May 7th, 2020 | Updated on June 25th, 2022
How many times have you spat out the seeds while gobbling the watermelon slice? Or maybe, you try and buy the seedless variant so that these seeds do not come to bother you.
However, watermelon seeds if dried and consumed are quite low in calories and thus make for an interesting filler snack.
These and some more benefits of watermelon seeds are being mentioned below so you know what you are missing by not consuming them.
1. Low In Calories
A typical ounce of watermelon seeds contains only 158 calories. That is easily comparable to an ounce of Lays Potato chips if consumed.
If you take a huge quantity of them it would weigh only 4 grams and the calorie content only 23 which makes them an interesting alternative.
2. Source Of Magnesium
Magnesium is an important ingredient of Watermelon seeds and it is one of the several minerals that need to be an integral part of our diet.
If you consume 4 grams of the same you are able to make up for 21 mg of magnesium which is close to 5% of the value that is ideally required.
Magnesium is considered to be essential to boost the body’s metabolism and aid in maintaining nerve and muscle functioning and boost immunity and heart health.
3. Iron
A bowl of Watermelon seeds is supposed to contain 0.29 mg of Iron which though a small quantity makes up for 1.6% of the average requirement.
Iron is a part of Haemoglobin and helps in converting the calories consumed into energy.
However, these seeds also have phylate which may reduce the rate of absorption of Iron in the body.
4. Good Fats Present
All fats that we consume are not bad for us. Watermelon seeds have a good combination of such monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats that keep the body working smoothly.
Such fats help in the protection of our heart and bring down the levels of cholesterol in the body.
5. Presence Of Zinc
Watermelon seeds are loaded with another mineral and that is Zinc. In one ounce you can expect to receive 26% of the total value that is required by the body.
In around 4 grams of Watermelon seeds, you get 4% of Zinc which is quite good.
Zinc is good for the digestive and the nervous systems and helps in the regrowth of cells.
It also improves the sense of taste and smell a person has however Phylate may reduce its absorption rate in the body.
