The Agricultural Research Service (ARS), has fiddled with nature, coming up with two new varieties of watermelon. One version contains more than 50 percent less sugar than the conventionally grown variety, and the other is middle-of-the-road as far as sweetness goes.Over decades, breeders have selected the sweetest tasting melons, leading to natural watermelons with a much sweeter taste than those available a couple of generations ago. Plant geneticist Angela Davis decided to engineer the reduced-sugar melon so that the 20 million diabetics would be able to indulge in the fruit as well. The low-sugar version is said to still be a great source of lycopene (antioxidant), vitamin A and potassium.Unfortunately, this ScienceBlog writer makes the horrible mistake of recommending sprinkling artificial sweetener on the watermelon if you still want the sweetness without the calories. Please. Do NOT use artificial sweeteners to re-sweeten this, or any other, low-sugar treat. Artificial sweeteners are a dangerous scam that will ruin your health! If you still use artificial sweeteners (whether it be Splenda, NutraSweet or Equal) you need to see the video "Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World," and take charge of your own health--because the creators of these toxins sure won't.
Science Blog July 19, 2007