Do Cantaloupe along with Honeydew Melons Have Acne Clearing Powers?
The melon, AKA the Cucurbitaceae family of fruits, is actually a favorite berry fruit of which there’s at least 25 varieties worldwide, many of which are actually considered to be vegetables.
Cantaloupe melons are the most favorite variety inside the United States, closely followed by honeydew melons. However, there’s a ton of obscure varieties such as the spiky horned melon, which is actually favorite in Africa, the Chinese hami melon, the Korean melon, sugar melon, along with the tiger melon. Contrary to favorite belief the watermelon is actually a type of melon.
Today though we’re only going to discuss the two “traditional” melons, cantaloupe along with honeydew, both of which have been on the menu of mankind for at least 4000 years. Cantaloupe (known as rockmelon in Australia) has been grown since ancient times inside the Nile River Valley in Egypt while honeydew melons first appeared in Egyptian hieroglyphics dating back to 2400 BC. Both Napoleon along with Pope John Paul II considered the honeydew to be their favourite fruit.
These days, cantaloupe along with honeydew melons are eaten by more people, along with more acne patients, than ever. China grows along with sells the most cantaloupes per year, nearly half the planet’s supply at 25 billion pounds per year, followed by Turkey at 3.5 billion pounds, Iran at 2.9 billion pounds, Egypt at 2.4 billion pounds along with the USA at 2.2 billion pounds. Within the USA California is actually the largest producer, growing nearly half the country’s produce, followed by Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, along with Texas.
Many melon products are raging in popularity; the practice of drying cantaloupe seeds for consumption as a tasty snack is actually widespread in Central along with South America, Asia along with the Middle East. In fact, a British start-up company recently struck a deal with the supermarket Ocado to sell Mello, a favorite melon-based drink of which’s sweeping across the Middle East like wildfire.
Hence, today we are going to continue the quest of Supernatural Acne Treatment to analyse along with rank every commonly sold fruit along with discover once along with for all whether cantaloupes along with honeydew melons clear acne, trigger acne, or do absolutely nothing for acne.
Are cantaloupe/honeydew melons rich in acne nutrition?
100 grams of cantaloupe melon, or about a bowl’s worth, contains the following vitamins along with minerals:
Vitamin C – 61%.
Magnesium – 3%.
Vitamin A – 68%.
Calcium – 1%.
Iron – 1%.
Vitamin B6 – 0%.
Vitamin E – 0%
Vitamin B12 – 0%.
Choline – 7.6mg.
Manganese – 2%.
Selenium – 1%.
Potassium – 8%.
Vitamin D – 0%.
Zinc – 1%.
Sugar – 7.9g.
ORAC score – 319.
of which’s immediately clear of which cantaloupe melon is actually a Great source of vitamin A (inside the plant-based carotenoid form) along with vitamin C. We’ve raved about those two nutrients in This kind of article along with in my eBook, so in brief, vitamin C clears acne by lowering stress hormone levels along with accelerating your production of collagen. Vitamin C is actually also the most abundant water-soluble antioxidant inside the human Centeng.
Vitamin A directly regulates your skin’s output of both keratin proteins along with the oil, sebum, the two main villains behind blocked pores along with acne. Vitamin A also accumulates in your cells along with provides a natural armour against sun-induced free radicals (also important for doing enough vitamin D).
So does This kind of nutrition mean of which melons deserve to become the completely new superfood craze for clearing acne? The answer is actually most definitely no.
Why? Simply because if you wander down to along with browse through the most ordinary market stall in nearly any country around the planet, almost all the fruits along with vegetables for sale contain just as much vitamin C. For instance: a handful of strawberries contains 97% of the recommended daily allowance per 100 grams, raspberries contain 43%, blueberries 16%, blackberries 20%, oranges 88%, along with pineapple (a surprisingly Great source actually) 79%.
of which’s only fruits; broccoli has 148% per 100 grams, kale has 0%, spinach 46%, potatoes 32%, cabbage 60%, yellow bell peppers 305%, along with red bell peppers 212%. The vitamin C in melons is actually Great for clearing acne although so mundane of which of which’s no reason to specifically hunt them down.
Likewise, vitamin A is actually spread equally far along with wide in nature. Getting your daily carbs coming from a 0 gram serving of sweet potatoes will give you 566% of the recommended daily allowance. Comparing melon to sweet potatoes is actually like comparing a rusty old Wild West bicycle to a 200mph freight train. The cantaloupe becomes completely obsolete. Similarly, 100 grams of following foods give you: 334% coming from carrots, 199% coming from kale, 148% coming from green leaf lettuce, 149% for red leaf lettuce, along with 170% coming from pumpkin.
The prospects for the poor old honeydew melon are even grimmer. The trace minerals along with vitamins are virtually identical, although there’s only 30% of the RDA for vitamin C along with just 1% for vitamin A. The lack of vitamin A is actually evident inside the green colour, as its carotenoids which provide the orange hue of cantaloupes.
The argument can be made of which cantaloupe melons are in fact unique among fruits among the few with decent amounts of vitamin A. Only mangoes (21%) along with papaya (19%) come close.
Nevertheless, of which’s only among fruits. Vitamin A is actually so common elsewhere of which This kind of standout feature pales compared to the pomegranate, for instance, which is actually one of the highest foods in antioxidants per serving overall, not just fruits, or the strawberry, a great source of both vitamin C along with antioxidants. Speaking of antioxidants, melon doesn’t contain many; the ORAC score of 319 is actually feeble compared to the strawberries with 4302. A honeydew scores only 253.
A melon’s acne antioxidants rank similarly to the pineapple (456) along with the watermelon (142), although neither cantaloupe nor honeydew develop the fascinating hidden powers of those fruits (see below). Both honeydews along with cantaloupe lack decent amounts of magnesium, which slowly although surely accumulates when you eat bananas (7% of RDA), blackberries (5%) along with raspberries (5%).
Cantaloupe/honeydew melons also lack interesting phytonutrients. Sure, the cantaloupe features a handful of carotenoid antioxidants like lutein, although compare of which to the Great old banana which comes drenched in medicinal compounds like rutin, quercetin, kaempferol, along with tryptophan.
Melon-lovers might argue of which science has not identified the medicinal compounds in melon yet, along with of which’s definitely possible. However, the same argument can be made for bananas as well.
When of which comes to nutrition, the vitamin A content of cantaloupe melons (although not honeydews) is actually the only claim to fame, along with not the best one anyway.
Do melons have unique acne-clearing powers?
Most fruits are highly complex in not just their basic vitamins along with minerals, although also their never-ending array of smaller plant compounds along with phytonutrients. Hence, one thing you also have to look for is actually unique medicinal powers which benefit acne. Take the following fruits:
Strawberries – a stellar source of vitamin C along with varied antioxidants, combined with low sugar.
Pineapple – contains bromelain, which enhances protein digestion along with lowers inflammation.
Pomegranate – contains phytonutrients which inhibit the creation of stress hormones. The best fruit for antioxidants.
Watermelon – increases nitric oxide levels due its l-citrulline content.
Oranges – great for vitamin C along with may detoxify elevated estrogen levels.
Red grapes – contain resveratrol, a famous phytonutrient used in supplements which increases your Centeng’s generation of its own antioxidants.
Bananas – may lower stress thanks to rutin along with kaempferol. Also contains some bromelain.
Unfortunately if you’re a fan of melon, neither cantaloupe nor honeydew have any such powers. An extensive trawling of all available studies reveals nothing.
currently, the lack of one gimmick or standout power could be forgiven if melon has some genuinely solid nutrition for acne. For example, blueberries are not unique at all, although they’re still a top notch acne fruit because their powers to lower inflammation along with oxidative stress are more potent than usual.
In fact, most fruits at least have some power to lower inflammation whether modest like apples or strong like blueberries.
However, melon may lack even This kind of standard fruit power. There is actually This kind of one promising study:
- Scientists led by Dr I Vouldoukis wished to test the anti-inflammatory along with antioxidant powers of a cantaloupe melon extract. Thus they applied the extract to cells in a culture along with analysed alterations inside the production of the pro- along with anti-inflammatory cytokines, specifically TNF-alpha along with interleukin-10. The results showed of which the cantaloupe melon extract had anti-inflammatory properties which were mostly caused by its ability to improve the anti-inflammatory IL-10. In a second section of the study, scientists injected some mice with either a placebo or the cantaloupe melon extract (CME), while also injecting them with the pro-inflammatory chemical IFN-gamma. The melon-injected mice enjoyed more protection against inflammation. Therefore, the scientists concluded of which the cantaloupe melon extract had anti-inflammatory properties.
of which’s a decent study for cantaloupe melons, although of which’s only one study. Apples, oranges, strawberries along with others all have a handful of great inflammation studies to their name. Furthermore, the first part is actually in vitro, or on cells, not on living humans with all their bodies’ complexities. The second section is actually on mice which, while decent test subjects, are obviously not identical to humans.
To determine a real benefit for inflammation of which’s optimal to get several different studies to examine both different circumstances along with defences against different inflammatory-chemicals; the IFN gamma which the injection of cantaloupe melon extract could defend against is actually an individual pro-inflammatory chemical among an immune system arsenal of many. of which’s Great to get studies on different animals – if the study is actually only on mice although there’s several similar ones on humans along with rats too, then its fair game.
Alternatively, you have to know of which the fruit has compounds which themselves have been proven to be anti-inflammatory such as resveratrol in grapes or pterostilbene in blueberries.
Elsewhere there’s nearly no research on some other conditions behind acne. There’s no clear research linking melons to lowered stress levels, much better insulin sensitivity, higher glutathione production, along with improvements in sleep deprivation, gut health, or acne directly.
For some reason nobody has bothered to research cantaloupe or honeydew melons at all. Either of which, or scientists across the planet are well aware of how little nutritional power melons possess along with hence steer well clear.
Cantaloupe along with honeydew melons do have some Great points. For instance, they’re both low in sugar for fruits, with 7.9 grams along with 8.1 grams respectively. They’re also low in FODMAPs, poorly digested carbohydrates which cause digestive difficulties along with acne in many people.
Neither cantaloupe nor honeydew melons have any obvious compounds of which could cause acne, with the exception being if you have a random allergy. However, they also only contain about 1 gram of fiber per 100 grams thereby won’t feed your healthy gut bacteria like apples or bananas.
History reveals no benefits for acne either
One of the most interesting ways to determine a food’s effect on health is actually to research the path of which once forged through history.
For instance, we inside the twenty-first century know through science of which bananas are a healthy food, although numerous ancient civilisations realised the same solely through their experiences with of which.
Archaeologists along with historians believe of which the domestic banana first originated coming from the Kuk valley of completely new Guinea in 8000BC. Since then, bananas have been used for treating hangovers, stained teeth, sugar cravings, mosquito bites, indigestion, obsessive food cravings, along with kidney stones by various schools of medicine around the planet.
With melons, we know they’ve been around a heck of a long time along with are eaten just about everywhere. Cantaloupe first originated in either Middle East or India, along with the melon was known to be grown by ancient Egyptians along with Romans. Cantaloupe was first introduced to Europe way back inside the 15th century along with quickly became a favorite fruit due to its sweetness.
Cantaloupe melons are actually named after the papal gardens of Cantaloupe, Italy, where some historians believe This kind of species of melon was first grown in Europe. Cantaloupe melons were first introduced to North America by Christopher Columbus during his second voyage to the continent in 1494.
Honeydews meanwhile, have been around for even longer. Expert historians believe of which honeydew melons were first cultivated in Northern Africa along with Persia nearly 4,000 years ago. Honeydews were later a tasty favourite of the ancient Greeks along with Romans. They were introduced to western along with northern Europe during the Middle Ages just like cantaloupes, along with Again, Christopher Columbus was the man who brought honeydew seeds to the Americas along with allowed future generations to enjoy them.
Honeydew melons have been present in California since 1683, when they were introduced by Spanish missionaries. They remained favorite in Europe for hundreds of years where, as I mentioned earlier, Napoleon was obsessed with them.
Yet throughout humanity’s long history of consuming melon, there are very few stories of of which being used for warts, or inflammation, or wounds, or as an aphrodisiac, or for hangovers, or for any medicinal purpose.
This kind of is actually yet more confirmation of which cantaloupe along with honeydew melons are at the bottom of the pile for healthy along with hence acne-clearing fruits.
Conclusion – one of the weakest fruits for acne
Both cantaloupe melons along with honeydew melons have decent amounts of vitamin C, although a serious shortage of any unique properties for acne patients. Perhaps the best feature for acne is actually the cantaloupe’s high levels of vitamin A, although even of which power can be found elsewhere with ease.
If you’re specifically targeting a fruit of which will maximise your intake of acne nutrients, you’ll be better off with strawberries, pineapples, pomegranates, or almost any some other fruit. Melons rank very low inside the halls of acne-clearing fruits along with are about equal to green grapes along with pears.
Despite all of which a nice sweet bowl of cantaloupe melon is actually still easily better for your skin than a chocolate chip muffin or a slice of cake. Furthermore, there’s no reason to avoid of which unless you’re trying to push your sugar intake to the absolute minimum.
Hence, if you’re a huge fan of cantaloupe or honeydew melon along with already feasting on a bowl per day, of which’s a great idea for acne to keep going.
NEXT: the acne-clearing powers of bananas
Thanks for reading!