When the warm weather hits and cantaloupes make their first appearance at the Farmer’s Market my kids are in heaven. We buy plenty of it and even the kids in the neighborhood come over for this treat. They get just as excited about cantaloupe as popsicles. That is fine by me because I would rather serve a healthy treat than give frozen sugar. Cantaloupes are so good you can forget they are good for you. My 7 year old asked me the other day if they were good for you and how. She is a very inquisitive child and knows I enjoy offering healthy food and perhaps enjoy talking about the benefits just as much. However, I was at a loss for words. I had no idea of the health benefits of cantaloupes so I had to do a bit of research. Here is what I found.
Health Benefits of Cantaloupes
Cantaloupes have one of the highest amounts of vitamin A among other fruits. Vitamin A is a powerful antioxidant and needed for healthy vision.
Eating fruits high in Vitamin A, like cantaloupes, helps protect the body from lung and oral cancers.
It also is rich in antioxidant flavoniods such as beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin and cryptoxanthin which protection against colon, prostate, breast, endometrial, lung, and pancreatic cancers.
Good for heart rate and blood pressure since it is high in potassium.
B-complex vitamins, such as niacin, pantothenic acid and vitamin C and minerals like manganese are richly found in cantaloupes.
In addition, it may help reduce stress due to potassium which aids in normalizing heartbeat and gets oxygen to the brain.
So there are many reasons to eat cantaloupe other than it just tastes great. So grab a melon and perhaps you can reduce stress and give your body an extra edge to protect against certain cancers.