Image from srslyguys on Flickr
By Eric Wilkins, Staff Writer
June is finally upon us, and with it comes the ever-elusive Vancouver sun—or at least an increased chance of it. With that in mind, here are a few summer-related notes to be aware of.
Watermelon seeds are perfectly safe for consumption. The popular childhood thought is that if you eat a seed, you’ll miraculously begin to grow this behemoth of a fruit inside of your stomach. The “more educated” folk will occasionally try to inform you of the dangerous chemicals contained within said seeds. Thankfully, both are so far off base that they aren’t even in the dugout. Watermelon seeds are both safe and nutritious for you.
The numbers speak for themselves. Were one to collect and consume a cup of watermelon seeds (108 grams) you would be getting (in terms of the recommended daily value) 79 per cent fat, 62 per cent protein, 14 per cent thiamin, 9 per cent riboflavin, 19 per cent niacin, 16 per cent folate, 6 per cent calcium, 44 per cent iron, 139 per cent magnesium, 82 per cent phosphorus, 20 per cent potassium, 74 per cent zinc, 37 per cent copper, and 87 per cent manganese. And if chewing on a hard seed isn’t quite your taste, it’s quite common in parts of the world to roast them first.
Hot showers are bad for sunburns. So you’ve gone out, enjoyed the sunshine, and come home to the unfortunate discovery that you’re horribly sunburned. Despite the varied and confusing advice one can receive, hot showers are a bad idea. While boiling jets of water may temporarily feel good, the aftermath won’t be pretty, as common sense would indicate. Since when do you pour hot water on any other burn? You should stay at a comfortable temperature and keep hydrated to recover from a sunburn, so a cool (not cold) or lukewarm shower is the way to go. Aloe vera is also a great way to soothe burns. Alternatively, regularly applying sunscreen to avoid this problem altogether works too.
