Watermelons may have Viagra-effect - increase libido

B_johnschlong

Experimental Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2006
Posts
653
Media
0
Likes
4
Points
163
Gender
Male
Watermelon May Have Viagra-Effect
Secrets of Phyto-nutrients Are Being Unraveled



June 30, 2008
Writer(s): Rod Santa Ana, 956-878-8317,r-santaana@tamu.edu
Contact(s): Dr. Bhimu Patil, 979-458-8090, BPatil@ag.tamu.edu

COLLEGE STATION -- A cold slice of watermelon has long been a Fourth of July holiday staple. But according to recent studies, the juicy fruit may be better suited for Valentine’s Day. That’s because scientists say watermelon has ingredients that deliver Viagra-like effects to the body’s blood vessels and may even increase libido.
“The more we study watermelons, the more we realize just how amazing a fruit it is in providing natural enhancers to the human body,” said Dr. Bhimu Patil, director of Texas A&M’s Fruit and Vegetable Improvement Center in College Station.
“We’ve always known that watermelon is good for you, but the list of its very important healthful benefits grows longer with each study.”
Beneficial ingredients in watermelon and other fruits and vegetables are known as phyto-nutrients, naturally occurring compounds that are bioactive, or able to react with the human body to trigger healthy reactions, Patil said.
In watermelons, these include lycopene, beta carotene and the rising star among its phyto-nutrients – citrulline – whose beneficial functions are now being unraveled. Among them is the ability to relax blood vessels, much like Viagra does.
Scientists know that when watermelon is consumed, citrulline is converted to arginine through certain enzymes. Arginine is an amino acid that works wonders on the heart and circulation system and maintains a good immune system, Patil said.
“The citrulline-arginine relationship helps heart health, the immune system and may prove to be very helpful for those who suffer from obesity and type 2 diabetes,” said Patil. “Arginine boosts nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels, the same basic effect that Viagra has, to treat erectile dysfunction and maybe even prevent it.”
While there are many psychological and physiological problems that can cause impotence, extra nitric oxide could help those who need increased blood flow, which would also help treat angina, high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems.
“Watermelon may not be as organ specific as Viagra,” Patil said, “but it’s a great way to relax blood vessels without any drug side-effects.”
The benefits of watermelon don’t end there, he said. Arginine also helps the urea cycle by removing ammonia and other toxic compounds from our bodies.
Citrulline, the precursor to arginine, is found in higher concentrations in the rind of watermelons than the flesh. As the rind is not commonly eaten, two of Patil’s fellow scientists, drs. Steve King and Hae Jeen Bang, are working to breed new varieties with higher concentrations in the flesh.
In addition to the research by Texas A&M, watermelon’s phyto-nutrients are being studied by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service in Lane, Oklahoma.
As an added bonus, these studies have also shown that deep red varieties of watermelon have displaced the tomato as the lycopene king, Patil said. Almost 92 percent of watermelon is water, but the remaining 8 percent is loaded with lycopene, an anti-oxidant that protects the human heart, prostate and skin health.
“Lycopene, which is also found in red grapefruit, was historically thought to exist only in tomatoes,” he said. “But now we know that it’s found in higher concentrations in red watermelon varieties.”
Lycopene, however, is fat-soluble, meaning that it needs certain fats in the blood for better absorption by the body, Patil said.
“Previous tests have shown that lycopene is much better absorbed from tomatoes when mixed in a salad with oily vegetables like avocado or spinach,” Patil said. “That would also apply to the lycopene from watermelon, but I realize mixing watermelon with spinach or avocadoes is a very hard sell.”
No studies have been conducted to determine the timing of the consumption of oily vegetables to improve lycopene absorption, he said.
“One final bit of advice for those Fourth of July watermelons you buy,” Patil said. “They store much better uncut if you leave them at room temperature. Lycopene levels can be maintained even as it sits on your kitchen floor. But once you cut it, refrigerate. And enjoy.”



Texas A&M Agricultural Communications - AgNews - News by Date
 

B_johnschlong

Experimental Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2006
Posts
653
Media
0
Likes
4
Points
163
Gender
Male
Hi, I'm back from the store. I just bought a trunk full of watermelons. You should have seen how people stared at me. They must also have seen my huge bulge, because I was semi-erect at the thought of those libido-enhancing, luscious melons that will give me huge hardons.

Will keep you up to date on the effects. The first watermelon has already been digested.
 

B_johnschlong

Experimental Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2006
Posts
653
Media
0
Likes
4
Points
163
Gender
Male
For once, I'm not entirely embarrassed at having attended school there.

Dude, WTF, I'm from Europe, but TAMU is seen as a very good university over here. Highly respected and seen as very strong in biotech, agriculture and robotics.

Not everything out of Texas is dumb, ugly or both. Some of it is actually quite interesting. Like the deserts.


In any case, anyone else eating watermelons now?
 

HazelGod

Sexy Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2006
Posts
7,154
Media
1
Likes
31
Points
183
Location
The Other Side of the Pillow
Sexuality
99% Straight, 1% Gay
Gender
Male
Dude, WTF, I'm from Europe, but TAMU is seen as a very good university over here. Highly respected and seen as very strong in biotech, agriculture and robotics.

Since you're across the pond, you haven't the benefit of firsthand experience with the campus' entrenched culture. Trust me, I wasn't impugning the academic research being conducted at the institution.

As a seventeen year old, I made the regrettable error of judging my choice of school solely on its academic credentials...at the time, TAMU had one of the top ten undergraduate engineering programs in the country. Had I not had my head up my own ass at the time, I might have put a bit of research effort into my selection and found out just how wrong the place really was.
 

Mem

Sexy Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2006
Posts
7,912
Media
0
Likes
54
Points
183
Location
FL
Sexuality
99% Gay, 1% Straight
Gender
Male
Throw away the good juicy part of the watermelon. The part that is effective is the white part that kinda tastes like cucumber.
 

Bbucko

Cherished Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2006
Posts
7,232
Media
8
Likes
326
Points
208
Location
Sunny SoFla
Sexuality
90% Gay, 10% Straight
Gender
Male
Have you ever noticed how "watermelon flavored" things just don't taste like watermelon at all?
 

Mem

Sexy Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2006
Posts
7,912
Media
0
Likes
54
Points
183
Location
FL
Sexuality
99% Gay, 1% Straight
Gender
Male
Have you ever noticed how "watermelon flavored" things just don't taste like watermelon at all?

Some do. There is a watermelon sherbert roll that does taste like watermelon. It even has chocolate chips for the seeds and lime sherbert for the rind.

There is also a watermelon hard candy that is pretty good.

Now cherry flavored stuff is NASTY. :mad:
 

Bbucko

Cherished Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2006
Posts
7,232
Media
8
Likes
326
Points
208
Location
Sunny SoFla
Sexuality
90% Gay, 10% Straight
Gender
Male
Some do. There is a watermelon sherbert roll that does taste like watermelon. It even has chocolate chips for the seeds and lime sherbert for the rind.

There is also a watermelon hard candy that is pretty good.

Now cherry flavored stuff is NASTY. :mad:

I'll have to keep an eye out for that sherbet. I sounds tasty.

I agree about that nasty cherry flavor, though...yick!
 

Meniscus

Legendary Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2007
Posts
3,447
Media
0
Likes
2,049
Points
333
Location
Massachusetts, United States of America
Sexuality
99% Gay, 1% Straight
Gender
Male
Usually during watermelon season, I buy a quarter melon, cut in into cubes, and put them in a bowl in the fridge. Then I eat them for breakfast or as a snack. I haven't bought any yet this year, however, as I haven't seen any in the store that looked good to me.

Have you ever noticed how "watermelon flavored" things just don't taste like watermelon at all?

That's generally true, and applies to most other artifical fruit flavors as well.

Some do. There is a watermelon sherbert roll that does taste like watermelon. It even has chocolate chips for the seeds and lime sherbert for the rind.

I was going to say that Friendly's watermelon sherbert is not bad, although a bit too sweet. I like the watermelon "slammer" (called a "cooler" when I was a kid) which is sort of like a shake made from watermelon sherbert and tonic water. It's a very refresing summer drink.

Also, watermelon jelly beans are not too far off. (I'm amazed at how realistic some of the jelly bean flavors are. "Juicy pear" jelly beans are my favorite.)

I wuz hoping for advice on how to heat one up to body temperature and where to drill the hole.

I was going to post a similar pic, but you beat me to it. Maybe I will anyway.
 

Attachments

HamYai

Experimental Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2008
Posts
730
Media
0
Likes
9
Points
103
Location
UK
Sexuality
80% Straight, 20% Gay
Gender
Male
I was going to post a similar pic, but you beat me to it. Maybe I will anyway.

Jelly beans are absolutely amazing.

I can't believe how close they get, sometimes, to the taste of the real thing. Hats off to them.

But as for watermelons:

Real men don't need a hole to be drilled. IMHO:biggrin1::eek:
 

transformer_99

Experimental Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2006
Posts
2,429
Media
0
Likes
10
Points
183
Sexuality
100% Straight, 0% Gay
Gender
Male
Anyone still spike watermelons during summer drinking parties ? I remember once at a party when the watermelon was pretty much finished off down to the rind, this one drunk guy picked up the empty 1/2 and broke it over his drunk friend's head when he was trying to get more alcohol from what was left of it. It was pretty funny thinking back about it.