Melon - benefits and harm to the health of the body

What is melon:

Questions about what melon is, the benefits and harms of melon for human health, and whether it has any medicinal properties are of great interest to those who care about their health and are interested in traditional methods of treatment. And this interest is understandable. Maybe this article will, to some extent, answer these questions.

So here it is:

Melon (Cucumis melo) is a plant of the Pumpkin family (Cucurbitaceae), a species of the genus Cucumber (Cucumis), and a melon crop.

The homeland of melon is considered to be Central Asia and Asia Minor. Melon is a warm and light-loving plant, resistant to soil salinity and drought, and does not tolerate high air humidity. Depending on the variety and place of cultivation, one plant can produce from two to eight fruits weighing from 1.5 to 10 kg. The melon fruit - pumpkin - has a spherical or cylindrical shape, green, yellow, brown or white in color, usually with green stripes. The ripening period is from two to six months.

Wikipedia

Melon was brought to Europe from India and its neighboring regions during the Middle Ages. Since then, this vegetable crop has been one of the most popular in Spain, France, Italy and other European countries, becoming not only a common food product, but also a favorite delicacy. In Russia, melon was cultivated by the Greeks who moved there at the beginning of the 18th century. Especially tasty and large melons were grown at that time in the Astrakhan region and in the south of Russia, as well as in Central Asia.

The culture then spread to the northern regions. It is a widely known historical fact that the kings of the Romanov dynasty ordered the cultivation of melons even next to their palaces. Currently, melon is cultivated everywhere, even in the Moscow region. It is especially successfully grown by vegetable growers in greenhouses and greenhouses.

This plant is valued for its high content of valuable, easily digestible carbohydrates and proteins, as well as mineral salts. A medicine is obtained from the fruits, which is currently widely used throughout the world to combat premature aging.

Oil obtained from melon seeds has healing properties known for a long time in Eastern folk medicine. It is no coincidence that Tsar Peter I, a supporter of everything progressive, vigorously promoted and forced the cultivation of melon even near St. Petersburg and Moscow. Slices of candied melon were served at the table at the king's court for dessert as a healing delicacy.

Modern varieties of this crop are obtained from various forms of melon growing in Iran, Afghanistan, Africa, Central and Asia Minor.

The melon fruit is a false berry, having both a spherical and an oblong elongated shape, yellow, brown and even white. A ripe melon can weigh about 200 g, and can reach 20 kg.

Is it possible if you have diabetes?

Melon is one of the foods with the highest sugar content, and a hundred-gram piece is equal to 1 unit of bread. It is definitely not allowed to be eaten on an empty stomach or with hard-to-digest foods.

People with type 1 diabetes should consult their doctors about the recommended amount. For type 2 diabetes, it is recommended to consume no more than 200 g per day. In complex forms of the disease (disturbances in normal functioning, performance)

It is recommended to consult a doctor.

A little advice. To improve kidney function, and they need special protection in diabetics, try drinking a quarter cup of the following decoction twice a day for 10 days: 1 tablespoon of melon seeds, brewed in a glass of boiling water.

Why melon is useful:

The ripe pulp of the fruit of this berry contains easily digestible sugars, starch, proteins, vitamins, fiber, pectins, organic acids, and various minerals.

And melon is especially rich in iron and potassium compounds, which is why doctors often recommend it to patients with anemia, suffering from diseases of the heart and blood vessels, liver and kidneys, inflammation of the joints (rheumatism) and gout.

Melon fruits also contain (%): sugar – 16–18 (sucrose – 5.9, fructose – 2.4, glucose – 1–2), fiber – 0.2–0.9, hemicellulose – 0.2, starch – 0.1, pectin substances – 0.5, organic acids (citric, oxalic, malic) – 0.1–0.5; vitamins (mg%): C – 20–60, beta-carotene – 0.4, E – 0.1, B6 – 20, B15 – 0.3, B1 – 0.04, B2 – 0.04, PP – 0.4 and B6 (traces); minerals (mg%): in the form of potassium salts - 118, sodium - 32, magnesium - 13, phosphorus - 12, iron - 1, calcium - 4, sulfur - 10, chlorine - 35, manganese - 35, copper - 47, fluorine – 20, zinc – 90, volatile aromatic compounds. Qualitative and quantitative combinations of biologically active substances and good energy value make melon an indispensable dietary and medicinal product.

Melon is a source of silicon. According to experts, the vital activity of the human body and its physiological processes are connected with silicon. It is necessary for hard tissues, for healthy skin, nails, and hair. The cerebral cortex, nervous system, digestive tract, and reproductive system need silicon.

The function of silicon is to fuel the energy of the cerebellum. If you're feeling stressed or overworked, eat melon. This is the effect of the silicon contained in it: to keep the cerebellum and motor nerves in good shape. When the body system contains a normal amount of silicon, the brain and nerves are more resilient and stronger. Silicon requires movement. When a person works, he absorbs silicon better. When he just sits, drives in a car, and does not go for walks, silicon is poorly absorbed, and the person becomes weaker. To increase silicon content in the body, forget about fats, starch and sugar. Eat more melon.

It has been established that silicon also stimulates DNA biosynthesis. It has been proven that tuberculosis, diabetes, leprosy, hepatitis, hypertension, dysentery, cataracts, rheumatism, arthritis, stomach ulcers and malignant neoplasms are to a certain extent associated with a low silicon content in the blood, tissues and organs or with impaired metabolism of its compounds. With aging, the amount of organosilicon compounds in the human body decreases

Melon is a rich source of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Fiber in melon pulp is beneficial for intestinal microflora, helps eliminate cholesterol, and normalizes digestion.

It must be said that this berry is one of the products that are considered rejuvenating. As Eastern wisdom says: “Melon gives shiny hair, youth to eyes, freshness to lips, strength to desires, makes opportunities feasible, makes men desirable, and women beautiful.” Dried melon is considered a great delicacy.

Usually, melons are eaten fresh, but they are also suitable for making preserves, marmalades, jams, candied fruits, and as a raw material for compote.

Melon has beneficial properties that can be a good assistant in the treatment of nervous diseases. How is melon useful for these diseases? Its pulp contains substances that stimulate the synthesis of serotonin, the “hormone of happiness.” Eat a little melon and your mood will lift!

It is also useful in rehabilitation after operations associated with blood loss. This berry also has a diuretic effect. But due to the large amount of sugars, it should be used with caution by patients with diabetes and liverworts.

Exceptional taste makes melons useful in cooking. Usually, ripe pulp is used, cut into slices along with the peel. But the peel is also used - candied fruits are made from it. The flesh of a melon slice can be peeled whole and eaten by cutting small pieces from the pulp.

Small cantaloupe melons are eaten a little differently: they are first cut in half or quarters, the seeds are selected, and the pulp is eaten with a spoon. The sugar content of different melon varieties differs - the more sugars, the sweeter the melon.

Harm:

Abuse of melon can lead to hypervitaminosis (oversaturation of the body with vitamins), which, in turn, depending on the concentration of a particular component, can result in problems with the intestines and even the heart.

Another harm of melon is that it can cause upset and abdominal pain – in both adults and children. Despite the fact that the use of melon by expectant and nursing mothers has been found beneficial, in such a case you need to be especially careful with the amount of product. The fact is that this berry can cause intestinal disorders in a baby. Nursing mothers, as with other products, need to determine the optimal amount based on the baby's reaction.

Melon is considered incompatible with foods rich in starch. In general, nutritionists strongly advise not to eat melon along with any other foods. You should wait at least 3 hours between eating melon and eating another meal. So that it does not cause harm, but only benefit, it does not need to be washed down with water and other drinks. After all, the amount of water in a melon is already quite large.

Caution should be exercised by persons suffering from kidney stones (with loss of phosphates in alkaline urine) and during exacerbation of gastrointestinal disease. This berry is contraindicated for diabetes, gastric and duodenal ulcers, dysentery and other intestinal disorders. It should not be consumed with alcoholic beverages, honey or washed down with cold water. In this case, bloating, intestinal colic and severe diarrhea occur.

How to eat?

It is recommended to eat melon as an independent dish and not combine it with other products. Pumpkin, like all vegetables and fruits, does not linger in the stomach, but almost immediately enters the small intestine. If the stomach is full, then the melon begins to ferment in it, which causes gases to be released, which provoke bloating, belching, nausea, lead to stool problems and bad breath.

To avoid fermentation, it is recommended to eat the fruit two hours after eating.

Eating melon on an empty stomach is also not recommended, since fiber irritates the walls of the empty intestine, and secreted gastric juice is aggressive to the gastric mucosa. But if motility and acidity of gastric juice are reduced, then the doctor may advise eating pumpkin half an hour before meals to stimulate the release of hydrochloric acid and increase peristalsis.

Nutritionists do not recommend combining melon with other foods. Thus, melon eaten after milk or fermented milk products gives a pronounced laxative effect. If pumpkin is found in the stomach with alcohol, diarrhea or constipation occurs, and gastric lavage may be required. You should not drink melon with water, as this will speed up fermentation and cause colic and diarrhea.

Treatment with melons:

Melon has been used as a medicinal product for a long time and is quite common. Russian folk “herbalists” advised eating melon pulp if you were worried about various mental disorders (depression), stomach diseases, tuberculosis, scurvy, rheumatism, gout. It is taken as an antitussive, anti-inflammatory and anthelmintic. Traditional healers recommend a decoction of melon seed in milk for bladder stones, urinary retention, melon juice helps with hemorrhoids and constipation. A water infusion of seeds is considered an effective diuretic and mild laxative; it is also useful for diseases of the bladder, liver, and kidneys.

This berry perfectly quenches thirst and can calm the nervous system. As a therapeutic food, nutritionists recommend using it for cardiovascular diseases, anemia, liver and kidney diseases, and atherosclerosis. The healing properties in this case can be explained by the large quantities of vitamins C and B9, potassium and iron salts contained in it.

The juice, pulp, peel, and seeds of melon fruits are used in cosmetics.

Melon peel with dense remaining pulp is applied overnight and fixed with a bandage on the surface of the face to prevent freckles, acne, and age spots.
Rice flour gruel, boiled with melon juice, when applied externally, removes freckles and other age spots on the face.
It is useful to lubricate vitiligo spots several times a day with the delicate pulp of this berry.
Peel the melon, mash the pieces with a fork or rub on a fine plastic grater, squeeze out the juice through cheesecloth. It is recommended to wipe dry facial skin with a cotton swab moistened with juice.
Mix melon juice with equal amounts of milk and mineral water. This toilet milk is used to wipe dry facial skin.
A lotion prepared as follows will moisturize any skin well: mash the melon pulp with a fork and leave for 1–2 hours, then squeeze out the juice, pour into a glass container, mix with 2 tbsp. l. honey and 1 tsp. salt. After dissolving the salt, strain the liquid and add a glass of vodka. Wipe clean washed skin with a cotton swab soaked in lotion and leave without wiping for 1–2 hours. The procedure can be carried out at any convenient time. The lotion can be stored for a long time, preferably in a cool place.

Melon seeds: benefits and recipes of traditional medicine

The benefits of melon seeds are explained by the large amount of potassium, sodium and magnesium. They also contain B vitamins, which promote tissue repair. The seeds also have other beneficial properties:

remove heavy metals and pesticides from the body;
normalize cholesterol levels;
improve potency;
prevent prostate adenoma;
enhance the effect of medications;
have a positive effect on metabolism.

These positive characteristics make the seeds of the fruit an effective traditional medicine.

Against cholecystitis

To treat this disease, an infusion of seeds is prepared. 1 tsp. seeds, crushed into powder, are poured with boiled milk and boiled for an additional 4 minutes. You need to take the product 2 times a day.

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Against urolithiasis

To remove kidney stones, 1 kg of seeds must be boiled in 5 liters of water. When about 3 liters of water remain in the pan, the broth should be cooled, bottled and refrigerated. The product should be drunk half a glass three times a day before meals.

Melon for children:

Is it possible to give melon to children? Children can “get acquainted” with it for the first time only after a year (and then only if the gastrointestinal tract is in ideal condition). When there are problems with digestion, it would be better to postpone this “acquaintance” until the age of 2-3 years. If the child is already one year old, he can be given melon, but in small pieces. The fact is that this fruit is a rather heavy product, so you should be attentive to how the baby’s body reacts to it. Melon can cause diarrhea, but there is no need to be afraid of this - such a reaction can often be observed in adults, whose bodies are much less sensitive. But if your baby has a tummy ache or simply feels uncomfortable, it is better to hold off on including melon in his diet.

Melon for diabetics:

Can diabetics eat melon? Is melon bad for diabetics? The question that interests us is whether it is permissible to use melon for type 2 diabetes mellitus, any doctor can answer only individually, since much here is determined by the patient’s condition and the course of his illness.

Expert advice not to overuse melon applies not only to those suffering from diabetes, but also to healthy people. This fruit contains carbohydrates and fiber, so it will take a lot of effort for the stomach to digest it. In order for melon to bring us as much benefit as possible, we should not wash it down (even with water). Remember the main thing - a reasonable measure is needed in everything, so that you don’t have to regret it later.

Melon for the liver:

Is melon good for liver diseases? It is easily absorbed by our body and is a rich source of protein, fiber, magnesium, provitamin A (carotene) and vitamin C. It contains many antioxidants. It is not for nothing that traditional medicine from ancient times considered melon to be a remedy for liver ailments.

The benefit of this fruit lies in its ability to have a subtle effect on the entire right side of the human body. Thanks to this, with regular inclusion of melon in the diet, liver functions are improved and restored. True, it also has a significant drawback - it is available only at certain times of the year.

Melon in weight loss diets:

Day is often used in weight loss diets, because it::

Reduces stress on organs by helping to digest heavy foods. Therefore, feel free to eat it during your afternoon snack, your body will thank you.

It can have a preventive effect and prevent many diseases. It is good for the liver and heart, protects against atherosclerosis by lowering cholesterol levels, and has a positive effect on the nervous system, having a calming effect.

It has a laxative and diuretic effect, therefore it removes intercellular fluid and stagnant feces, which has a positive effect on the appearance and functioning of the body. Women not only lose weight from melon, but also look younger, as their vitality increases.

It would seem that everything is working out perfectly. However, it is worth remembering that this fruit can have not only benefits, but also harm. That is why the melon diet for weight loss requires consultation with a specialist. You should definitely consult your doctor to rule out contraindications. After all, the main principle of any diet is not to harm, but to help.

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Tips and tricks

In case of gastrointestinal diseases, the patient is required to follow the general recommendations and special prescriptions of his attending physician . A preliminary examination, correct diagnosis and treatment and preventive prescriptions will help alleviate the condition and increase the period of remission.

In addition, the patient himself must make a significant contribution to successful treatment by radically changing his habits and lifestyle.

Give up bad habits: excessive drinking of alcohol and smoking.
Eliminate fast food, fatty, fried, smoked and canned foods from your diet. Meals should be regular, in small portions. It is recommended to steam, bake or boil food. The temperature of the cooked dish should not be too hot or cold. Eat, chew thoroughly, giving preference to grated or finely chopped foods. Mayonnaise is also prohibited.
Physical activity should be regular, but not excessive. Swimming, walking, and cycling are useful.
Taking medications must be coordinated with your doctor to reduce the risk of exacerbation of gastrointestinal diseases.

Adhering to certain rules, following the recommendations of doctors will significantly improve your well-being and ensure the success of treatment , as well as speed up the recovery process.

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