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Eating Watermelon may help lower Blood Pressure

19th October, 2010 - Posted by admin - No Comments

A study by Florida State University has indicated that eating watermelon can protect against prehypertension, a precursor of cardiovascular disease.

9 Subjects were given L-citrulline/L-arginine amino acid, a compound extracted from watermelon, for 6 weeks. The result was reduced blood pressure in all participants.

FSU Assistant Professor Arturo Figueroa talked about the study, saying: “We are the first to document improved aortic hemodynamics in prehypertensive but otherwise healthy middle-aged men and women receiving therapeutic doses of watermelon,” adding that “These findings suggest that this ‘functional food’ has a vasodilatory effect, and one that may prevent prehypertension from progressing to full-blown hypertension, a major risk factor for heart attacks and strokes.”

Figueroa explained why watermelon was selected for the study: “Watermelon is the richest edible natural source of L-citrulline, which is closely related to L-arginine, the amino acid required for the formation of nitric oxide essential to the regulation of vascular tone and healthy blood pressure.”

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