In a new study, researchers found that eating watermelon in the form of powdered supplements helped obese individuals avoid some detrimental health effects of an unhealthy diet.
The research was conducted by a team at Oregon State University.
In the study, 10-week-old male mice were fed either a low-fat or high-fat diet over a 10-week period.
Groups of high-fat-fed mice were given watermelon supplements in the form of a powder made from a freeze-dried process.
The amount of watermelon flesh supplement was equivalent to 1½ human servings a day, and the skin and rind supplement was equivalent to the amount in a typical dietary fiber supplement.
At the beginning and end of the study, the researchers recorded the body weight and glucose tolerance of each mouse.
Mice that were fed a high-fat diet supplemented with watermelon products had significantly better blood glucose levels than the mice on the high-fat-only diet.
An elevated blood-glucose level may be an indicator of Type 2 diabetes, a disease in which the body doesn’t make enough or properly use insulin, a hormone that turns food into energy.
Type 2 is the most common form of diabetes in the United States.
The researchers also saw a big increase in the family of beneficial bacteria in the mice that were given powder supplements.
The team says even though the two groups of mice were eating the same amount of fat and sugar, that consumption of 1½ servings of watermelon flesh or 2% of high-fiber rind or skin products had strong effects.
A big next step in this research would be a human clinical trial.
Worldwide production of watermelon topped 117 million metric tons in 2016. In Oregon, watermelon is a multimillion industry in the lower Umatilla basin near Hermiston.
Despite all that fruit, there hasn’t been much research into the health impacts of watermelon.
The lead author of the study is Neil Shay, a professor of food science at OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
The study is published in the Journal of Nutrition.
Copyright © 2019 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
