. Immune support, wound healing, and helps prevent cell damage 免疫保障，伤口修复，还能防止细胞损伤
Watermelons are surprisingly high in vitamin C. Vitamin C is great at improving your immune system by protecting our cells from reactive oxygen. Reactive oxygen damages our cells and DNA. Vitamin C has long been known to help heal wounds in the body and is essential to making new connective tissue. Enzymes involved in forming collagen, the main compound needed when wounds are healing, simply cannot function without Vitamin C. If you should find you are suffering from slow healing wounds, seriously up your consumption of vitamin C heavy fruit such as watermelon!
西瓜富含维生素C。维生素C 能通过保护我们的细胞免受活性氧的侵害，从而极大地保护你的免疫系统。活性氧会损坏我们的细胞和DNA。长久以来，维生素C都被大家所知是可以帮助修复体内伤口，是促生结缔组织的必需微量元素。如果没有维生素C，酶也是无法参与生成胶原蛋白的过程，而胶原蛋白是伤口修复很重要的一种化合物。如果你发现你的伤口一直没有好起来，那就赶紧多吃些富含维生素C的水果，比如西瓜!
2. Watermelon has more lycopene than tomatoes 西瓜比番茄富含更多的番茄红素
Just one cup of watermelon has 1.5 times more lycopene than a large fresh tomato. Why should you care? Lycopene is a super antioxidant, which is important for stopping those free radicals that damage your cells, mess with your immune system, and lead to advanced aging. Research shows that lycopene, which is found in most red fruits and veggies, helps fight against several types of cancer. To get the most antioxidants possible, store your watermelon at room temperature.
一杯子西瓜汁所富含的番茄红素是一个新鲜大番茄的1.5倍。为什么你要在意这个呢?番茄红素是一种超级抗氧化剂，它可以阻止自由基侵害你的细胞，扰乱你的免疫系统，提前衰老。研究发现，存在于大多数红色水果及蔬菜中的番茄红素，能帮助我们抵御各种癌症。为了尽可能保证番茄红素的含量，请把西瓜置于室温中保存。
3. Relieves Sore Muscles 缓解肌肉酸痛
A study conducted in Spain discovered that drinking about 16 ounces of watermelon juice before working out had less muscle soreness, as well as a lower heart rate, within 24 hours.
在西班牙组织的一项研究表明，在锻炼前喝上大约16盎司的西瓜汁，可以在24小时内减轻肌肉酸痛，降低心率。
This is attributed to a compound in watermelon called citrulline that has been found to improve the functioning of arteries and lower blood pressure overall. In fact, watermelon can relax the blood vessels so much; Texas A&M University says that watermelon is like the Viagra of the fruit world! Unfortunately, most of that citrulline is found in the green rind, not so much in the red flesh.
这是由于西瓜里的一种叫瓜氨酸的物质，它被发现可以提升动脉功能，降低血压。事实上，西瓜可以很大程度地放松血管;德克萨斯A&M大学得出，西瓜就像是水果中的伟哥!但可惜的是，大多数瓜氨酸都在西瓜皮里，而不是在果肉里。
4. Supports eye health 保护眼睛健康
Watermelon is a fantastic source of beta-carotene, which your body will turn into vitamin A. Vitamin A helps to make the pigments in the retina of your eyes and this helps to protect you against macular degeneration.
西瓜里有丰富的维生素B，并由你的机体转化为维生素A。维生素A能帮助你生成视网膜上的色点，防止患上黄斑变性。
5. Alkaline 西瓜是碱性的
When fully ripe, watermelons have an alkaline effect in the body. Eating plenty of alkaline forming fruits and veggies helps to reduce your risk of developing illness and chronic disease.
熟透的西瓜在体内呈碱性。吃大量的碱性水果和蔬菜可以减少你得一些小病及慢性疾病的几率。
6. It’s both a fruit and a veggie 它既是水果也是蔬菜
Almost unbelievable, but true! Like almost all fruits, watermelon comes from seeds but its roots can be traced to pumpkins, squash, and cucumbers. Talk about an overachiever!
不相信么?不过这是真的!和几乎所有水果一样，西瓜是由种子而来的，但它的根源可以追溯到南瓜，南瓜属植物，以及黄瓜。说起来它好像是个成就感爆棚的水果!
7. It’s absolutely packed with, well, water.西瓜么，当然是水做的。
Of course! You are really talking about some serious hydration when you start talking watermelon! It’s 91.5 percent water! This is good to know since being dehydrated is really bad for your health. It’s a good thing we eat these when we are under the hot summer sun so we can keep ourselves hydrated.
还用说么!我们谈论西瓜，其实是在正儿八经地谈水合作用。西瓜92.5%都是水分。对于人体健康来讲，最怕的就是脱水。炎炎夏日要是能吃上西瓜真是开心，同时也保证我们能得到充分的水分供应。
8. Reduces body fat 减少脂肪
We are talking about that wonderful compound citrulline again. It’s been shown in studies to help our body’s stop the accumulation of fat. This amino acid, with a little help from our kidneys, coverts into arginine, which blocks the activity of TNAP, which makes our fat cells, accumulate less fat. Kinda complicated, but a beautiful thing all the same.
又谈到神奇的瓜氨酸。研究表明瓜氨酸能阻断脂肪的堆积。这种氨基酸，在肾脏的帮助下，能转化成精氨酸，精氨酸能抑制TNAP(组织非特异性碱性磷酸酶)的活动，而TNAP会产生脂肪细胞的。听起来是不是有点复杂啦?但整个过程还是很美妙的。
9. Anti-inflammatory 消炎作用
Watermelons are high in phenolic compounds such as carotenoids, flavonoids, and triterpenoids. Carotenoids are super helpful in reducing inflammation and killing off those nasty free radicals. Tripterpenoid curcurbitacin E is another great compound in watermelons, which is another great anti-inflammatory. Be sure to eat really ripe watermelons as they have much higher levels of these helpful compounds.
西瓜也富含酚类化合物，比如类胡萝卜素，黄酮类已经三萜。类胡萝卜素对于减轻炎症有非常好的效果，并且杀死自由基。三萜葫芦素E是西瓜里另外一种优良的化合物，同样可以减轻炎症。因此一定要吃真正熟了的西瓜，因为这些化合物的含量更高。
10. Diuretic and kidney support 利尿益肾
A natural diuretic, watermelon can help increase the flow of urine but doesn’t place a strain on the kidneys the same way caffeine does. Also, watermelons help your liver process ammonia which will help you get rid of excess fluid in the body while making it easy on the kidneys.
西瓜是一种天然的利尿剂，帮助尿液流动，但是又不像咖啡因那样对肾脏造成一定的压力。此外，西瓜还能帮助肝脏分解氨，排解体内多于的液体，以减轻对肾脏的负担。
11. Nerve and muscle support 利于神经系统和肌肉组织
Watermelon is a great, all natural electrolyte that helps to regulate the nerves and muscles. Potassium is important in the determination of how much our muscles contract and controls the over stimulation of the nerves in the body. Since watermelon is high in potassium, it’s super good for those nerves and muscles.
西瓜真是一种纯天然的电解质，让你的神经系统和肌肉保持正常运转。钾元素决定了人体肌肉的收缩，也能控制体内神经的过激。因为西瓜富含钾，因此对于神经系统和肌肉非常有利。
12. Supports cardiovascular and bone health 利于心血管和骨骼健康
Those high lycopene levels that are in watermelon are important to both our bone health and cardiovascular health. Consuming large amounts of watermelon has been linked to improved cardiovascular function as it improves blood flow due to the relaxation of blood pressure as well as reducing the oxidative stress which is involved in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis. This means you will get stronger bones when you eat foods rich in lycopene, such as watermelons.
西瓜里富含的茄红素对我们的骨骼和心血管健康都有好处。多吃西瓜被认为能促进心血管功能，原因是它能够降血压，促进血液流动，此外还能减少导致骨质疏松的氧化压力。这就意味着多吃富含茄红素的食物会让你的骨骼更加强健，西瓜就是这么个好东西。
13. About those yellow watermelons 关于黄西瓜
If you haven’t seen them, there are watermelons that are not that beautiful pinkish-red red color. It’s called Yellow Crimson. It has a yellow interior with a sweeter taste that will remind you of honey. Both types of watermelons are green on the outside so unless they are labeled, you can’t tell which one is which! Just remember that no one knows what, if any, nutritional value the yellow kind might have to offer. If you love the yellow kind, mix up a batch of both colors, just to be on the safe side.
也许你没见过(说实话在中国这东东还是蛮常见的)，黄西瓜的里面看起来不是那么的红彤彤。这玩意儿也叫Yellow Crimson(这个说法有点费解，黄色的深红色?)。这种西瓜的内瓤是黄色的，更浓的甜度会让你觉得味道像蜂蜜。当然啦，无论是红西瓜还是黄西瓜，外面都是绿油油的。要是没标签，你还真不知道哪个是哪个。不过现在也没人知道黄色的西瓜是否更具营养价值。要是你喜欢黄西瓜，为保险起见，吃的时候还是和红的一起吃吧(以确保营养全面)。
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