Why Cherries are Such a Great Fruit
I have been reading more and more about cherries since my last article Beat Insomnia: Food and Drink that can Promote Sleep, and I aim to cover the many benefits below. The health section of the Daily Mail online hails it as a ‘superfood’ explaining in the results of the research that “drinking a glass of cherry juice a day offers the same health benefits as eating 23 portions of fruit and vegetables” (Source: Daily Mail Cherry juice hailed as superfood with equivalent of 23 portions of fruit in a single glass).
So, why else are cherries such a good fruit to reach for? Here are some other facts and benefits about cherries.
1. High level of antioxidents in the juice – obviously it depends on the type of cherry juice you are drinking (more of which I will cover in later points), but in a 250ml glass of cherry juice has “more antioxidents than five portions of peas, tomatoes, water melon, carrots and banana” according to the Daily Mail article. As a side note, antioxidents are found in many foods and drink and do the job of fighting off or neutralising free radicals in the body which are harmful to the body).
2. Juice from Montmorency tart cherry is the best – this is the juice that you want and it comes from the Montmorency cherry not the types of cherries eaten in the UK (as these have only a fifth of the antioxident level of the Montmorency). Health food stores stock a juice called CherryActive that contains this type of cherry.
3. It’s very good for your joints – Health professionals recommend that joint sufferers take supplements as “antioxidants in cherry juice help reduce both uric acid levels and joint swelling” (source: www.cherryactive.co.uk).
4. It’s relieves the symptoms of gout – I suggested this to my dad last year, as he suffers from gout. Cherries or cherry juice helps him when the gout flares up. He is now aware that the antioxidents present in the cherries are a natural remedy for his gout pain, as they help to maintain a normal level of uric acid.
5. It can improve sleep patterns – As mentioned in my last article, cherries are one of the only natural source of melatonin which is a chemical that controls the body’s internal clock to regulate sleep. Cherryactive.co.uk even suggests taking two CherryActive concentrate capsules 30 minutes before bed. I have recently been drinking cherry juice twice a day and I have seen some improvements in the quality of my sleep.
6. The convenience of dried cherries – CherryActive.co.uk suggests eating dried cherries “during training or endurance events to reload muscle glycogen”.
7. It helps muscles to recover quicker – One of the testimonials on the CherryActive site is from Nick Kennedy (England Rugby & London Irish) who claims to use CherryActive after weight training sessions. This stops his muscles feeling sore the next day.
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