WATERMELON NATURES VIAGRA

Arginine to Prevent Erectile Dysfunction, Lower Blood Pressure, Improve Insulin Sensitivity

                                       

One more reason to enjoy watermelon before summer ends: this sweet, crunchy, cooling fruit is exceptionally high in citrulline, an amino acid our bodies use to make another amino acid, arginine, which is used in the urea cycle to remove ammonia from the body, and by the cells lining our blood vessels to make nitric oxide. Nitric oxide not only relaxes blood vessels, lowering high blood pressure, it is the compound whose production is enhanced by Viagra to prevent erectile dysfunction. Arginine has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity in obese type 2 diabetic patients with insulin resistance. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2006 Nov;291(5):E906-12. In volunteers drinking three 8-ounce glasses of watermelon juice each day for three weeks, blood levels of arginine (synthesized from citrulline provided by the watermelon) were 11% higher than in controls. Volunteers who drank six daily 8-ounce glasses of watermelon juice for 3 weeks had arginine levels 18% higher than controls. Nutrition. 2007 Mar;23(3):261-6.