Delicious, juicy, run-down-your-face wonderful watermelon. The hallmark of summer. It's not just a juicy treat, though. Watermelon has many exciting health benefits. Did you know that the pink colour comes directly from the powerful antioxidant lycopene? It's 100 times more efficient than Vitamin E at protecting your skin from UV induced aging (Berneburg (1999) pp. 15345–15349).

In addition to the antioxidant benefits watermelons are also highly refreshing with a 92% water capacity. They contain Vitamins C & A, and B1 & B6. If you want all the nutrients, though, don't store your melon in the fridge. If you do, you'll lose nearly 1/3 of the lycopene and 1/2 of the beta-carotene. It's ok to refrigerate the melon right before you eat it, though. And if you don't have enough space in your fridge, the Japanese have come up with a solution: square watermelons.

If you're looking for a way to eat your watermelon, here are a couple ideas:

Plain. Classic style, simply slice and chomp away.

On a salad. Put some watermelon cubes on a spinach salad with some feta, red onions, and balsamic vinegar. Delicious!

Grilled. Rub the watermelon with a little bit of honey and grill it for a couple minutes on each side. I haven't tried this yet but I am certainly going to this weekend.