Watermelon is the most common and popular fruit to eat in the summer. How delightful it is to sit in an air-conditioned room and eat watermelon, but did you know there are situations when you should not eat it? Let's take a look!
1. People with kidney insufficiency should not eat watermelon.
People with kidney insufficiency have difficulty expelling excess water from their bodies. If these patients eat too much watermelon, it will not only worsen their edema but also easily increase their blood volume, triggering acute heart failure.
2. People with mouth ulcers should not eat watermelon.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, mouth ulcers are considered to be caused by yin deficiency and internal heat. Eating watermelon causes excessive loss of the moisture needed for the ulcers to heal, thereby worsening the yin deficiency and internal heat and prolonging the patient's healing time.
3. People with a weak and cold spleen and stomach should not eat too much watermelon.
Watermelon is considered "cold" in nature, and eating too much of it can easily harm the spleen and stomach. Li Shizhen recorded in the "Compendium of Materia Medica": "Watermelon and muskmelons are both raw and cold. The common people regard them as nectar for the head and sweet dew for the heart, enjoying a moment of pleasure, but are unaware of the harm they do to the spleen and promote dampness." Therefore, people with a weak and cold spleen and stomach must be cautious when eating watermelon.
4. Patients in the early stages of a cold should not eat watermelon.
Medically speaking, whether it's a cold due to wind-cold or wind-heat, if the pathogen is not expelled from the body's surface, attacking it directly can worsen the condition. Because watermelon has the effect of clearing internal heat, eating it in the early stages of a cold can lead to a more severe illness or a prolonged duration.
5. Diabetics should eat less watermelon.
Watermelon contains a significant amount of sugar. Diabetics who eat too much watermelon will increase the burden on their kidneys and may also experience elevated blood sugar and increased sugar in the urine. Therefore, diabetics should be mindful of moderation when eating watermelon.
6. Pregnant and postpartum women should eat less watermelon.
During pregnancy, a woman's body has relatively insufficient insulin, reducing its ability to stabilize blood sugar. If too much watermelon is consumed, the excessive sugar intake can lead to a dangerously high concentration of sugar in the blood, which is detrimental to health. Additionally, after giving birth, a woman's body is relatively weak. As watermelon is "cold" in nature, Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that eating too much of it can damage the spleen and stomach due to its excessive coldness.
How to Choose a Watermelon
1. Check for Elasticity
A watermelon with a thinner rind that is easily indented with a finger is ripe. If the rind cracks easily with a fingernail and the melon feels soft, it is overripe.
2. Look at the Ends
A ripe watermelon has symmetrical ends, with the blossom and stem ends being deeply indented and the sides being full. A melon with shallow indentations at the ends, a large head and small tail, or a pointed head and thick tail is of poorer quality.
3. Listen to the Sound and Observe the Appearance
A ripe watermelon will make a "dull thud" sound when tapped with a finger. A "sharp, ringing" sound means it is not yet ripe, while a "hollow, soft" sound indicates it is overripe. A ripe melon has a smooth surface, clear patterns, distinct veins, and a yellowish bottom. A melon with a fuzzy surface, dull luster, and indistinct spots and veins is unripe.