Each year, a “superfood” emerges into the scene, from quinoa to goji berries, and both the scientific community and consumer public are agog to find out whether the rookie will level up. Now it’s the turn of tart cherry juice that could be the next “super duper food.” Find out whether the tart cherry juice benefits really stack up in this article.
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4 Tart Cherry Juice Benefits
Any food can become superfood if it has plenty of qualities that boost health, alleviate pain, aid in weight loss, reduce susceptibility to risk or eliminate the problem altogether. Tart cherry juice has qualified to be on the roster of superfoods because there are a plethora of tart cherry juice benefits, including the following:
- Efficient for insomnia sufferers
- It's anti-ageing properties
- Reduce chance of getting cancer (especially skin, lung, liver and breast cancer)
- Reduce chance of getting heart disease
5 Fun Facts About Cherries
According to one of the leading experts on phytochemicals found in plant food, Dr. Boxin Ou, tart cherry juice has the highest values for ORAC, short for Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity, meaning the antioxidants in tart cherry juice which help neutralize cancer-causing free radicals are more readily available than those in other foods and food products.
Research has shown that tart cherry juice concentrate has antioxidants with an ORAC value of 12,000, which is 17 times more than those found in red grapes.
These tiny berries pack a wallop when it comes to nutrients and to obtain them all, you would have to eat entire sacks of them. But that’s why tart cherry juice is becoming increasingly popular because of the convenience that goes with drinking it. With only 137 calories per single serving, you can get benefits for cardiovascular health and preventive protection against cancer and inflammation.
The phytonutrients known as anthocyanins in the juice ensure proper functioning of the nerves and promote healthy blood circulation. A study conducted by the group of S.S. Davies, T. Traustadottir, et al. and published in the August 2009 issue of Journal of Nutrition showed it provided seniors protection against development of age-related cognitive decline, cancer, and heart disease.
Additionally, tart cherry juice provides more than just anthocyanins. It contains chemicals such as limonene, ellagic acid, and perillyl alcohol. While citrus peel can provide you with limonene and members of the berry family – like blueberries and black berries – provide you with ellagic acid, only tart cherries can give you all three to protect you against skin, lung, liver, and breast cancers.
Tart cherry juice has a plethora of vitamins and minerals:
- vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin K
- Vitamin E
- Folate
- Thiamin
- Niacin
- Riboflavin
- Zinc
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Copper
- Phosohorous
- Iron
- Manganese
Tart cherry juice contains substantial amounts of carbohydrates and dietary fibers, is also low in fat, and has no cholesterol.
Quercetin, one of the most potent antioxidants to date, is present in tart cherry juice. Quercetin helps prevent any oxidative damage to the body’s LDL or low- density lipoprotein that may be caused by free radicals. Oxidation of LDL enables it to stick to artery walls to form plaques that harden arteries which can result in strokes and heart attacks.
MORE: Click here to see whether there are any side effects to tart cherry juice.
The efficacy of quercetin in tart cherry juice extends to its anti-inflammatory agent role which helps alleviate symptoms of asthma and other conditions of the respiratory system. Other than being known to be extremely helpful for gout and other forms of arthritis, tart cherry juice has recently been discovered to be beneficial for those who suffer from insomnia and other sleep disorders.
Tart Cherry Juice For Sleeping Disorders
Growing evidence suggests tart cherry juice has the ability of increasing production of the hormone melatonin to regulate a person’s cycle of sleep and wake. Melatonin is produced in the brain by the pineal gland and released only at night or when the environment is dark, the reason why it has earned the monicker, “Dracula hormone.”
Northumbria University researchers in New Castle Upon Tyne, England found that drinking tart cherry juice at two servings of 30ml each everyday significantly increased total sleep efficiency and sleep time and time in bed of the test subjects when compared to those who were in the placebo juice has also been shown to combat jet lag or shift work.
Researchers from the Louisiana State University (LSU) found that drinking the juice twice daily for a couple of weeks increased the sleep time of insomniac adults by 90%. Insomnia affects 23% to 34% of people age 64 years and older. This finding was presented at the American Society of Nutrition meeting held in 2014 in San Diego, California.
The melatonin being marketed as a supplement in the market today may be well and good but according to clinical psychologist Dr. Michael J. Breus, getting natural melatonin is another story since the body will use it in a much different way than it would a pill. Instead of having an alcohol drink or a pharmaceutical drug to help you sleep well, why not have natural fruit from tart cherry juice?
Can Tart Cherry Juice Help Gout Issues?
Compounds in food known as purine are metabolized by the body into uric acid. It follows that a high level of purine in your system will increase your level of uric acid. Foods with high purine content include mussels, organ meats, mackerel, meat extracts, and gravy. Tart cherry juice, however, has been shown to have low purine content, making it an ideal treatment to prevent uric acid and gout.
MORE: Click here for more info on how tart cherry juice can help with Gout
Organic Tart Cherry Juice – Why It’s Healthier
Tart cherry juice has already been known to provide numerous health benefits and nutritive value but the organic version is even better. Organic tart cherry juice costs more but the amount you pay for it may even be too small if you consider the effects of drinking the non-organic variety and ingesting the chemically-laded pesticides that were sprayed on it.
Several studies have shown that organic produce, including tart cherries, retain more nutrients than conventional produce because the soil in which it is planted is not bombarded with fertilizers. Unlike non-organic produce, the organic variety does not have any residue of either pesticides or fertilizers on them which have been proven difficult to remove even after repeated washings.
If you’re on a budget, the most cost-effective way to drink tart cherry juice may be to purchase it in the concentrated form. Here’s a great place you can get it.
Otherwise, why not make your own home made tart cherry juice? Buy 100% organic-certified tart cherries from your local store and use one of our recommended juicers and juice your way to health.
