Cantaloupe

Why cantaloupe is rated low

Cantaloupe is low FODMAP at about ¾ cup (120g), a good bowl of cubes with breakfast or as a snack. The FODMAP that builds as you eat more is fructans: larger portions move cantaloupe into moderate territory, and much larger portions are high. So it is the total amount on the plate that decides how a serving lands. Melon is easy to eat quickly, which is exactly why knowing where the low serve ends is worth it.

What changes your risk

• Serving size is the whole story About ¾ cup (120g) is low, larger portions are moderate and much larger portions are high. Cut melon disappears fast from a bowl at a barbecue or a breakfast buffet, so the step past the low serve is easy to take.
• Spreading it across the day The same day's melon is easier to manage when a serving at breakfast and another in the afternoon are kept apart rather than eaten in one sitting.
• Juice and smoothies concentrate it Blending or juicing melon packs several servings into one glass and leaves the fibre behind, so a melon drink is not equivalent to a serving of fruit.
• Dried melon is a different food Drying removes the water and concentrates what remains, so dried melon strips and candied melon bear no relation to the fresh serving size.
• The rest of the fruit plate counts A low rating applies to the serving, not the meal. Cantaloupe piled onto a platter with other fruit adds to the meal's total FODMAP load even where each fruit on its own is low.

What else works

Within its serving, cantaloupe keeps company with strawberries, blueberries, oranges, mandarins and pineapple, all of which fill the same fresh, sweet, cut-fruit role on a platter. The melon to keep clear of is watermelon, which is not low and turns up in exactly the same fruit salads, kebabs and buffet trays as cantaloupe. Melon-flavoured drinks, sorbets and juices are also not the fresh fruit, since juicing concentrates several servings into a glass.

How to keep it low

Choose a melon that feels heavy for its size with a sweet smell at the stem end, since an underripe one gets eaten in larger amounts chasing the flavour. Cube the whole melon after cutting and portion it into containers of about ¾ cup (120g) straight away rather than leaving a big bowl in the fridge to graze from, because that is where a larger portion happens without anyone noticing. Cut melon keeps a few days chilled and covered, and frozen cubes blend into a chilled treat. At buffets and shared platters, watermelon and cantaloupe are usually cut into the same shapes and mixed together, so it is worth separating them onto the plate rather than sorting by eye later.

Common questions

how much cantaloupe is low fodmap

About ¾ cup (120g) is low. At larger portions cantaloupe moves into the moderate range, and much larger portions are high.

is cantaloupe ok on the elimination phase

Yes, at about ¾ cup (120g). Cantaloupe is low FODMAP at that serve, so it is one of the fruits usually kept in, with larger portions landing moderate.

is watermelon low fodmap like cantaloupe

No. Watermelon is not low FODMAP and is not a stand-in for cantaloupe, even though the two are cut up together in most fruit salads.

can i drink cantaloupe juice on a low fodmap diet

Juice is not the same as the fruit. Juicing concentrates the sugars of several servings into one glass and leaves the fibre behind, so it is not covered by the ¾ cup (120g) serving.