7.05.2009

Many Health benefits of Cherries!


The health benefits of cherries are as sweet as they taste! It is that time of the summer when Cherries are in season and abundant in the grocery stores and farmer's markets. I am not talking about the dyed red cherries in a jar, I am talking about Rainier, Bing, and Chelan Cherries of the Northwest. While living in the Northwest I would look forward to this time of the year when I could get my hands on the freshest cherries around! While consuming mass amounts of Rainier and Chelan Cherries I was unaware how healthy they are. I keep a big bowl of cleaned cherries in my refrigerator as long as this party lasts - through August :)

There are two categories of Cherries - sweet and tart, both packing health benefits. Cherries grown here in America are a great Super Fruit alternative to tropical berries we do not have great access too. Cherries are often overlooked for a sweet treat but they are much more than that, showing promise in weight loss, heart disease, arthritis, cancer, and much more.

Cherries (both sweet and tart) contain a compound called anthocyanins, which is of growing interest to scientists because of its' anti-inflammatory effects on the body. A study at John Hopkin's University shows that anthocyanins can reduce painful inflammation in animal studies. Cherries were shown to reduce oxidative stress, which is a cause of autoimmune disease.

Cherries are being recognized as a "Super Fruit" based on recent research indicating they have powerful cancer fighting qualities. Tart cherries were studied and found to be beneficial in reducing the risk of colon cancer. In a study with mice prone to colon cancer it was found that adding cherries to their diet resulted in a reduction in colon tumors and sizes. The compound anthocyanins may inhibit mammary cancer in rats, reducing the risk of breast cancer.

Sweet Cherries (and of course tart ones) are a good fruit for people with diabetes because even sweet cherries are lower than other fruits on the glycemic chart at only 22. The compound anthocyanins may also help those with diabetes. "In early laboratory studies using animal pancreatic cells, the chemicals, called anthocyanins, increased insulin production by 50 percent, according to a peer-reviewed study scheduled to appear in the Jan. 5 issue of the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry." - Science Daily. Some people have reported checking their blood sugar before eating cherries and found that it actually went down after eating cherries!

Cherries also contain:
-Antioxidants
-Vitamin C
-Vitamin A
-Bioflavonoids
-Ellagic acid
-Perillyl
-Melatonin
-Potassium


When I do not have access to fresh organic cherries I eat Raw Cherry Pie Larabars. You can also find dried cherries or organic cherry juice in the off season :) Enjoy!



References and Interesting Links
All About Northwest Cherries

Recent John's Hopkins Cherry Information

Cherry Growers of Australia

15 comments:

  1. Awesome! I just bought a BUNCH of cherries at the farmer's market this weekend :)

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  2. i love cherries!
    they have to be one of my favorite summer fruits!

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  3. I've been chowing down on cherries like it's my job!

    Gena (Choosing Raw)

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  4. I love cherries! I bought some this week on sale at Whole Foods! They were organic too which is a double plus. Can't wait to enjoy them!!

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  5. Tart cherries are one of my most favorite fruits, and the Cherry Pie Lara bars are a favorite snack.

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  6. Cherries are on sale here in Texas and I have been eating the heck out of them! I was researching their health benefits and found your site. Loads of good thoughtful info!

    Lyn

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  7. hi Vegan Woman !!!! this isn't the first time i visit you .
    i must to say , your blog helpes me a lot . i am kind of a cave man to searsh for nem information , so i always eat the same things ... over and over again !!!
    her i find lots of things i need to know .
    thanks for share !!!!

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  8. Just ate a big bowl of cherries and googled to find health information on them. Was insightful and now i'm gonna keep up with the good habit!

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  9. cherries are one of my FAVORITE summer fruits..they're so good but way too easy for me to eat an entire bag ;)
    thanks for all the great info..i'll have to try that larabar too!! :)

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  10. If I could only live off of 3 fruits, cherries would be 1 of them.

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  11. Cherries have unlimited nutritional benefits, but the Larabar cherry flavor does not use organic cherries and I am concerned about the heavy pesticides used on fruit.

    Personally I add 1 tsp of organic cherry concentrate to my daily smoothie.

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  12. I was just informed from the California dept of AG passing through their inspection that Cherries have Maggots in them, and she advised not to eat. What is your insight on this? ANyone?

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  13. Maggots are not harmful to health, just gross to think about. Wash your fruits and cut out any bad spots and you should be fine.

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  14. Nice information shared....
    Follow the link to proceed Cherries Nutritional Benefits

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  15. Thanks for sharing such beautiful information with us. I hope you will share some more information about benefits of cherry. Please keep sharing.
    Benefits Of Cherries Juice For Skin

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