Superfood

Did you know that cherries rank among the top 20 foods with the highest concentration of antioxidants?

In fact, the standard one-cup serving of cherries has the capacity to carry 4,873 antioxidants! That’s pretty powerful when you consider even the largest cherries are well under 1.5 inches in diameter.

While they may be small in size, cherries are a delicious way to add beneficial antioxidants to your daily diet. Read on to learn all about antioxidants, including how certain antioxidants found in cherries can help deter the onset of many chronic diseases.

What are antioxidants?
Antioxidants are substances found in foods that may protect cells from damage caused by unstable molecules, known as free radicals. Common antioxidants include: vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, phytochemicals and many others.

What are the benefits of antioxidants?
Whenever our cells interact with oxygen, they naturally produce free radicals (unstable molecules). This process is known as oxidation. Free radicals can cause damage to cells and over time, may lead to the development of many chronic diseases, including: cancer, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s. Fortunately, the presence of antioxidants neutralizes these free radicals and prevents or repairs any damage they may have done. Antioxidants play a vital role in keeping the body healthy and in balance!

How do I know which foods contain antioxidants?
Antioxidants are often identified in foods by their bold colors. The deep-red color of cherries and orange color of carrots are both great indicators of foods with antioxidants. Additionally, fruits, vegetables and whole grains all contain antioxidants, as do foods with vitamin A, C and E, beta-carotene, selenium and lycopene.

Which antioxidants are found in cherries?
Cherries are among the top 20 foods with the most antioxidants, and are especially rich in a phytochemical called anthocyanin. In fact, one cup of fresh sweet cherries contains 80.2 milligrams of anthocyanin, compared to 12 mg for plums and 38.7 mg for raspberries. Other key antioxidants found in cherries include melatonin, phenols and quercetin.

Explore the rest of the Superfood section to learn about how the antioxidants found in cherries can help you live a healthy life.

About Melatonin
There are many instances in life when a person’s sleep pattern is disrupted. Traveling across time zones, shift work, bringing home a new baby and sleep disorders are all challenges people face when it comes to sleep. The good news is that cherries contain melatonin, and may provide a natural way to regulate sleep, improve sleep efficiency and treat jet lag.

Normally, melatonin levels rise and fall according to how light or dark our natural surroundings are. Darkness causes an increase in melatonin production, while light decreases this activity. That’s why nighttime is generally when we sleep and daytime is when we are active.

Cherries and Melatonin
Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain. It plays a key role in regulating the body’s internal clock, and helps determine when we fall asleep and when we wake up.

Consider eating a handful of cherries the next time you travel by air across time zones. Nutrition researcher Dr. Russell J. Reiter suggests eating a handful of cherries the night before traveling westbound, and 30 minutes before trying to sleep when flying eastbound. Once you reach your destination, eat a handful of cherries before bed each night until you feel back to normal.

Eating cherries for melatonin may also be beneficial to people with sleep disorders or insomnia, depression and seasonal affective disorder (a mild form of depression that can occur as the season changes from fall to winter), those with poor vision, and the elderly.

The Antioxidant
In 1993, researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio discovered that melatonin was more than a natural hormone, it was also a beneficial antioxidant. Melatonin is the only known hormone to have significant antioxidant properties. In addition to regulating sleep patterns, melatonin helps neutralize unstable molecules, called free radicals, and prevent the body’s cells from damage.

Because melatonin moves through the brain with ease, it may help maintain optimum brain health and could even help control symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, a degenerative brain disorder. Research also suggests that melatonin’s antioxidant activity may reduce damage caused by some types of Parkinson's disease.

While their great taste may be deceiving, cherries are one of nature’s best superfoods! They are filled with powerful nutrients and antioxidants that research suggests may help people live a longer, healthier life.

Cherries, Arthritis and Pain Relief
Great news for arthritis sufferers! A bowl full of cherries may help alleviate pain and inflammation associated with arthritis and gout, the most severe form of arthritis. A gout attack occurs when excessive amounts of uric acid (waste product found in the blood) accumulate in the joints, and cause inflammation and pain.

Back in 2004, researchers from the Agriculture Research Service and University of California-Davis teamed up to study the effects consuming cherries could have on reducing pains caused by gout. They found that participants who ate 45 sweet cherries during breakfast significantly decreased their blood plasma levels while simultaneously increasing the amount of uric acid removed through urine. According to the researchers, these two changes are signs of a healthy immune system fighting inflammation.

Cherries and Heart Health
Cardiovascular disease, or heart disease, is the single leading cause of death in America. One of the many health benefits of cherries is that they contain powerful antioxidants called anthocyanins, which may reduce a person’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Just like red wine, anthocyanins give cherries their deep red color and also protect cells from damage during an interaction with oxygen. This important process also serves to protect the heart and surrounding tissue, inhibit plaque formation and reduce inflammation.

Cherries and Cancer Prevention
Fiber, vitamin C, carotenoids and anthocyanins – cherries are packed with cancer-preventing compounds. The antioxidant properties found in cherries neutralize free radicals and protect cells from the carcinogens that cause different types of cancer. Among the many anti-cancer agents found in cherries are quercetin, ellagic acid and perillyl alcohol, which deprives cancer cells of proteins they need in order to grow.

Prior research studies suggest that eating quercetin-rich foods may reduce the risk of lung cancer. Fiber found in cherries may also reduce the risk for breast and colon cancer.

Cherries and Diabetes
The high antioxidant properties of cherries and low Glycemic Index (G.I.) score of 22 combine to make cherries a valuable food for diabetes patients. In fact, cherries have a considerably lower G.I. score than many other fruits, including apricots, blueberries and plums. Because of this, cherries are thought to help boost insulin production and help control a person’s blood sugar levels.

The glycemic index measures how much a fixed amount of carbohydrates from a particular food raise the blood glucose, or sugar level. It is an important resource for people with diabetes, and doctors generally recommend that people stick to eating foods that rank low on the index.

Cherries and Brain Health
Cherries are one of the few foods that contain melatonin. In addition to helping regulate sleep patterns, melatonin is an important antioxidant that helps maintain optimum brain functioning and may deter the onset of age-related chronic diseases like Alzheimer’s. Research also suggests that the anthocyanins found in cherries further protect neural cells and promote brain health.