Fact Check: Can watermelon cure Impotence?

Can watermelon cure IMPOTENCE?

CLAIM: A post on the social media site Instagram claimed that watermelon can cure impotence. The post explained several benefits of watermelon like reducing blood pressure level,promote weight loss,prevent mineral deficiency among wich one claim was that watermelon can cure impotence The link to the claim is here.

FACT CHECK:

The claim is FALSE.

What is Impotence?

According to the American Urology Care Foundation, “Impotence or Erectile dysfunction, or ED, is defined as trouble getting or keeping an erection that's firm enough for sex.”(1)Erectile dysfunction is the most common sex problem that men report to their doctor. It affects as many as 30 million men.

ED can occur  most often when blood flow in the penis is limited or nerves are harmed or with stress or emotional reasons

It can also be an early warning of a more serious illness, like atherosclerosis (hardening or blocked arteries), heart disease, high blood pressure or high blood sugar from diabetes.

What causes ED?

ED can result from physical health problems, emotional issues, or both.

Physical Causes of ED may include the following

• There is not enough blood flowing into the penis.
• The penis cannot trap blood during an erection.
• Nerve signals from the brain or spinal cord do not reach the penis.
• Certain diseases, injury or surgery in the pelvic area can harm nerves to the penis.
• Treating prostate, colon-rectal or bladder cancer often leaves men with ED.
• Drugs used to treat other health problems can negatively impact erections

Emotional Causes of ED may include depression, anxiety, relationship conflicts, stress at home or work, stress from social, cultural or religious conflicts, worry about sex performance

 Watermelon and some of its health benefits :

Watermelon (Citrallus lanatus) is a potentially useful plant used for a variety of medical conditions. Sucrose and glucose make up about 20–40% of the total sugars in a mature watermelon, whereas fructose makes up 30–50% (Erhirhie & Ekene, 2013). Watermelon also contains significant quantities of amino acid  like arginine and citrulline both of which are involved in the production of nitric oxide. Watermelon rinds can be fermented or blended to be served as juice. Therapeutically, rinds have been administered in conditions involving alcohol intoxication and diabetes. When completely ripe or almost rotting, the fruits are consumed as a febrifuge. The fruit has a high potassium content, making it more suitable for treating potassium deficiency and kidney stones (Deshmukh et al., 2015). Watermelon roots can be strongly purgative and therefore used as an emetic at high doses (Erhirhie & Ekene, 2013). The seeds may also have an antihypertensive property and be useful for reducing blood pressure. In addition, watermelon seeds have anti-helminthic properties and are occasionally prescribed for the treatment of helminthic infections. (2)

Does Watermelon cure Impotence?

No. There is no evidence to support that watermelon can cure impotence or ED.

Having said that, there is some evidence of benefit of watermelon in ED. In 2011, an Italian study looked at the effect of citrulline supplements on men with mild erectile dysfunction. Citrulline is an amino acid present in watermelon. Over a month after taking these pills, half of the men reported slight improvements in their erections. The improvement in the erection hardness score from 3 (mild ED) to 4 (normal erectile function) occurred in 12 (50%) of the 24 men when taking L-citrulline (P < .01).The researchers noted that, inside the body, citrulline is converted into another chemical, arginine, which is known to increase blood flow by relaxing your blood vessels. (3)

Speaking to the Medical Dialogues team, Dr Roy P John Senior Consultant & HOD Dept. of Urology, clarified, "Watermelon contains significant quantities of substances like arginine and citrulline both of which are involved in the production of nitric oxide, a powerful vasodilator. Nitric oxide is an endogenous chemical that controls the turgidity of the penis during erection. Therefore, consumption of watermelon provides the user with sufficient nutrients to produce Nitric Oxide. Some scientists have found that watermelon extract has aphrodisiac properties in rat models. This may be attributed to the presence of citrulline in the seed. So it may be a natural risk-free remedy for impotence but is not a long-term solution because impotence may be due to several other causes like excessive cholesterol, neurological and psychological problems. And more research is needed to determine if consuming watermelon will help people with impotence."

Sharing his inputs with the Medical Dialogues Team Dr. Pillai Biju Sukumaran Senior Consultant Department of Urology & Andrology added, "There are several underlying causes for impotence. The use of watermelon is found to improve sexual health by reducing oxidative stress, improving testis functions, and increasing testosterone levels. If the cause of impotence is related to reduced testosterone levels, there may be some improvement in the performance. There are conflicting reports in some cases where they have found that excess use of watermelon or its seeds or extracts has led to decreased sperm quality. The studies have been done in rat models and human  trials have not yet been performed."

Does Watermelon have any sexual health benefits?

Watermelon cannot cure impotency but it may provide some sexual health benefits.

Sharing his inputs with the Medical Dialogues Team Dr Pillai Biju Sukumaran Senior Consultant Department of Urology & Andrology "On searching the literature using Google and Pubmed, there are several reports that mention the beneficial effects of watermelon and watermelon seeds, to improve sexual health. But most of these have been studied in animal models, like rats. Hence extrapolating the same in humans needs further studies. Watermelon is found to have citrulline, a non-essential amino acid which acts as a substrate for nitric oxide which is a potent vasodilator. It also has antioxidant properties. Watermelon seeds contain zinc which is very important for sperm function. The antioxidants reduce oxidative stress and improve sperm function as well as sexual health."

Can Impotence/Erectile dysfunction be cured?

Erectile dysfunction (ED) can be effectively managed and treated, but whether it can be "cured" depends on the underlying causes. Some treatment options that are useful in treatment of ED include: Oral drugs or pills, Testosterone Therapy, Penile Injections, Intraurethral medication , Vacuum Erection Devices or Penile Implants

Medical Dialogues Final take:

Watermelon contains L-citrulline, an amino acid that can improve blood flow and may have some benefits in certain cases of erectile dysfunction (ED).However,  the claim of watermelon curing impotence is false.

References:

1.https://www.urologyhealth.org/urology-a-z/e/erectile-dysfunction-(ed)

2.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10718552/

3.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21195829/.