Summer is coming and with the good weather we are be able to find a huge variety of fruits in our markets.
A very popular type in this season is the melon, which we can enjoy now in many refreshing varieties: Galia, Cantaloupe, Yellow or Green skin.
The melon has very interesting qualities, provided that we eat it at the right time.
Among others:
- Most of it is water, about 90 %, so it is ideal to calm your thirst.
- Its sugar content is very low, about 6 %, which makes it ideal to keep the weight off.
- It’s a food with a cooling energy, which makes it suitable for summer time when we need to open up and cool down.
- In addition, its sweet flavor relaxes us.
- It is a cleansing fruit, helping remove impurities from the skin.
- Its effect on our body is alkalizing.
- It also has a diuretic effect, recommended in cases of kidney problems.
- Its mild laxative effect makes it an interesting fruit for constipation.
The problem with melon can be its high water content. This might sound good, in fact it is a super food to take out of meals, especially when fasting. But what usually happens is that we take it as dessert.
As the melon is so rich in water, it virtually needs no digestion and passes rapidly to the intestine; if we take it after dinner or lunch it will mix with the digestion of proteins and grains, which is normally slow and this will cause fermentation and indigestion.
Too much water can also dilute stomach acids involved in the digestive process.
After seven in the evening our digestive capacity decreases, and the digestive process slows down. If the foods we eat are not properly combined, digestion will be much heavier.
Another reason why it might not be interesting to eat melon in the evening is that it could make us get up to urinate at night, thus altering the quality of our sleep. Its laxative effect might be more convenient first thing in the morning!
