Watermelons
Watermelons are the most suitable fruits for summer. Their flesh tastes sweet and can cool down and remove summer heat; Their seeds contain oil and can be used as recreational food; Their peels have medicinal value, can diuresis, lower blood pressure.
China is the largest watermelon producing area in the world, but there are different opinions about the origin of watermelon. One theory holds that watermelons are not from China, but from Africa and from the western regions. Another saying goes that watermelon was discovered when Shennong tasted all kinds of herbs.
The popular view is that watermelons are native to Africa. They were originally a wild plant of Cucurbitaceae, and then they were artificially cultivated into edible watermelons. As early as 4000 years ago, the Egyptians planted watermelons. Later, they gradually moved northward. At first, watermelons spread from the Mediterranean coast to northern Europe, and then southward into the Middle East, India, and other places. In the fourth and fifth centuries, watermelons were introduced into China from the western regions.
Watermelons can be called the "king of midsummer". They are refreshing, thirst quenching, sweet and juicy. They are good fruits for midsummer. In addition to fat and cholesterol, watermelons contain a lot of glucose, malic acid, fructose, protein amino acids, lycopene, and rich vitamin C. They are highly nutritious, pure, and safe foods. The sugar content of pulp is generally 5-12%, including glucose, fructose, and sucrose. The sweetness increased with the increase of sucrose at the later stage of ripening.
In addition to water, watermelons also contain carotene, thiamine, riboflavin, nicotinic acid, ascorbic acid, protein, sugar, crude fiber, inorganic salt, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and other substances. Pregnant women can eat watermelons during pregnancy, which can not only supplement the nutritional consumption in the body, but also better meet the nutritional intake of the fetus.