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Cherries are a nutritious virtually non-fat fruit just like our banana and grape. We can eat about 3 1/2 ounces of fresh, raw sweet cherries for about 70 calories (this weight is without the pit!). Our 3 1/2 ounce serving contains 2 grams of fiber, vitamin C and potassium with a high water content just like all raw fruits (not all our water intake must come from drinking beverages). Translated, this means we can eat about a cup of cherries as a snack for about 100 calories. Does this sound fattening? The most popular fresh cherry around is called the " Bing", a large round and extra sweet cherry in season now. Practitioners of natural medicine also know that cherries have been shown to effectively lower uric acid levels in our blood which is especially important to anyone who has a history of gout. Cherries get their rich deep color from the phytochemical compounds that are called anthocyanidins and proanthoyanidins (I can't even pronounce these). These compounds are flavonoid compounds, cousins to Vitamin C, and powerful antioxidants (ever hear about potato chips containing life-saving nutrients?) hypothesized to prevent collagen destruction. In fact the USDA reported that studies also suggest that fresh Bing cherries may help to lower inflammatory markers in our blood such as C-reactive protein. This may potentially help to naturally lower the inflammatory process and pain associated with diseases such as arthritis as well as lower our heart disease risk factors associated with inflammation in our body. Inflammation also affects our skin, so preventing collagen destruction keeps us not just looking younger but actually keeps our skin younger! Lastly, let's not forget that the inflammatory process increases with age, so we're anti-aging when we eat these wonderful foods! While a cup every once in a while probably won't get rid of our inflammations, eating a few cherries every day as snack while they're in season, along with other fruits year -round, will add up to a "way of eating" mother nature's arsenal of disease fighting foods. Cherries are highly portable, which helps us to eat on the run when we need to. They can be delicious eaten chilled or eaten at room temperature. As with most fruits, they make a great addition to a fresh fruit salad and I even add them sliced to my frozen vanilla yogurt as one of my toppings. So, are we in the mood for something sweet? Let's keep a small bowl of fresh cherries on hand, satisfy a sweet tooth and feel healthy at the same time. Here's to our Health! June www.junefit.com "Fresh Cherries May Help Arthritis Sufferers" was published in the May 2004 issue of Agricultural Research magazine. Additional resources: Proanthocyanidin: a natural crosslinking reagent for stabilizing collagen matrices. J Biomed Mater Res A 2003 Apr 1;65(1):118-24 (ISSN: 1549-3296) Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine; Murray/Pizzorno Junefit ranks 3rd at Google for "fitness tips" search out of over 60 million results! Junefit is included in Google's top ranked women's health resources http://directory.google.com/Top/Health/Women's_Health/Resources/ June is Lifestyle Columnist at www.healthnewsdigest.com/ Want to recommend my weekly tips to friends, relatives and anyone interested in improving their health & fitness? click here or e mail me at june@junefit.com Changing your e- mail address? Please simply reply to this email with your old address and new address. copyright 2007, junefit. All rights reserved. www.HealthNewsDigest.com Top of Page 
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