‘Eat watermelons to fight sickle cell’

Manama : Sickle cell activist, Zakareya Al Kadhem, is running an awareness campaign on watermelons to help reduce sickle cell disease related deaths. Al Kadhem, who is the President of Bahrain Society for Sickle Cell and Anaemia care, hopes that his campaign can help reduce the deaths related to sickle cell disease. Dehydration, he explained, is one of the main triggers for sickle cell attacks. He said that the summer months see the largest amount of sickle cell related deaths and according to him it is because of the increased instances of dehydration. He encourages sickle cell patients to eat watermelon as it is an excellent source of water and nutrients, while also having a “cooling effect’ on the body. Spreading awareness about the fruit, he asks people to take pictures of them next to watermelons to share on social media and even gift each other watermelons.

“Watermelons are amazing fruits, not only is it filled with nutrients but is an excellent source of hydration. It is tasty to eat and it keeps the body cool after having eaten it. It can be a great alternative to water because people often forget to drink water but when you have watermelon at home you would want to eat it because it is tasty. This can work even better among children. The young ones do-not remember to drink water or just don’t drink enough water because they do not understand the importance of drinking water. Many of these kids who have sickle cell disease suffer from dehydration and get a sickle cell attack because of it. So if you keep sliced watermelons on the table they will take it and eat it because they will be attracted to its taste,” he said.