This week, we have decided to celebrate all things cherry! Full of anti-oxidants, there is no end of benefits that can be found in them. Cherries fit into two main categories – sweet and sour. Sweet cherries are not as nutritionally rich as sour cherries, however they are much more palatable and still contain some amounts of fibre and Vitamin C.

Sour cherries have much higher nutritional values and some studies have shown that certain varieties can be really beneficial to our health. They are a good source of Vitamins C, A and Beta Carotene and are also well known for their high levels of anti-oxidants and Anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are known to help reduce inflammation and pain, as well as having many other benefits! Also, there has been an increase in the use of cherries such as Montmorency cherries to help treat Gout, due to it’s ability to help maintain a healthy Uric acid level.

Other benefits of cherries include it’s low fat and sodium levels, and high water and potassium levels – essentially this translates to it being a great fruit to help aid weight loss. Studies show this can help the metabolism and in turn help people to lose weight. Cherries also contain high levels of Melatonin which is a great anti-oxidant for neutralising free-radicals in the body, which can be extremely harmful to us! (The darker the cherry, the higher it is in anti-oxidants)

These are just a few of the benefits of cherries, which shows us exactly why they are considered a Superfood! For more information, look out for our Blog on Montmorency Cherries, being posted on Wednesday 26th September.

http://www.antioxidant-fruits.com/cherry.html