The summer season is a delightful weather for people who love fruits. Mangoes, watermelon, muskmelon, cherries, leechi, papayas, grapes, one is spoilt for choice. But what is also common among summer fruits is their bad reputation among weight watchers. Your nutritionist or fitness trainer must have warned you against mango, muskmelon as well as watermelon. So when a user on Quora asked which one is a healthier fruit for diabetics- watermelon or muskmelon, it got us thinking too.
A user wrote - Watermelon is a favourite fruit to many, but if you have diabetes, you may wonder if its sweetness might spell trouble for your blood sugars. While watermelon is a nutritious fruit choice for people with diabetes, large quantities can cause blood sugar levels to increase to undesirable levels. Same is the case with muskmelon. They have 7 and 8 grams of carbohydrates per 100 grams respectively.
One cup of muskmelon and watermelon contain 54 and 46 calories respectively. There is a reason why a lot of people fear eating watermelon, thinking that it may sabotage their weight loss goals. Although watermelon has a high glycemic index and one cup serving of watermelon has around 11 grams of carbohydrates. This simply means that you need to consume 10 times of this amount for it to reach high levels of the glycemic index.
Melons for weight loss
Watermelon and muskmelon both fruits taste great and offer amazing nutritional benefits. Both the fruits cannot be really compared but one can choose among them based on their nutritional offerings.
Dr Priyanka Rohatgi, Consultant Nutritionist, Apollo Hospital shares the red colour of watermelon is due to the high content of lycopene in the fruit. Lycopene is an excellent antioxidant, which is not found in muskmelon. Watermelon also has a negligible amount of sodium, which makes it a great fruit for hypertensive patients. On the other hand, muskmelon being rich in vitamin C, fibre and sodium makes a perfect summer fruit, she adds.
She also suggests having both the fruits in good and balanced quantities for weight loss as well as good health. But talking about weight loss specifically, watermelon serves the purpose better, claims Dr Priyanka.
Kavita Devgan, consultant nutritionist, weight management consultant and author says that both muskmelon and watermelon are good for weight loss. Both the fruits have 90 per cent water content and almost similar calorie composition.
So do not omit these wonderful fruits from your diet. Eat local, eat seasonal!
