You’re five-years-old, the sun is beating down on your skin while you’re sitting outside on the warm summer grass, and your mom hands you a piece of watermelon.
She tells you not to eat the seeds. Being the disobedient little stinker that you are, you swallow one anyway. Your big sister leans over and tells you that a watermelon is going to grow in your stomach, and you instantly begin to cry.
It’s 15 years down the road since then, did that watermelon ever show up? (Hopefully not.)
Where exactly did this myth come from that if you eat watermelon seeds, your digestive tract suddenly becomes an organic garden?
It’s no surprise that people more commonly opt for a seedless watermelon (who really wants to keep spitting seeds out of their mouth…) However, what a lot of people don’t know, is that watermelon seeds actually carry a lot of nutritional benefits that many people don’t know about.
An article published on Healthline.com talks about five very beneficial perks of swallowing watermelon seeds.
Forget about accidentally swallowing one while you’re eating watermelon, this article actually advises taking them out of the watermelon, roasting them, and then dusting them with olive oil and salt, or cinnamon and sugar. (Yum?)
It’s no surprise that these seeds are very low in calories. This makes them a great alternative to nuts, which have a surprisingly high caloric value.
Not taking your daily vitamins? That’s okay, the seeds are high in magnesium, iron and folate. (If you’re a vegetarian like me, I’m sure you want to take any chance to grab iron that you can.)
Finally, Healthline.com stated that they are comprised of good fatty acids, like monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. (And yes, everyone needs fat in their diet, just make sure it’s the good kind!)
So while I don’t advice going home and eating an entire watermelon, (I tried once, it didn’t workout too well.) I do recommend taking a new perspective on them, and being open to how they can benefit you.
Your post brought about a little nostalgia for me! Growing up I loved watermelon. Every time we went to the food store in the summer I would make my mom buy a watermelon and eat it as soon as we got home. I can remember my mom saying time and time again to be careful not to swallow the seeds and that if I did I would grow a watermelon in my stomach. Looking back, I now know that she might have stretched the truth a bit just to avoid having to give her 5 year old the Heimlich Maneuver, but for some reason I still can’t shake the thought of sprouting a watermelon in your gut.
I really enjoyed your article, and it actually led me to look up some watermelon seed recipes. Here’s a great article listing some benefits of watermelon seed consumption, along with a recipe for watermelon seed tea!
http://www.healthylifetricks.com/take-watermelon-seeds-and-boil-them-the-results-will-shock-you-recipe/