Watermelon seeds, papaya seeds ...

[Gorilla]

What are your views on the nutritional value and digestibility of watermelon seeds? I really like them - I crunch them and grind them up with my teeth. They seem to have great nutritional value (www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c20ol.html) and certainly give me a good feeling!

 

However, papaya seeds have never been appetising to me, and I read here that they in fact contain a toxic substance: http://www.bawarchi.com/health/papaya.html

 

Anyway, I'm going to carry on eating watermelon seeds - I've google searched, and as far as I can see they are safe to eat.

 

The watermelons from my market are so good!!

[Zack]

Papaya seeds are a remedy to stop sperm production.....Doesn't sound appealing to me. Quite a few people eat watermelon seeds, I think they're actually a big deal in China.

[MontanaVegan]

All I can find are the "seedless" watermelons.

I don't chew those little white seeds, I don't like the flavor, but they get swallowed.

By the looks of things the next morning, they don't get digested very much.

[xdarthveganx]

I love watermelon. Ive never tried eating the seeds though

[Zack]

The black seeds aren't so bad. I'm thinking of collecting them, letting em dry some then eating them.

[crashnburn]

Papaya seeds are a remedy to stop sperm production.....Doesn't sound appealing to me. Quite a few people eat watermelon seeds, I think they're actually a big deal in China.

 

Now, who over here was looking for Natural Birth Control... without going anal about it.

[Guest]

I love watermelon, and seeds from squash(raw or not) but papaya seeds must taste that bad for a reason.

[Steve1968]

I've had some fine India cuisine with watermelon seeds in it. I thought it strange at first, but they were good with all the spices.

[Gorilla]

Okay thanks - the watermelons we get here are superb - they have loads of black seeds and a few white seeds - I eat the seeds along with the flesh and the juice, and it seems to be all god.

 

As for the papaya seeds - yeah I thought they must taste toxic for a reason too.

[belleadonna]

I was at a Chinese restaurant a few months back and a little girl was at the counter eating something. I asked her mother what it was and it was watermelon seeds. She was breaking them open though and eating the insides, like a pumpkin seed. I had never heard of eating them before. I think that they were dried.

[Gorilla]

Awesome - I love them!

[crashnburn]

I was at a Chinese restaurant a few months back and a little girl was at the counter eating something. I asked her mother what it was and it was watermelon seeds. She was breaking them open though and eating the insides, like a pumpkin seed. I had never heard of eating them before. I think that they were dried.

 

Did that as a kid in India

[crashnburn]

I've had some fine India cuisine with watermelon seeds in it. I thought it strange at first, but they were good with all the spices.

 

Hmm.. funny.. I havent had that curry in my life. I'd love to find out more.

 

PS: I am not sure but I sort of remember that when women are pregnant in india they are now allowed to eat Papaya.. / Melons.

[Hero]

i devour watermelon and its seeds. dont know if eating seeds is good or bad

[belleadonna]

Q. Are the seeds in watermelon of any nutritional value, other than fiber?

I am tired of picking them out so have started eating them.

 

A. Yum, watermelon seeds. Actually they are eaten in parts of the world. In Nigeria, the seeds of certain types of watermelon are made into soup. They are eaten in China, as well, although the outer skin is removed by rubbing or scorching it off. In our book, either method requires more effort than simply spitting the seeds out.

 

However, for the merely lazy, eating watermelon seeds is a mixed blessing on the nutritional front. An ounce of dried watermelon seed kernels contains about 3 grams of zinc (or 25 percent of the Recommended Dietary Allowance for a woman under 50), and 2 grams of iron (or 14 percent of the RDA). On the minus side, it also contains 158 calories and more than 13 grams of fat. And there are quite a few dried watermelon seeds in an ounce.

 

Unless you chew them, however, the seeds are quite likely to pass right through your digestive system rather than being broken down and absorbed — so the nutritional loss/gain is a wash.

[Gorilla]

Good answer belleadonna

[belleadonna]

Oh thanks but I can't take the credit for it. I copied and pasted it from somewhere. But I thought that it was interesting and answered the question.