Half of a cantaloupe gives you a whole ton of the essential antioxidants that help fight cancer, heart disease, and premature aging; the wonderful thing about cantaloupe is that it contains more than the recommended daily allowance for beta-carotene, as well as almost 50% more than the recommended daily allowance for vitamin C. Cantaloupe’s high vitamin C content is able to help the body produce collagen, which is really important for skin and tissue repair. I was surprised to learn this but the cantaloupe has more potassium than the potassium-rich banana. The potassium in cantaloupe helps us to eliminate excess sodium. It may keep plaque from sticking to artery walls, which is another cause of high blood pressure and heart disease; and last but not least it helps flush dangerous LDL cholesterol from the body. I like to cut up a cantaloupe into bite size pieces and snack on them throughout the day. It’s always a good idea to snack on fruit when you are hungry, because they help fulfill those hunger pangs and they don’t have a lot of calories, so you don’t need to worry about gaining weight. You can make a cantaloupe smoothie that is a wonderful treat as well, I usually add some frozen strawberries and a banana. They are very tasty and extremely nutritious.