Health Benefits of Cherries

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Health Benefits of Cherries

“O ye who believe! Eat of the good things wherewith We have provided you, and render thanks to Allah if it is (indeed) He whom ye worship” (Qur’an 2:172)

Cherries are delicious, beautiful, When you eat cherries, you enjoy much more than just their amazing taste. They’re packed with antioxidants and offer many health benefits, including help with insomnia, joint pain and belly fat. Cherries could be just what the doctor ordered.

1. Protection from Diabetes

Sweet cherries have a lower glycemic index of 22, lower than apricots (57), grapes (46), peaches (42), blueberries (40) or plums (39). This makes them a better choice of a fruit snack compared with many other fruits, especially for diabetics.

2. Helps You Sleep Better

Tossing and turning at night? Cherry juice to the rescue! Drink cherry juice 30 minutes after waking and 30 minutes before your evening meal. In a study, participants boosted their melatonin intake by following this routine. Cherries are a good source of melatonin.They have also been found to help with jet lag.

3. Decreases Belly Fat

Tart cherries reduced belly fat in a study. Researchers found rats that were fed whole tart cherry powder, in a high fat diet, didn’t gain as much weight or build up as much body fat as rats that didn’t.

4. Helps Ward of Alzheimer’s

The Alzheimer’s Association includes cherries as one of the memory boosting foods because they are rich in antioxidants.

5. Reduces Risk of Stroke

Tart cherries provide cardiovascular benefits. The anthocyanins, which are the pigments giving  tart cherries its red color, may activate PPAR which regulates genes involved in fat and glucose metabolism and thus, reduce risk factors for high cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes. – Research University of Michigan Health System.

6. Slows the Aging of Skin

Cherries have the highest antioxidant level of any fruit. Antioxidants help the body fight the free radicals that make us look old. Drinking one glass of tart cherry juice daily slows down the aging process, according to Scientists from the Michigan State University. Cherry juice is also recommended as an alternative treatment for other skin conditions.

7. Lowers Risk of Gout Attacks

Eating cherries lowers risk of gout attacks by 35 percent in a study with 633 gout patients, done by by Yuqing Zhang, professor of medicine and public health at Boston University. Gout patients who consumed cherries over a two-day period had a 35 percent lower risk of gout attacks, compared to those who did not eat the cherries. “Our findings indicate that consuming cherries or cherry extract lowers the risk of gout attack, the gout flare risk continued to decrease with increasing cherry consumption, up to three servings over two days.” said Zhang.

8. Reduces Muscle Pain

A cup and a half of tart cherries or one cup of tart cherry juice can reduce muscle inflammation and soreness studies suggest. A group of marathon runners drank tart cherry juice twice daily for seven days before their race. The group who drank the cherry juice group experienced less muscle pain after the race than those who drank another fruit drink.

9. Good for the Heart

Cherries are very high in potassium, which helps regulate heart rate and blood pressure and reduces the risk of hypertension. The phytosterols in cherries help reduce bad cholesterol levels.

10. Helps with osteoarthritis relief

The pain and discomfort of swollen joints were reduced when tart cherry juice was consumed twice a day for three weeks in a study of twenty women ages 40 to 70 with inflammatory osteoarthritis.

11. Helps to Prevent Colon Cancer

Substances in tart cherries can reduce the formation of the carcinogenic chemicals that develop from the charring of hamburger. Researchers added tart cherries to ground beef patties. “The fat contents of the cherry patties were, as expected, lower than that of the control patties, whereas the moisture contents were greater. Cherry tissue will not only slow down the oxidation deterioration of meat lipids, but will also substantially reduce the formation of heterocyclic aromatic amines.” – J. Ian Gray, PhD, Professor of Food Science at Michigan State.

WHAT DOES EATING TOO MANY CHERRIES CAUSE?

WEIGHT GAIN

While cherries do impart quite a bit of nutrition, eating too many can introduce excess calories into your diet. A 1 cup serving of pitted cherries contains 97 calories; however, if you consume 6 cups of this fruit this amounts to 582 calories, or over 1/4 of the allowable calories in a 2,000-calorie diet. Even eating 2 cups of cherries can add too many calories to your diet if you fail to properly develop your meal plan. An excess number of calories triggers weight gain.

CONSTIPATION

While cherries are a good source of fiber -- 3.2 g of fiber per 1-cup serving -- and often recommended to prevent diarrhea and constipation, eating too many cherries can trigger these conditions. You require 25 to 38 g of fiber each day for good bowel health, but consuming an excess amount of cherries in addition to a fiber-rich diet may cause gastrointestinal problems. MayoClinic.com website reports consuming too much fiber before your body is ready to digest it may also trigger gas and flatulence.

UPSET STOMACH

Cherries are high in quercetin, a flavonoid that offers antioxidant protections against free radicals. A handful may offer you many health benefit, including heart disease and cancer prevention, but eating too many cherries can lead to stomach upset. Large amounts of quercetin may upset your stomach, triggering nausea and vomiting. Stick to a single cup of cherries to determine your threshold for quercetin intake.

PESTICIDE INTAKE

Even a small amount of cherries can contain pesticides according to the Pesticide Action Network. A range of suspected hormone disruptive chemicals as well as toxins that impact reproduction and development, known carcinogens and neurotoxins have been found on cherries. Eating large quantities of this fruit can cause health problems, particularly if the cherries come from orchards that heavily utilize pesticides. Look for organic cherries to avoid damage to your nerves, tissues and reproductive system.

“Say: "Travel in the land and see how (Allah) originated creation, and then Allah will bring forth (resurrect) the creation of the Hereafter (i.e. resurrection after death). Verily, Allah is Able to do all things.".’” (29: 20)