Why You Should Stop Throwing Out Cantaloupe Seeds

We all know the fleshy fruit that's sweetest in the summer — cantaloupe. Whether you cut it into wedges and wrap it in prosciutto or dice it for a tangy fruit salad, odds are you scooped the seeds out along the way and tossed them right in the trash. It's always assumed that's the right thing to do, but we are never told why. Sure those stubborn, stringy bits are messy to deal with, so it's easier to get rid of them. But what if we told you those scraggly innards have major health benefits? Would you try them?

According to Livestrong, melon seeds are saved, toasted, and eaten as a snack or salad topper in the Middle East and China. If that sounds familiar, that's because it's common in the United States to do this with pumpkin seeds. Before you go toasting and eating every seed out there, it's important to do your research to ensure each one is safe to consume, and what they do for the body.