We seldom think about fruits as providing a broad spectrum of
nutrients. In addition, when this food group gets placed in the
nutritional spotlight, it’s usually berries that get first mention among
the nutritional standouts. Yet judging from its nutrient profile,
cantaloupe is a fruit that should get us thinking differently about
fruit and nourishment. This member of the melon family receives 10
rankings in our food rating system—the same number as raspberries, 1
more than strawberries, and 6 more than blueberries. Cantaloupe scores
an “excellent” for both vitamin C and vitamin A (in the form of
carotenoids). It scores “very good” for potassium, and “good” for a host
of B vitamins (B1, B3, B6, and folate) as well as vitamin K, magnesium,
and fiber. When the edible seeds of the cantaloupe are eaten, this
melon also provides a measurable about of omega-3 fat in the form of
alpha-linolenic acid.
Cantaloupe contains more beta-carotene than alpha-carotene. But
because it contains both of these carotenoids, it also contains both of
their derivatives, including lutein in the case of alpha-carotene and
beta-cryptoxanthin and zeaxanthin in the case of beta-carotene. These
carotenoid phytonutrients are joined by the flavonoid luteolin,
antioxidant organic acids including ferulic and caffeic acid, and
anti-inflammatory cucurbitacins, including cucurbitacin B and
cucurbitacin E. The nutrient diversity of cantaloupe is perhaps its most
overlooked health benefit!
Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Support
As evidenced by the preceding list of phytonutrients, cantaloupe’s
nutritional strong suit involves its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory
nutrients. Even while it is relatively low in concentration of certain
nutrients (like total polyphenols) in comparison to other fruits,
cantaloupe still provides us with important amounts because we tend to
eat it in larger serving sizes than other fruits.
Many researchers understand metabolic syndrome—a group of health
problems that includes high blood fats, high blood sugars, high blood
pressure, and too much body fat—to be caused by problems in lifestyle
that result in chronic underlying levels of unwanted inflammation and
oxidative stress throughout the body. In this context, it’s not
surprising to see decreased risk of metabolic syndrome in individuals
with especially high intake of cantaloupe (along with other fruits),
since cantaloupe provides a wide range of antioxidants that help prevent
oxidative stress and a wide range of anti-inflammatory phytonutrients
that help prevent excessive inflammation. It’s also not surprising to
see lower levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the bloodstream of
persons who have particularly high intake of cantaloupe, since CRP is a
marker widely used to assess levels of inflammation in the body. One
final important note: in the study that documented these benefits of
cantaloupe for prevention of metabolic syndrome, “high” intake meant at
least 12 ounces of total fruit per day. Since cantaloupe was one of five
fruits making a special contribution to these 12 ounces, we assume that
few of the study participants would go one whole week without consuming
cantaloupe. That approach might help all of us increase our protection
from unwanted inflammation and oxidative stress.
Other Health Benefits
Unfortunately, most of the other studies that we have seen on the
health benefits of cantaloupe are studies conducted on animals rather
than humans. This aspect of the research limits our certainty about the
health benefits for humans. However, especially promising in the animal
research has been studies related to diabetes. Researchers have shown
that intake of cantaloupe phytonutrients can improve insulin and blood
sugar metabolism. In addition, intake of cantaloupe extracts has been
show to reduce oxidative stress in the kidneys of animals with diabetes,
and to improve insulin resistance in diabetic animals.
Given the benefits of cantaloupe for prevention of metabolic
syndrome, we would expect to see future studies showing clear health
benefits for this melon in the area of heart disease, including
atherosclerosis. Many heart-related problems start out with chronic
unwanted inflammation and chronic oxidative stress. Hopefully, it won’t
be long before we have large-scale human studies documenting benefits in
this important area.
Description
The fruit widely known as “cantaloupe” throughout the U.S. is
actually muskmelon. When we purchase “cantaloupe” in a U.S. grocery
store, what we’re used to seeing is an outer surface that consists of
“netting”—an orderly mosaic pattern – that sits atop and covers the
outermost skin (rind). We may or may not also see “ribbing” on the
cantaloupe (“ribbing” in the sense of lines running from one end of the
cantaloupe to the other, like the seams on a basketball). But if we do
see ribbing, it is not usually very heavy or very deep., Melons with a
very developed and orderly netting and only mild-to-moderate ribbing are
not true cantaloupes but rather muskmelons (
Cucumis melo var
reticulatus).
Cantaloupes (
Cucumis melo var
cantalupensis) typically
lack an extensive, orderly netting and they have ribs (also called
“sutures”) that are much heavier and more deeply grooved. In addition,
true cantaloupes are grown almost exclusively in other parts of the
world (and especially in the Mediterranean region). In fact, the name
“cantaloupe” actually comes from the name of a town in Italy near Rome
called Cantaloupo in Sabina, where seeds were brought from Armenia and
planted in the Papal gardens during the 1400-1500′s.) Despite this
misnaming of “cantaloupes” in the U.S. marketplace however, from hereon
we’re going to stick with this common U.S. practice and refer to
muskmelons as cantaloupes.
Cantaloupes are members of the cucurbit family of plants (
Cucurbitaceae)
that also includes cucumbers, pumpkins, squashes, gourds, and a long
list of melons. Melons in this same plant family with cantaloupe include
Watermelon
and honeydew melon, along with crenshaw, casaba, Persian, and canary
melon. Because many members of the cucurbit plant family can easily
cross-pollinate, there are also many different hybrid melons in the
marketplace that combine features of true cantaloupe with features of
these other melons.
The ripe flesh of a cantaloupe can vary in color depending on the
hybrid. “Jenny Linds” are one example of a green-fleshed hybrid;
“Athena” and “Ambrosia” hybrids have salmon-colored flesh; and the flesh
of the Gurney’s (TM) hybrids typically has a rich orange color.
Cantaloupes have a hollow cavity in their center that is filled with
edible seeds. In some parts of the world, cantaloupes are known as
“rockmelons.”
If you read about cantaloupe across the Internet, you may find a good
bit of inconsistency involving the language used to describe the parts
of this fruit. Some websites use the words “top” and “bottom” when
describing cantaloupes. Other websites use “stem end” and “blossom end.”
Still others use “vine end” and “end opposite the vine end.” As such,
we wanted to clarify this topic.
When a plant flowers, no fruit forms until pollination (either self
pollination or preferably cross pollination). Once pollination has
occurred, fruit can begin to form. As the fruit forms, the flower will
fall away. The spot where the flower was will become one end of the
fruit, and it is called the blossom end. The stem end, of course, will
be the end where the fruit remains connected to the plant. If the fruit
is an apple, its weight and relationship to the tree branch will
typically cause it to hang down from the branch, creating two ends that
are truly “top” and “bottom.”
But with a fruit like a cantaloupe which sits on the ground, the vine
will typically lie alongside of the fruit in such a way that the ends
would be more logically described as being on the sides of the
cantaloupe, rather on its top and its bottom. Still, the word “top” is
sometimes used to refer to the stem end of a cantaloupe, and the word
“bottom” is sometimes used to refer to the blossom end.
Source: health digezt
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