5 Reasons To Eat More Cherries

Fresh, canned or frozen, this flavorful stone fruit is great for your health. Find out why you should make cherries a regular part of your diet.

1. Ease aching joints: Cherries’ rich red colour comes from anthocyanins—the antioxidants found in grapes (and red wine)—that inhibit enzymes associated with inflammation, and may help soothe soreness linked to muscle and joint pain.

2. Guard your colon: These mighty fruits also contain quercetin, which is a flavonoid with anti-carcinogenic activity.

3. Control cholesterol: All cherries are high in pectin—a soluble fibre that helps to prevent heart disease by lowering “bad” cholesterol.

4. Help your eyesight: A precursor to vitamin A, it helps maintain eyesight and healthy skin.

5. Improve your sleep: Cherries, part of the stone fruit family that includes apricots, peaches and plums, are one of the few known food sources of melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone that helps to regulate the body’s circadian rhythms and our sleep patterns.

[Via Best Health – Click to read the full post]