Tart cherry, which is also commonly referred to as sour cherry, is a popular fruit that is also available as a nutritional supplement. It contains many antioxidants, which helps the body fight against strokes, heart disease and cancer. Tart cherry also contains anthocyanin, an antioxidant that aids in the relief of conditions like muscular inflammation, arthritis and gout, according to Joint-Pain.com.
Antioxidants
Whether you are taking them in supplement form, baking them into a pie, eating them fresh, squeezing them into a juice or cooking them, tart cherries naturally provide the body with healthy antioxidants. According to ScienceDaily, antioxidants protect the body from free radicals that cause damage by making the cells deteriorate. Just like raisins, raspberries and prunes, tart cherries protect these cells from toxins. Dried tart cherries, which can be purchased from many specialty grocery stores and whole food stores, provide the body with more antioxidants than blueberries, states ScienceDaily.
Cancer Prevention
Tart cherry is rich in anthocyanins and vitamin C. Additionally, it also contains, ellagic acid, limonene and perillyl alcohol. These three chemicals have been shown to stop the cell transformation that leads to cancer, according to a study published in Cancer Letters in May of 2003. Cherries are the only fruit to features all three of these chemicals. These chemicals are particularly protective against colon, breast, skin, liver and lung cancers. Researchers in the study concludes that lab mice that consumed a cherry diet developed less adenomas than the mice that were eating the controlled diet. The adenomas that the cherry diet mice did develop, were smaller than their counterparts. The cherry anthocyanins also lowered the cell growth of human colon cancer cells in vitro.
Natural Pain Relief
Tart cherries carry phytochemicals through your body. According to SeelWellness, these byproducts of plants aid in neutralizing the inflammatory symptoms caused by diseases in the connective tissues of the body. Eating tart cherries or drinking their juice on a daily basis can work like an over the counter pain reliever to relieve muscle pains, states SeekWellness. Additionally, long distance runners who consumed tart cherry before beginning their exercises routine, experiences less pain the next day than those who did not consume the cherries, according to a 2009 study performed by the American College of Sports Medicine.
References
- Joint-Pain.com: Cherry Juice Grout Treatment
- ScienceDaily: Tart Cherries May Reduce Factors Associated with Heart Disease and Diabetes
- Cancer Letters: May 2008: Tart cherry anthocyanins inhibit tumor development in Apc(Min) mice and reduce proliferation of human colon cancer cells.
- Seek Wellness: Cherry Juice
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