Watermelon is a favorite for many people in the summer. It is sweet, refreshing, thirst-quenching, and highly nutritious, making it the top choice for beating the summer heat. Because many people love watermelon so much, they often eat it without restraint, and sometimes even treat it as a staple food. This practice is inadvisable. Eating too much watermelon, or consuming it incorrectly, is not only detrimental to your health but can also harm your body.
First, consuming large amounts of watermelon is harmful to your health. As a raw, cold, and "yin" food, eating too much watermelon at once can easily damage the spleen and stomach. This is especially true for individuals who are physically weak or have a "cold" stomach, as it can easily lead to abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloating, and indigestion. At the same time, eating too much watermelon can over-stimulate the stomach, slow down gastric motility, and thus impair digestive function. This can lead to a decreased appetite, a weakened immune system, and damage to one's health. Furthermore, because watermelon contains a lot of water, eating too much of it can dilute stomach acid, causing indigestion and a reduced resistance to gastrointestinal diseases.
Second, watermelon that has been left open for too long should not be eaten, as it can be harmful to your body. Some people like to buy large watermelons and, after opening one and not finishing it, store the leftovers to eat later. If the storage time is long, it can be detrimental to your health and may even cause illness. This is because the high temperatures in summer are ideal for the growth and multiplication of various bacteria. Moreover, the nutrient-rich flesh of the watermelon provides an even better environment for bacterial growth. According to laboratory tests, the Shigella bacterium can multiply 50,000 times on the watermelon flesh in just over ten hours, making it very likely to induce illness. Therefore, watermelon that has been left open for too long can easily become contaminated with bacteria, and consuming it can trigger gastrointestinal diseases.
Again, you should eat less chilled watermelon. Some people prefer to put watermelon in the refrigerator to freeze for a while before eating, believing it tastes better. However, this is also very unhealthy for you. If watermelon is refrigerated for too long, a film will form on the surface of the flesh, which impairs the texture and can cause the water to form ice crystals. Eating it this way can cause tooth pain and may irritate the throat, leading to conditions like pharyngitis.
Furthermore, the temperature of chilled watermelon is too low. The extreme cold can cause the salivary glands, taste nerves on the tongue, and periodontal nerves in the mouth to become numb. This can damage the spleen and stomach, trigger or worsen stomach pain, and lead to indigestion and a loss of appetite.