Cherries are fruits whose nutritional and medicinal properties have long been used in traditional folk medicine, including in alleviating bladder disease. However, cherry cousins are valued primarily for their beneficial effects on the heart. It has also recently been discovered that cherries are a great remedy for insomnia. Check what other cherries have properties.
Sweet sweet cheeries!
Cherries have many nutritional properties, despite the fact that in about 82 per cent. consist of water. The remaining 18 per cent is a treasury of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other valuable ingredients. However, cherries are valued not only because of their health-promoting properties.
In our country, the temperature difference between night and day is so large that cherries get sweet from the sun during the day and acidity at night. That is why they have a delicious sour-sweet taste, unlike Spanish or Italian cherries.
In turn, they owe their colour to anthocyanins - dyes from the group of flavonoids (strong antioxidants) that give the fruit colour. The more of them, the darker the colour of the fruit.
Cherries for cancer prevention
Cherries contain a considerable amount of antioxidants, as much as 400 mg/ 00 g. These are substances that protect the body, among others. against cancer and the ageing process because they neutralize free radicals.
Therefore, cherries have been placed on the ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) list, i.e. a list of products that highly protect the body against the damaging effects of reactive oxygen species. 100 g cherry (seedless weight) has up to 3500 ORAC points.
According to Dr Ronald Priori of The US Department of Agriculture Research Service
by increasing the consumption of fruit and vegetables, especially those with a high ORAC value, you can significantly increase the level of antioxidants in the bloodstream by up to 15-20 per cent
Cherry juice for insomnia
Daily drinking cherry juice helps with insomnia and speeds up falling asleep. This is what American scientists say, whose research results were published in the Journal of Medicinal Food.
A team of scientists from the United States conducted a study in a group of 15 elderly people who for two weeks every morning and evening drank about 225 g of cherry juice, and for another two weeks another fruit juice. After a month of research, it turned out that while drinking cherry juice, the subjects fell asleep 17 minutes earlier on average than when they were drinking another juice.
Researchers argue that cherry owes this effect to melatonin. It's a hormone that regulates sleep patterns. In turn, in cherries, it plays the role of a natural antioxidant.
The researchers, therefore, believe they are a healthier alternative to supplements that contain melatonin and are intended for people suffering from insomnia. Regular consumption of cherry can help regulate the body's natural life cycle and increase sleep performance.
It should be noted, however, that the study was conducted on a small group of people and lasted soon, because only 2 weeks, so it is not reliable and should be approached with cause.
It is worth knowing that in folk medicine cherry juice has anti-inflammatory properties - it reduces fever, relieves muscle pain and improves drug absorption.
Cherries - beware of carcinogenic mycotoxins and prussic acid
Cherries intended for consumption should not be rotten or rotten. Such fruits contain carcinogenic moulds - mycotoxins.
They can be the cause of acute food poisoning, allergies or the development of mycosis, as well as respiratory diseases. Therefore, even if only a piece of cherry is upholstered, you should throw away all the fruit, not cut out the defective piece and eat the rest.
In turn, cherry seeds contain hydrocyanic substances (so-called Prussic acid), which are very harmful. Swallowing cherry stones is not harmful to health. It will simply be expelled. It is more dangerous to break or bite it, which can happen among children, as well as pets.
Cherries for urinary tract diseases
Cherries have diuretic properties due to their high potassium and sodium content. Therefore, they are recommended as an auxiliary in the treatment of urinary tract diseases cystitis or nephrolithiasis.
Cherries and diabetes
Cherries are less sweet fruit - in 100 g they contain up to 10 g of simple carbohydrates. Therefore, their glycemic index is low and counts to 22 at most. Therefore, they can reach for diabetes. It should be remembered that cherry juices (and also from other fruits) are better to drink unsweetened, freshly squeezed, and preferably diluted with water.
Cherries and slimming
Cherries, due to their low-calorie content (50 kcal in 100 g), are a desirable component of a slimming diet. In addition, they are a rich source of pectin - a soluble dietary fibre, which under the influence of water increases its volume and fills the stomach for a long time, giving a feeling of satiety.
WARNING! Cherries, due to the high content of organic acids, stimulate the secretion of digestive enzymes and saliva, and thus - improve appetite.
