Cherries are available year-round in the canned and frozen food aisles of your grocery store. This "super-fruit" contains vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that your body needs for healthy functioning. Cherries also contain plant chemicals such as quercetin, an anti-inflammatory that may soothe creaky joints and reduce pain from arthritis. You can enjoy fresh cherries in season or choose frozen and canned varieties to benefit from this source of valuable nutrients and phytochemicals.
Types
Sweet cherries are hand fruits that are eaten raw or processed to preserve them for later use. Tart cherries often find their way into pies or cans, with added sugar. The state of Washington produces the majority of the sweet cherry crop for the United States, according to the National Cherry Growers and Industries Foundation. The peak season for these sweet cherries is between May and July.
Sweet Cherries Nutrition
A 1-cup serving of raw, sweet cherries with the pits contains just 87 calories and only 0.28 grams of fat, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This serving also has 1.5 grams of protein, or 3 percent of the daily value (DV) for a standard 2,000-calorie adult diet. The 22 grams of carbohydrates in this serving, which includes 18 grams of sugar, equals 7 percent of the DV. The 2.9 grams of fiber also equals 7 percent of the DV.
Vitamins and Minerals
One cup of raw sweet cherries delivers 9.7 mg of vitamin C, which is 16 percent of the DV. The vitamin A content of this serving is 88 international units -- less than one percent of the DV. It also has 8.4 grams of choline. The 306 mg of potassium in this serving equals 9 percent of the DV. It has 29 mg of phosphorus, or 3 percent of the DV. The 18 mg of calcium provides 2 percent of the DV, and the 15 mg of magnesium in this serving represents 4 percent of the daily value. Cherries also provide 52 mcg of beta carotene and 117 mcg of lutein per cup.
Antioxidants
Antioxidant intake from foods can protect your body from the damaging activities of free radicals -- cellular-level molecules that are missing an electron required for their normal functioning. Antioxidants can also help your body repair damaged cells. The data from the USDA's 2007 Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity table gives sweet cherries a total ORAC score of 3,365 per 3.5 oz. The main antioxidants present in cherries are vitamin A and C, along with the anthocyanidins that give cherries their bright red color. They also contain flavan-3-ols and flavonols.
References
- Whole Health MD; Cherries; April 2010
- National Cherry Growers and Industries Foundation: FAQs
- Clemson University Cooperative Extension; Antioxidants; Janis G. Hunter, et al.; February 2008
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 23 (2010) Cherries, Sweet, Raw, NDB No: 09070
- U.S. Department of Agriculture; Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) of Selected Foods 2007; November 2007 (.pdf)
- U.S. Department of Agriculture; USDA Database for the Flavonoid Content of Selected Foods Release 2.1; January 2007 (.pdf)
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