Watermelon Drink Ideas: Ayurveda’s View on Watermelon

Sweet n’ juicy and sporting thrilling hot pink, watermelon beckons us all summer-long, but is it possible to eat too much of a good thing and do harm to your digestion?

Absolutely! It’s pretty easy to overdo it, or consume watermelon the wrong way.

I see people online asking questions about watermelon’s sugar content, water content, and glycemic index, as well as whether watermelon can cause (or relieve) constipation, diarrhea, gas, and/or bloating.

I’m here to tell you everything you need to know to maximize the digestibility and enjoyment of your watermelon.

It might not be what you think—especially since many watermelon recipes are a recipe for disaster—so be sure to read on!

I’ve also got a few amazing watermelon drink ideas I think you’ll love.

Jump to:

• Is watermelon hydrating?
• Get your FREE cookbook!
• Is watermelon nourishing?
• Is watermelon cooling?
• Does watermelon cause gas?
• Is watermelon a laxative?
• Glycemic index
• Get Your Smoothies & Drinks Ultimate Guide
• Watermelon pairings
• Watermelon drink ideas
• Watermelon Iced Tea
• Watermelon, Lime & Ginger Juice
• Other recipes you may enjoy
• Tried this recipe? We’d love your review!

Is watermelon hydrating?

Let’s start with the #1 myth about watermelon. Everybody thinks that since watermelon is 92-95% water, it must be hydrating.

It turns out that watermelon may only quench your thirst temporarily.

Due to its high potassium content, watermelon has a diuretic effect that promotes urination, ultimately leading to dryness.

Still, it’s a great thing to eat watermelon—especially in the summer—because watermelon is cooling and anti-inflammatory, so its going to flush heat and inflammation out of the urinary tract (helpful for UTIs).

This is especially helpful for water retention and edema, as the diuretic effect from watermelon will help you flush out that excess water.

And, when it comes to hydration, there is still some good stuff going for it.

Watermelon is high in electrolytes, such as potassium, magnesium, phosphorous, folate, and calcium.

This means that your 92-95% water has a better chance than regular water of being absorbed into your cells while it makes its way through your digestive tract.

Is watermelon nourishing?

After just a few bites of watermelon, it seems to have a powerful energizing effect on the physiology.

This is due to antioxidant and inflammatory benefits, combined with abundant natural sugars, making watermelon a great way to relieve summer fatigue due to the heat.

According to EasyAyurveda, watermelon is said to nourish all the bodily tissues.

That includes the lymph, blood, muscle, fat, bone, nervous system and reproductive system.

Watermelon may even improve strength and virility.

I’ll take some of that!

Is watermelon cooling?

Like most orange, red, purple, and yellow foods, watermelon is high in beta carotene, an antioxidant that is known to cool the blood and relax the eyes.

In Ayurveda, the traditional system of healthcare from India that I practice, watermelon is used to relieve burning sensations due to its anti-inflammatory effect.

It is also especially Pitta pacifying. Pitta is represented by the fire and water elements, and in people with a lot of fire in their constitution.

If you want to learn your Ayurvedic body type, you can take my short 5-min quiz to find out.

Does watermelon cause gas?

Watermelon is a fruit that’s low in fiber and high in sugar, so it digests very quickly.

For this reason, according to Ayurveda, it’s essential to consume watermelon on an empty stomach, and away from other food.

This is because if there’s food digesting in your stomach that takes longer to digest, it will cause the watermelon to get stuck, leading to fermentation and gas.

So watermelon will cause gas and bloating if you mix it with other foods.

That means you can just say no to all those fancy watermelon recipes you find online that combine watermelon with cheese, vegetables, and so on.

Is watermelon a laxative?

According to EasyAyurveda, watermelon is a laxative, but there isn’t much information available to back that up.

Basic hydration does help with easier bowel movements, so that’s a given, but allrecipes has an even better explanation.

It’s the high sugar content. The high sugar content in watermelon can irritate the colon, this being a bigger potential issue for people with IBS, or other digestive disorders.

When the colon is irritated, it can trigger a need to purge, which explains why some people even find that watermelon causes diarrhea. 

Glycemic index

Is watermelon high in sugar, or high on the glycemic index? Watermelon is about 6% sugar, and that is considered high on the glycemic index.

Watermelon has a high glycemic index of 72-80, which means it could easily spike your blood sugar levels.

However, like most foods, how much it will spike your sugar is a function of portion size.

Healthline breaks it down pretty well, and suggests that a small 1-cup serving of watermelon has what would be considered a low glycemic response.

So everything in moderation right?

Watermelon pairings

Earlier I said that watermelon doesn’t pair well with cheese or vegetables.

This is because watermelon digests very quickly. Due to its high sugar content it also ferments quickly when combined with other foods.

So you don’t want to combine watermelon (or any melon) with other foods and risk terrible gas and bloating.

Instead, enhance your watermelon with seasonings like lemon, lime, salt, sugar, herbs like basil or mint, cardamom, or red chili powder. These won’t harm your digestion.

Watermelon drink ideas

One of my favorite ways to enjoy watermelon is with a small amount of pomegranate juice.

It’s also lovely blended just with fresh lime juice, and a bit of unrefined sugar.

I know the sugar is decadent, since watermelon has so much sugar already, but it’s really good!

If you have it with sugar, just have a smaller portion, and you should be fine.

Watermelon is a healthy summer treat after all.

Below, I am sharing 2 watermelon drink recipes that I think you will love.

The first drink recipe lowers the sugar by combining the watermelon juice with herbal tea. This is balance at its finest.

The second drink recipe adds lime and fresh ginger to help with digestion of the watermelon and added unrefined sugar. This choice is more of a flavor bomb that will really feel like a treat.

I love both of these recipes, and I hope you do too!

Other recipes you may enjoy

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