FRUIT IN THE MEDICINE CABNET

The fruit of the Citrullus lanatus vine has had this power for thousands of years. Watermelon was recorded in ancient Egypt, and has been a staple of both food and water in Africa and Asia. (With a water content of 92 percent, it's not called watermelon for nothing.)

Watermelon has witnessed many changes and discoveries in the past 20 years, however. Thanks to scientific advances, it's being touted as so healthful it should be stored in your medicine chest. It won't fit, of course, but even that's about to change: Before long, you'll see watermelons so small you'll be tempted to shoplift them. In the meantime, you're stuck with (or blessed with, depending on how you feel) the larger ones, which are most abundant just about this time of year.

Diet Power has declared watermelon one of "The 10 Best Foods." Its delectable flesh has no cholesterol and virtually no fat (almost none of which is saturated)—a stellar accomplishment for a food often served as a dessert at picnics. Watermelon is an excellent source of potassium and vitamins A, C, and B6. It's also a good source of water (that's why the things are so heavy), so you can chew your way to getting your daily H20
Watermelons are still on the kitchen counter instead of the medicine chest because they're bulky, but that's changed over the years. Although the Japanese recently created a cube-shaped watermelon (click here to see it), in America the trend is toward smaller and smaller. In part, this stems (no pun intended) from the craze to make watermelons seedless. Melons without seeds are smaller and rounder than their seedy cousins.
The technology to grow seedless melons has been around for half a century, but popular for only the last 15 years or so, says Warren Roberts, a watermelon expert and an associate professor of horticulture at Oklahoma State University. Today, one-third to one-half of all watermelons sold in this country are seedless, and in California the rate is seven in eight.

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