What Health Benefits Do Cherries Provide?

Inflammation is (or should be) a serious concern. It is the cornerstone of cellular aging and the root of chronic disease, which now affects more than 100 million people in the U.S. alone. But new research shows that eating many of your favorite foods, including cherries, may help quell inflammation and forestall the ravages of aging.

A recent study published in the Journal of Nutrition evaluated the effect of cherries on inflammation. Eighteen healthy men and women supplemented their diets with bing cherries (280 grams/day, or just less than two cups of pitted cherries) for 28 days. Blood samples were drawn and analyzed before and during the cherry noshing, as well as 28 days afterward.

After 28 days, the subjects’ plasma concentrations of CRP, a primary marker of inflammation, decreased by 25 percent. Then, after the subjects abstained from cherries for 28 days, their circulating concentrations of CRP increased by approximately 10 percent.

Choose cherries for a sweet treat with real health benefits. My favorite way to enjoy them is in my Chocolate Covered Cherry Smoothie. Just blend one cup of organic milk, one scoop of Jay Robb’s Chocolate Whey (all-natural, pasture-grazed, grass-fed whey protein isolate made from cows not treated with the synthetic bovine growth hormone rBGH), and one cup of frozen organic cherries. In minutes, you’ll have an antioxidant-rich dessert for breakfast that will keep you full till lunch and keep inflammation at bay.

Kelley Herring

Kelley Herring is the Founder & CEO of Healing Gourmet – a multimedia company that educates on how foods promote health and protect against disease. As a young adult, Kelley battled a debilitating health condition that went misdiagnosed by multiple doctors for more than a year. Finding no help from “modern medicine”, she turned to her own knowledge of biochemistry and her passion for health research. She soon learned that her symptoms were related to nutrition and within weeks, she charted a course back to health with nothing more than simple lifestyle changes and the power of the plate. The lessons she learned spawned the creation of Healing Gourmet. Kelley is a firm believer in vigorous exercise, moderate sun exposure and delicious, healthy, home-cooked meals. She is also the creator of Healing Gourmet’s Personalized Nutrition Software and Editor-in-Chief of the Healing Gourmet book series published by McGraw-Hill including Eat to Fight Cancer, Eat to Beat Diabetes, Eat to Lower Cholesterol and Eat to Boost Fertility.