Is Watermelon Juice Good For You?

It's no secret that watermelon is a juicy and delicious fruit. After all, the word "water" isn't in the melon's name for nothing. It is well known for its crunchy texture and refreshing taste. However, drinking watermelon juice can also help improve your health (via Live Science). That's because watermelon's high water, antioxidant, amino acid, and vitamin content are linked to a number of important health benefits.

"Watermelons help with overall hydration, and that is a great thing," Angela Lemond, a Texas-based registered dietitian, nutritionist, and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, told Live Science. As it turns out, the average watermelon is 92% water. "They say we can get 20-30 percent of our fluid needs through our diet alone, and foods like these certainly help," she added. Meanwhile, the powerful amino acids and antioxidants in watermelon juice play an important role in the basic functions of the body.

Besides hydration, watermelon juice is associated with an array of other health benefits. For instance, drinking watermelon juice on a regular basis may help protect and improve your skin (via Health). Since watermelon is rich in vitamins A and C and antioxidants like lycopene, it can help protect your skin against the damaging effects of the sun. Lycopene can also help prevent disease, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

As an antioxidant, lycopene can help fight off oxidative stress and protect your cells against disease-carrying free radicals. This can help ward off chronic illnesses and reduce your risk of cancer, according to Health. Furthermore, watermelon juice can help reduce muscle soreness. That's because watermelon is high in an amino acid known as L-citrulline. A study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that athletes who drank about 16 ounces of watermelon juice had a faster heart rate and less muscle soreness than those who received the placebo.