As sweetly delicious as a watermelon is, we’d love to call it a fruit. In fact, I’ve always considered it to be a fruit—and so has anyone I’ve ever talked about watermelon with! That’s why I found it so surprising that the watermelon is actually a member of the Cucurbitaceae, or cucumber family, making it a vegetable.  It’s also related to pumpkin and squash.

Watermelons have a multitude of health benefits. It may help reduce inflammation, therefore reducing the effects of asthma, colon cancer, atherosclerosis, arthritis and diabetes. They are full of vitamin C, B vitamins, and vitamin A, as well as lycopene, which is an antioxidant known to help neutralize free radicals in the body. Eating watermelon and drinking green tea regularly may even help ward off prostate cancer, period.

Watermelon only has about 48 calories in a whole cup of fruit, so you can eat your fill without worrying about adding to your figure. It’s also full of water, which makes you full faster—and makes watermelon a great dieting food. They’re also full of potassium and fiber, and as sweet as watermelons are, they only have about 5% sugar content—half of that of an apple.

Did you know that watermelons may also have a Viagra effect? Men on medication may wish to try that as a possible alternative. The amino acid that creates this effect, arginine, can also lower blood pressure and improve insulin sensitivity in people with insulin resistance.

Since watermelon is in season right now, why not treat yourself to one this weekend?

We always liked scooping out watermelon with ice cream scoops when I was a kid. That always yielded a big, gorgeous ball of ripe red fruit to enjoy. Here are a few other ways to enjoy some watermelon this summer:

• Add it to your fizzy drinks—it’s a great garnish for light soda
• Make watermelon gazpacho or compote
• Mix it up in a smoothie
• Serve it as a side dish with spicy foods to create balance
• Whip up some watermelon pudding
• Chop it up and freeze it for yummy, low-cal ice pops
• Make one of those gorgeous watermelon boats you see all of the time
• For grown-up gatherings, some people like to fill a watermelon with vodka and chill it overnight
• Create pickles with your watermelon rinds
• Slice it up and eat it the way it is, spitting out the seeds as far as you can