Written by Dr. Sanjana V.B Bhms,dbrm,cdn

Founder & medical director of siahmsr wellness.in

All rights reserved with siahmsr digital healthcare[siahmsr wellness]

Reviewed by SIAHMSR medical team.

Cherries

 Cherries are edible fruits that belong to the genus Prunus and family Rosaceae. There are various species of cherries. Both sour cherries (Prunus cerasus) and sweet cherries (P. avium) are commercially produced across the globe. Sour cherries are frozen or canned and used in sauces and pastries, and sweet cherries are usually consumed fresh or preserved.

   The fruit is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit) that is generally heart-shaped to nearly globular, measures about 2 cm (1 inch) in diameter, and varies in colour from yellow through red to nearly black. Drupe is a fruit having thin skin, a fleshy body, a hard stone, and an inner seed. They’re often referred to as “stone fruits” due to the hard stone in the middle.

Major commercial cherry orchards in Europe are in Turkey, Italy, Spain and other Mediterranean regions. It is commercially produced in America and Australia also.

History

   Sweet cherries originated in Asia Minor between the Black and Caspian seas and were likely brought to Europe by birds. The Greeks were the first to cultivate cherries and the Romans continued to expand the cultivation.

The stones of wild cherries have been found in deposits at bronze age settlements throughout Europe, including in Britain (Huxley 1992). By 800 B.C.E. Persians and the Romans brought cherries into Britain many years before the 1st century AD. In Britain, cherry cultivation was popularized in the sixteenth century by Henry VIII.  In the America, Massachusetts colonists planted the first sour cherry, 'Kentish Red', when they arrived there.

   Cherries are nutrient dense fruits with numerous health benefits. Sweet  cherries contain 82% water, 16% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and negligible amount of fat .It also contains fiber and vitamin C. Sour cherries contain more vitamin C and beta carotenes. 

                                  SIAHMSR                                                        

Health benefits of cherries

  The cherries are nutritious fruits with relatively low caloric content and adequate amount of bioactive food components including fiber, polyphenols, carotenoids, vitamin C, and potassium.

Cherries are a rich source of polyphenols and vitamin C which have anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Particularly sweet cherries, are rich in anthocyanins, quercetin, hydroxycinnamates, potassium, fiber, vitamin C & carotenoids.

Cyanidin-3-glucoside and cyanidine-3-rutinoside are the major anthocyanins in cherries. Studies show that tart cherries had higher concentrations of total phenolic compounds while the sweet cherries contained more anthocyanins.

 In addition, cherries are excellent source of tryptophan, serotonin, and melatonin. Tryptophan has important roles as a precursor of different bioactive compounds.

The potential preventive health benefits of cherry intake are in relation to cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, inflammatory diseases, and Alzheimer's disease  most probably due to their high antioxidant activity.

Cherries may reduce the risk of several chronic inflammatory diseases including, arthritis, cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, and cancer.

 Consumption of cherries can also improve sleep. Both quality and quantity of sleep may be improved by the consumption of sweet as well as tart cherries.

Cherries may also improve cognitive function [ as per data from animal and cell culture studies].Further studies are required to confirm the enhanced cognitive function and mental abilities in humans. 

It may also relieve pain after strenuous exercise. Exercise-induced   muscle damage (EIMD) may lead to muscle function loss because of mechanical and immune stressor stimuli. This immunological stress is mostly caused by inflammation and increased oxidative status.

Daily consumption of tart cherries may attenuate inflammatory and oxidative responses to  exercise induced muscle damage.

Polyphenols, melatonin, carotenoids, and vitamins E and C all contribute to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of cherries.

Cherries can also reduce high blood pressure.

Safety

The cherry kernels, accessible by chewing or breaking the hard-shelled cherry pits, contain amygdalin, a chemical that releases the toxic compound hydrogen cyanide when ingested. 

How to include cherries in your diet?

·       Honey-Soaked Quinoa Salad with Cherries &nuts

·       Berry smoothies with cherry

·       Cooked chicken salad with cherries

·       Cherry puddings &soufflé

·       Cherry, almond and banana smoothie

·        Cherry coconut sorbet

·       Cherry pan cake

·       Coconut cherry smoothie

 Written by dr sanjana vb [ copyright]

References

1.    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21229414/

2.    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22553424/

3.    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21229414/

4.    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26545642/

5.      Garrido M., Espino J., Gonzalez-Gomej D., Lozano M., Cubero J., Toribio-Delgado A.F., Maynar-Marino J.I., Terron M.P., Munoz J.L., Pariente J.A., et al. A Nutraceutical Product Based on Jerte Valley Cherries Improves Sleep and Augments the Antioxidant Status in Humans. e-SPEN Eur. e-J. Clin. Nutr. Metab. 2009;4:e321–e323. doi: 10.1016/j.eclnm.2009.09.003. [Google Scholar]

6.    https://www.britannica.com/plant/cherry

7.    https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Cherry