Cherry

[Sonu Sharma]

Cherry

Who wouldn’t love cherries? Apart from tasting really good, they also offer very good nutritional value. Cherries are one of those fruits that take a labor of love to consume, as you have to remove the pits before you can enjoy them or else be careful to spit them out as you eat .Cherries are delicious, beautiful, and in season now! National Cherry Day is on July 16th in the UK. Eat this super fruit before its short growing season comes to an end. Cherry fruit is packed with full of health-benefiting nutrients and unique antioxidants.  It’s thought that sweet cherries originated in Asia and were likely carried to Europe by birds. It wasn’t until the 1600s when English colonists brought cherries to the US, where they are now grown in the Northwest as well as in Michigan. Cherries are native to Eastern Europe and Asia Minor regions. Cherry trees begin producing fruit after they’re about five years old, it takes 10 to 15 years for the plant to reach maturity. One cherry tree may produce more than 100 pounds of fruit per season. 

Cherries are stone fruits - just like their friends the apricots. A cherry tree can carry on producing fruit for 100 years! Cherries grow from stalks in pairs. There are two primary varieties of cherries you should know about: sweet and tart (also known as sour cherries). Sweet cherries, such as Bing cherries, are best eaten fresh (and raw), while sour cherries develop a fuller flavor when they’re used in cooking (which is why they’re often used for baking).

They’re packed with antioxidants and offer many health benefits, including help with insomnia, joint pain and belly fat. Cherries contain melatonin which is five times more than the blackberries, strawberries and helps cure insomnia .

Cherries have low glycemic index so any diabetic person can enjoy it . Cherries are very high in potassium, which helps regulate heart rate and blood pressure and reduces the risk of hypertension. The phytosterols in cherries help reduce bad cholesterol levels.

They also act as anti inflammatory agent and helps the body to fight against cancer, aging, headaches etc. Cherries contain about 100 calories per cup and provide us with the perfect amount of calories required daily. They also help us in losing weight .  Cherry fruit benefits also include provision of the right amount of ORAC (oxygen radical absorption capability) units to the body.

 Cherries contain vitamin A, vitamin B and minerals like calcium and phosphorus (which is good for the brain). Cherries give you the energy necessary for the body as they not only help in building blood but they also give you flexibility due to sodium content present in them.

Being endowed with the highest level of anti-oxidants, in comparison to other fruits, it helps in slowing down the ageing process by fighting those free radicals present in the body which make the skin look older.

According to one study, women with osteoarthritis who drank tart cherry juice twice daily for three weeks had significant reductions in markers of inflammation. They also had a 20 percent reduction in pain. The researchers noted that tart cherries have the “highest anti-inflammatory content of any food.” Athletes who consumed tart cherry juice prior to long-distance running experienced less pain than those who did not. It’s thought that the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of tart cherries may have a protective effect to reduce muscle damage and pain during strenuous exercise.

(all the pictures above are taken from google).