Health Benefits of Cantaloupes (original) (raw)

It's a juicy, orange summer fruit that's related to the watermelon and honeydew melon. It also belongs to the same plant family as cucumbers, pumpkins, squashes, and gourds.

The semisweet cantaloupes most familiar to people in the U.S. are a type of muskmelon called Cucumis melo reticulatus. Reticulatus means "net-like" in Latin and refers to the cantaloupe's rough, webbed outer skin.

Cantaloupe vs. honeydew

Most fruits contain mostly water. But cantaloupe and honeydew are among the juiciest fruits, with water of about 90 percent.

You can easily tell the two fruits apart. Cantaloupes are round and less sweet with a softer flesh than honeydew. Their rind color can range from light green to tan. Honeydews, on the other hand, have a light green rind and flesh and more of a round to slightly oval shape than cantaloupe.

There are also a couple of key nutritional differences between the two melons. Cantaloupe has twice as much vitamin C as honeydew, with about 100% of your daily value (compared with 51% in honeydew) in a 1-cup serving.

Compared with honeydew melons, cantaloupes pack a lot more beta-carotene, an antioxidant whose pigment gives fruits an orange or yellow color. Beta-carotene converts into vitamin A, which supports immunity, skin, bone, and eye health.

Cantaloupe vs. muskmelon

Muskmelons are any variety of melons with netted rinds that belong to the gourd family, including cantaloupes. All cantaloupes are muskmelons, but not all muskmelons are cantaloupes. Cantaloupes are the most popular type of muskmelon. Honeydews are also muskmelons, along with casaba melons and Persian melon.

Cantaloupes can be a great addition to your diet. One cup of fresh cubes of cantaloupe counts as one serving. It has 53 calories, 6% of your daily serving of fiber, about 1 gram of protein, and zero fat and cholesterol.

Cantaloupes are also low in carbohydrates, with 13 grams per 1-cup serving. When you eat fruits that are low in carbohydrates, you can eat larger amounts and better manage your blood glucose levels.

They pack:

Cantaloupes are also full of other vitamins and minerals, including:

Cantaloupes contain compounds called phytonutrients with anti-inflammatory properties. Long-term inflammation can damage your cells and lead to diabetes, cancer, and other diseases.

Cantaloupes also may:

Cantaloupes are one of the most common fruits and vegetables involved in foodborne illnesses. Their textured, net-like rind can trap bacteria that cause illness.

It's best to wash the outside of a new cantaloupe right before you cut it open. Wash it under running water with a vegetable brush and rinse your knife after each cut to avoid contamination.

Too much of the vitamins and minerals in cantaloupes can sometimes cause problems:

One of the most popular ways to eat a cantaloupe is raw, either on its own or mixed with other fruits as part of a fruit salad. Other easy ways to enjoy a cantaloupe include:

Add it to a salad. Add pieces of a cantaloupe to any salad for a sweet touch. In fruit salads, it mixes well with berries, mangoes, and avocados.

Have it for breakfast. Create a breakfast parfait with layers of Greek yogurt, granola, and the fruit. Or use a cantaloupe half as the bowl itself and fill it with yogurt and toppings.

Chill it for soup. Puree the fruit until smooth. Wisk in citrus juices (orange, lime, lemon) and a bit of honey, cinnamon, and salt.

Eat the seeds . Like pumpkin seeds, you can roast cantaloupe seeds for a delicious treat and enjoy them in recipes year round.

Roast the cleaned seeds in the oven. Eat them plain for a healthy snack, add them to granola, or sprinkle them on top of soups or salads.

Other ways to enjoy it include:

You can buy whole cantaloupes at most grocery stores. Melons are often picked before they're fully ripe so they stay fresh longer.

If a cantaloupe feels heavier than you expect and has a deep, dull sound when you tap on it, it's most likely ready to eat.

You should also check the color of the rind. Ripe cantaloupes are cream- or yellow-colored with no signs of green or gray.

Cantaloupe varieties

The type of cantaloupe you get in the store may depend on where you live. Some of the more popular varieties include:

As cantaloupes are grown on the ground, their skin may be contaminated by bacteria. There is a link between illness caused by Salmonella and eating a cut cantaloupe, as the bacteria from the rind can transfer to the fruit when it's cut. It's important to safely prepare and store cantaloupes.

Storing. When you pick up a cantaloupe from the grocery store and bring it home, you can place it on the counter for up to 1 or 2 days, as unripened fruits can be left at room temperature. This may even help keep the flavor of the cantaloupe.

Wash the melon when you're ready to cut it, as moisture on the skin can lead to mold growth. Wash your hands before and after cutting a cantaloupe and use a clean knife and cutting area.

Keep cut melons in the fridge. They can stay for up to 4 days, depending on the original ripeness.

Be careful where you place cantaloupes. As a part of their ripening process, they give off a gas called ethylene. Storing cantaloupes away from certain fruits and vegetables that are sensitive to this gas, including kiwi, cucumbers, avocado, and broccoli, is important because it can cause this produce to spoil faster.

Freezing. It's best to freeze cantaloupes that are ripe. Cut them into balls, cubes, or slices. After freezing them, use them while they're still chilled.

Cantaloupes are full of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water. Adding these fruits, including the seeds, to your diet can help keep your blood pressure in check and keep your bowel movements regular. One to 2 cups daily can give you many of these health benefits.

Both pack a hydration punch, but cantaloupe beats watermelon when it comes to vitamins A and C, potassium, and fiber content.

The FDA recommends healthy adults eat 1.5-2 cups of fruit a day. One cup of diced or balled cantaloupe is a good amount to get the nutritional benefits.

Eating cantaloupe isn't likely to make you poop right away. But including cantaloupe in your diet will increase your water and fiber intake, which is good for regular bowel movements.