Tart Cherries make my top 10 Healthy Foods List

[liveonearth]

cherries = fruit of Prunus cerasus trees
actions of cherry: incr total antioxidative capacity, decr inflam and lipid peroxidation
juice concentrates used for gout, arthritis, muscle injury, diabetes and neurodegeneration

closely related to plum, peach, apricot, and almond trees
2 commercial sp in US
Prunus avium = "wild" or sweet cherry
Prunus cerasus = tart or sour cherry, usu used for cooking, more beneficial phytochemicals, most research done on this species

HISTORY
domesticated cherries originated in Turkey-->Rome in 72 BC-->spread slowly across Europe-->England during reign of Henry VIII-->North America in the 1600s-->1852 a missionary planted cherry trees in Michigan-->area became the center of American commercial cherry production (75% of US crop)-->2005 FDA forced 29 small growers to stop claiming health benefits

most of crop frozen for bakery use
10% processed in juice concentrates
US produces about 13% of the world’s total cherries
average US consumption = 1 lb/year (tart only)

GOUT
the cherry cure well known clinically
study: n=10 health women eating 24 sweet cherries-->blood urates increased at 3 hours, decreased at 5 hours

ARTHRITIS
rat studies 2004, 6, injx c bad stuff causing arthritis then fed cherries
reduced joint swelling
conclusion: 2oz tart cherries = 50mg indomethacin

FRUCTOSE CONTENT
beverages with high fructose shown to increase gout (2 sodas/day-->2.5x risk per Nurse's Health study)
OJ also increases risk-->docs telling gout pts to avoid all fruit juices
should pts be dosed with fructose-free concentrates instead of juice??

MUSCLE RECOVERY
reduce sx of mm damage
college students drinking 12oz tart cherry juice bid x8d sig decr pain/str loss dt eccentric exercise 2006
2009 Cornell Vets horses protected from exercise damage
cherry-->lower AST!!! also marker of skeletal mm damage
(Schor thinks we should focus on mm but what about liver?)
2010 OHSU cherry decr pain in distance runners
2010 UK marathonners better isometric strength recovery, lower IL6, CRP, uric
2010 Bowtell decr recovery time and isometric mm str by reducing ox damage
?? might be good for post surgery recovery too

SLEEP
consider cherries for insomnia
cherries (esp tart Montmorency variety)contain melatonin
Montmorency cherries: 13 ng/gm of melatonin, 6x more than the Balaton variety (2ng/gm)
2010 Pigeon in NY used tart to tx insomnia in older adults-->modest decr in insomnia severity
worked as well as valerian
2010 Garrido on Spanish sweet cherries-->incr sleep time, nocturnal activity, assumed sleep, immobility, antiox of urine
(maybe decr ox stress improves sleep quality?)

ADDING CHERRY PULP TO MEAT
keeps meat fresh longer
12% tart cherries in low fat ground beef-->less rancid
decreases heterocyclic amine formation during cooking by 90%!!!

ANTHOCYANIN
most antiox of flavonoids
lost in cherries
anthocyanin 1 and 2 block cox 1 and 2
sweet cherries decr cox activity by 50%
tart has more anthocyanins and phenols by 27-200%
tart cherries have 90% more anthocyanins than raspberries
bilberries, blueberries, cranberries, and elderberries do not contain anthocyanins

ASPIRIN EQUIVALENTS
per a market rep, not substantiated yet:
1 serving of tart cherries (canned) = 1.41 grams of aspirin
1 serving of tart cherry juice = 0.30 grams of aspirin
frozen cherries = 0.90 grams
standard aspirin tablet = 0.325 grams

PERILLYL ALCHOL FOR CANCER
sig amount in cherries
this chem may slow/stop cancer
= a monoterpene in EO's of mint, cherries, celery seeds
use as adjunctive tx for cancer??

DIABETES
tart cherries good
anthocyanins increase insulin production by pancreatic cells
decreases CT synthesis esp collagen/glycoprot that lead to complications such as retinopathy

PROTECTS VS BRAIN INJURY
2005 Kim reports anthocyanins protect brain neurons from degeneration in a dose-dependent manner
2006 Shin reports anthoc protect rats from intentional cerebral ischemic

TOXICITY
no reports or dz agg from cherries

SOURCE
http://naturalmedicinejournal.com/article_content.asp?edition=1§ion=2&article=227

Jacob Schor ND, FABNO
graduate of NCNM, practicing in Denver
former president to the Colorado Association of Naturopathic Physicians
now on the board of directors of the Oncology Association of Naturopathic Physicians
recognized as a Fellow by the American Board of Naturopathic Oncology
editorial board for the International Journal of Naturopathic Medicine
2008 awarded the Vis Award by the AANP
writes for Naturopathy Digest and Naturopathic Doctor News and Review.