This Delicious Fruit May Help Balance Blood Sugar & Boost HRV
Key takeaways
- Author: Ava Durgin May 01, 2026Assistant Health Editor By Ava Durgin Assistant Health Editor Ava Durgin is the former Assistant Health Editor at mindbodygreen.
- To find out, researchers asked 18 healthy young adults to drink either watermelon juice or a placebo drink every day for two weeks.
- The researchers then measured a key marker of nervous system health called heart rate variability (HRV), both before and after the sugar challenge.
Why this matters: practical guidance grounded in recent research or expert insight.
Author: Ava Durgin May 01, 2026Assistant Health Editor By Ava Durgin Assistant Health Editor Ava Durgin is the former Assistant Health Editor at mindbodygreen. She holds a B.A. in Global Health and Psychology from Duke University.Image by Ania Boniecka / Stocksy May 01, 2026If you think of watermelon as just a refreshing fruit, it might be time to reconsider. Yes, it’s delicious and hydrating, but research 1suggests it could also be a smart choice for your heart and nervous system, especially in the face of rising blood sugar.
To find out, researchers asked 18 healthy young adults to drink either watermelon juice or a placebo drink every day for two weeks. At the end of the study, everyone completed a glucose challenge, which means they drank a sugary beverage so scientists could see how their body responded.
The researchers then measured a key marker of nervous system health called heart rate variability (HRV), both before and after the sugar challenge. HRV looks at the tiny changes in time between each heartbeat, and it tells us how well the nervous system is bouncing between “fight or flight” and “rest and digest” mode. The higher your HRV, the more adaptable and resilient your body is.