You can think of cherries as the red-headed stepchild of the fruit family. While apples have spent all their time keeping the doctor away, the cherry bided its time usually as a garnish on an ice cream sundae or in cherry pie. Paling around with fatty desserts has a way of ruining your reputation, I guess.
Not that there wasn’t already some talk about the health value of cherries. They’ve been credited with health advantages, such as soothing gout and arthritis, and helping with as a sleep aid.
“It was always anecdotal, but it’s been reported so frequently, by so many different people, that you have to think there may be something to it,” says Dr. Russell J. Reiter, professor of neuroendocrinology at The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.
Reiter conducted a five-month study and found that tart cherries contain significant amounts of melatonin, a hormone produced in the brain’s pineal gland that has been credited with slowing the aging process, and fighting insomnia and jet lag. It’s also being studied as a potential treatment for cancer, depression, inflammations, and other diseases and disorders.
The key is in the fruit’s skin and pigmentation where there are antioxidants called anthocyanins.
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cherries are awesome