The humble cantaloupe may not get as much respect as other fruits, but it should.
This tasty, although odd-looking, melon is packed with nutrients. If you don’t think about nabbing a cantaloupe each time you hit your grocery store’s produce section, read on to learn why you may want to think again.
Adding fruit of any kind to your diet is beneficial. Cantaloupe, a variety of musk melon, is a particularly good choice.
When it comes to beta-carotene, cantaloupe knocks other yellow-orange fruits out of the park.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), cantaloupe has more beta- carotene than:
- apricots
- grapefruit
- oranges
- peaches
- tangerines
- nectarines
- mangoes
An early study determined that orange-flesh melons like cantaloupe have the same amount of beta-carotene as carrots.
Beta-carotene is a type of carotenoid. Carotenoids are pigments that give fruits and vegetables their bright colors. Once eaten, beta-carotene is either converted into vitamin A or acts as a powerful antioxidant to help fight free radicals that attack cells in your body.
Vitamin A is important to:
- eye health
- healthy red blood cells
- a healthy immune system
2. Vitamin C
According to the USDA, 1 cup of balled cantaloupe contains over 100 percent of the recommended daily value (DV) of vitamin C. According to the Mayo Clinic, vitamin C is involved in the production of:
- blood vessels
- cartilage
- muscle
- collagen in bones
More research is needed on vitamin C to prove its effectiveness against diseases like:
- asthma
- cancer
- diabetes
However, eating vitamin C-rich foods may help reduce how long your symptoms last the next time you have the common cold.
A Cochrane Library review found vitamin C reduced the length of the common cold in adults by 8 percent. In children, the time span of having a cold was reduced by 14 percent.
