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Every fruit has its season, which is why I treasure all of the
seasons because I get to enjoy a variety of fruits throughout the
year. But the summertime is a particularly sensational season for me
because I get to eat a lot of one of – if not the most – nutritious
and delicious fruits around: cantaloupe.
Sure, I could eat a lot of
cantaloupe throughout the year. But because cantaloupe is at the
height of its season in the summer months, the cost is at its |
lowest, so – being somewhat of a spendthrift – I like to take
advantage of its nutritional value in the summertime as opposed to other
seasons when I take advantage of other in-season fruits (e.g. Oranges in the
winter, for instance).
But the low cost of cantaloupe in the summertime is not the only reason I
like to eat more of them then than in the spring or fall. It’s also because
they are at their peak of antioxidant-richness. A study conducted at the
University of Innsbruck in Austria found that the antioxidants in cantaloupe
were at their highest when they were their ripest. In fact, according to
their research, fruits in general were found to have more antioxidant value
when they were at their ripest.
There are many other great things to appreciate about cantaloupe, including
just how nutrient-dense they are, despite their low-calorie content. Just a
cup of cantaloupe has about 50 calories, but that one cup contains all of
the vitamin A you need in a day (and then some), all the vitamin C you need
in a day (and then some), and 10 percent of the vitamin B you need in a day.
Vitamin B has been in the headlines recently as researchers from Tufts
University found that a significant number of Americans are believed to be
deficient in vitamin B. Vitamin B is not a fat soluble vitamin (fat soluble
vitamins= vitamins A,D,E,K) so it doesn’t carry the same cachet as, say,
vitamin A or vitamin D. But its relative lack of “popularity” among its
peers shouldn’t suggest that it’s not as important as the more well-known
vitamins. In fact, someone deficient in vitamin B is more likely to be
depressed, as it plays a role in the development of the neurotransmitter
serotonin.
All this said, you might be unfamiliar with what makes for a truly ripe
cantaloupe, thus robbing you of its full nutritional value. If cutting into
a cantaloupe before you bought it were allowed, you’d know whether or not it
was ripe simply by looking at its flesh. The richness of the orange and how
green the rind is (the greener the rind is, the less ripe it is) would tell
you all you need to know. This being against the rules – and for good
reason, by the way – you can tell by the firmness of the cantaloupe. A truly
ripe cantaloupe should have a little give to it when you squeeze it, but not
so much give that your fingers could actually poke through its gruff
exterior. Another way is to smell the cantaloupe by sniffing the cantaloupe
at its stem end. It should have a sweet smell to it; if you can’t smell
anything, it’s probably not going to taste like anything, either. That
doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy it, of course. Just leave it out of the
refrigerator for a day or two before cutting into one.
When it comes to fruit, you can’t go wrong with cantaloupe!More
Health Conditions and Topics
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