Cherries (Prunus serotina) / Arthritis

Herb Of The Week / Cherries (Prunus serotina) / Arthritis

The medicinal properties of fruits and vegetables never cease to amaze
me. It seems as if fresh cherries may help ease the pain of arthritis.

Results of a preliminary study by Agricultural Research Service
scientists and their university colleagues suggest that some natural
compounds in plump, juicy Bing cherries may reduce painful arthritic
inflammation. Eating cherries may also help lessen the severity of
other inflammatory conditions, such as cardiovascular disease or
cancer. The chemicals that give tart cherries their red color may
relieve pain better than aspirin and may provide antioxidant
protection comparable to commercially available supplements like
vitamin E.

A lot of people ALREADY KNOW that cherries already have a reputation
for fighting inflammation. So what's new about the ARS study?

"Our test is among the first to track anti-inflammatory effects of
fresh Bing cherries in a controlled experiment with healthy
volunteers," says chemist Robert A. Jacob, who led the investigation.
Jacob is now retired from the ARS Western Human Nutrition Research
Center in Davis, California.

In previous studies at other laboratories, scientists analyzed
extracts from sweet or tart cherries in vitro to learn more about the
fruit's potential health-promoting properties. In contrast to these
test-tube experiments, the California study is apparently the first to
test key inflammatory disease indicators, or markers, in blood samples
from healthy volunteers who were fed precise amounts of fresh Bing
cherries. Reported in a 2003 issue of the Journal of Nutrition, the
California investigation paved the way for a recent follow-up study at
the Davis center.

This story has been condensed from a news release issued by USDA /
Agricultural Research Service. www.nps.ars.usda.gov

King Orchards published a report (they might be a *little* biased) on
the anti-inflammatory properties of anthocyanin. According to them,
"..Daily consumption of tart cherries has the potential to reduce the
pain associated with inflammation, arthritis and gout. Many
middle-aged and elderly consumers are choosing to drink cherry juice
rather than take over-the-counter medications to stave off the pain of
arthritis and gout...."

Also -

"Twenty cherries provide 25 milligrams of anthocyanins, which help to
shut down the enzymes that cause tissue inflammation in the first
place, so cherries can prevent and treat many kinds of pain," says
Muraleedharan Nair, the lead researcher on the cherry project at
Michigan State University. The anthocyanins also may protect artery
walls from the damage that leads to plaque build up and heart disease.
In fact, the latest research shows that anthocyanins do a better job
of protecting arteries than vitamins C and E.

BUT EVEN MORE UNBELIEVABLE.........

High quantities of melatonin identified in cherries. That was the
surprising discovery made recently at the University of Texas Health
Science Center in San Antonio. Dr. Russel Reiter, who has been
studying melatonin for more than 30 years, headed up the research
team. "Tart cherries, specifically the Montmorency variety, contain an
extremely significant quantity of melatonin, enough to produce
positive results in the body," says Dr. Reiter. "We were surprised at
how much melatonin was in cherries, specifically the Montmorency
variety," says Reiter. The only other fruits that have been examined
to date are bananas and pineapples, and both have comparatively low
melatonin levels. "Cherry juice concentrate, which involves greatly
reducing the water content, has ten times the melatonin of the raw
fruit."

Can you say WOW??

I typed in cherries+melatonin on google and I could not believe the
results of the search.

But..... Why take my word for it? IT'S YOUR HEALTH.


You can research anything mentioned on this site yourself. Some good
search engines are www.mamma.com or www.google.com. or www.dogpile.com
or www.askjeeves.com ...etc. Enter one or more keywords and do your
own research.

Until next time remember .... most illness (upwards of 80% according
to experts) can be attributed to FOUR important factors that can
weaken your immune system and your ability to fight off disease:

1. Anxiety, depression, anger, guilt and other STRESS factors
2. Improper and/or inadequate NUTRITION habits
3. A sedentary lifestyle that does not include enough EXERCISE
4. Not enough rest and quality SLEEP time

The United States Surgeon General warned Americans in a landmark 1988
report on Nutrition and Health that "diet related diseases account for
68% of U.S. deaths"

Remember, we ALWAYS recommend that you ALWAYS consult a professional
herbalist, naturopathologist or physician. We are just passing along
what we hope to be useful information.

Until next time,
Quinnten, Editor