Cherries are the berries that could cheer your heart by reducing the risk of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease.
Researchers from the University of Michigan conducted a study on rats that were prone to high cholesterol and fifty percent of the rats were fed with Tart cherries in powdered form and the rest of them had similar diet excluding cherries. The rats that ate cherries were found to be healthier than the others. The cherries reduced the high blood lipids, high fasting glucose and high insulin in the rats that consumed them.
We’re excited about the implications of that for metabolic syndrome in humans
says Mitchell Seymour, of University of Michigan.
Tart cherries, also called sour cherries are used as a key ingredient in desserts; most importantly, the cherry pie. They are also used in preserves, main courses, salads, side dishes and beverages.
Cherries have high concentrations of antioxidant compounds called anthocyanins and melatonin which help control the insulin and glucose levels.
Anthocyanins were found to prevent oxidative damage, caused by oxygen or free radicals, about as well as compounds in commercial antioxidants. They also inhibited enzymes called cyclooxygenase-1 and -2, the targets of anti- inflammatory drugs, at doses more than ten times lower than aspirin according to a study.
Researchers recommend people who are at risk of cardiovascular diseases consume about twenty tart cherries to realize the antioxidant or anti- inflammatory benefits.
