The Kiwano has a yellow orange or a lime green color when ripe. The Horned melon taste is similar to a combination of bananas, lemon & passion-fruit, and it has a texture like that of cucumber. Popular horned melon recipes include using the fruits as garnish for food, as an ingredient for cooking as well as for salad dressings. Moreover, the fruit can be eaten raw by sucking out the pulp and spitting out its seeds. You can decide to enrich its taste by adding a small quantity of sugar or salt.
African horned melon health benefits
1. Boosts cardiovascular health
The horned melon benefits heart healthas its seeds contain linoleic acid that is good for strengthening the heart muscles and reducing blood pressure levels in the body. It also contains unsaturated omega six fatty acids that assist individuals with heart conditions to manage their illnesses. Moreover, eating Kiwano ensures to manage your cholesterol levels; therefore, assists in preventing heart complications.
2. Boosts/ enhances digestion
Due to its high content of dietary fiber, the African horned melon is an exceptional fruit in aiding the digestion processes. The fiber helps promotes proper digestion by regulating bowel movements and preventing digestion illnesses like bloating, constipation, colon cancer, cramping and gastric ulcers.
3. Aids in weight loss
Are you trying to cut down a few kilos? Well, you should definitely include some horned melon nutrition in your diet. This is because the Kiwano retains more than 80% of water as it has to grow in harsh environments. Culturally, the African horned melon is treasured as it is becomes the main source of water in the Kalahari Desert particularly during the dry season. The high water content is a great weight tool as it fills you up well without giving you extra pounds. Most people looking to lose weight can use the fruit as a snack and keep off hunger pangs. To add, the Kiwano is low on fat and calories but has many nutrients to nourish your body.
4. Improves eye vision
Another horned melon health benefit is that it contains 307 IU of Vitamin A that is approximately 6% of the recommended daily intake. Vitamin A is good for the eyes as it has a specific carotenoid that acts as an anti-oxidant and helps to eliminate free-radicals that could infect your eyes and cause eye diseases like macular degeneration. Moreover, Vitamin A also reinforces the strength of the mucosal lining that offers first line protection from all infections in the throat, nasal passage and the intestinal tract
The other benefit of horned melon is that it packs useful antioxidants like a-tocopherol and y-tocopherol antioxidants which are organic forms of vitamin E. These two anti-oxidants that are in high content help keep the blood vessels and nerves healthy by reducing carcinogenic elements in the body. In addition, the fruit assists your body fight off chronic diseases like cancer and heart conditions.
6. Bone strength
Because horned melon is full of many nutrients like calcium, magnesium and zinc among others, it helps in the growth and development of human bones. The calcium mineral assists in treating bone-related complications for instance, osteoporosis.
7. Boosts metabolism
Zinc is a vital mineral that is mostly overlooked when it comes to human health. This is because zinc has a major function in the body’s metabolism and in producing the protein needed for the repair of tissues, organs, cells, wounds and blood vessels. For this reason, include horned melon nutrition to improve your overall metabolism.
8. Prevents premature aging
The African horned melon holds several crucial nutrients like Vitamin C that aids in the production of collagen as well as in repairing damaged skin and organ tissues. Furthermore, Kiwano contains citric acid that makes your skin grow and look younger. It is also believed that regular consumption of the fruit inhibits early symptoms of aging like spots, scars and blemishes.
9. Relieves anxiety and stress
The other benefit of horned melon according to research is that it has organic compounds that regulate the body hormones mostly adrenaline and other stressors. In case you are suffering from chronic stress and anxiety, eating a Kiwano may be what you need to calm your nerves and get back to a relaxed state.
10. Fortifies hair follicles
Another health benefit of horned melon is that due to its many nutrients, it can help strengthen your hair follicles leading you to have longer and stronger hair. The main catch here; however, is that you have to eat the fruit daily.
It is imperative to note that some unripe Kiwano contains toxic levels of chemicals that are absent when the fruit is ripe. Such chemicals may bring headaches, fevers and stomach complication though not life-threatening.
The second side effect of horned melon is that it is considered as an allergenic food and some people are actually allergic to the fruit. Common allergic reactions to the fruit include; itching, swelling of face, mouth, lips and tongues as well as skin rashes. Since horned melon is a member of the cucumber family, if you are allergic to cucumber, then there is a high possibility that you are allergic to Kiwano. So, you need to be careful.
The other side effect is that too much fibre, as much as it boosts your digestion process, also results in intestinal blockage, indigestion, intestinal gas and abdominal pain when taken in higher quantities. For this reason, eat Kiwano in moderation.
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