I am just back from my local market and I got some nice cherries with me.
So I decided to write about this wonderful fruit. In this post, I’ll tell you about 25 superb beauty and health benefits of cherries.
Beauty benefits of cherries
Let’s start with what matters – Beauty – I know this may sound a little outrageous, but we, as ladies like to take care of our skins and bodies.
1- Cherries to generate new cells
Cherry is one of those fruits that has the unique capability to help your body generate new cells.
We all know that our skins are full of cells, and if you can continuously generate plenty of new cells or support your body to do so, then you’ll have a beautiful ski.
In essence, new cells will make your skin smooth and nice.
So by just eating (or drinking cherry juice), you constantly stimulate the generation of new cells, and as such your skin will become nice and glowing.
But that’s not all, the more cherry you eat, the better it is for you as they help your body to get rid of damaged cells.
2. Cherries provide anti-aging effects
This is definitely related to the point 1 above, but we use a different method. Instead of eating cherries, you just need to apply as a mask of cherries. I’ll tell you how further down.
When you apply a mask, your skin tone will lighten.
As the fruit is a little bit acidic, it’ll also reduce spots and blemishes on your face.
This will make your face even more flawless and be glowing.
a – Here is how to make a mask with cherries
Take some cherries and remove the pits. Now mash these in a bowl with a fork or other kitchen tools.
Apply the mashed solution to your face (or other skin areas of your body).
Do this once a week at least and no more than twice a week. You’ll end up with a nice looking, soft, smooth and firm skin. Like I say, a baby skin.
Note that you need to wash your face before applying the mask solution on your face.
For oily skins, I would suggest using sour cherries.
Here is a video that shows you how to do it.
b – Another method that is also effective for your skin as an anti-aging effect
Use the same method as described in point ‘a’ to mash cherries. When you finish the preparation, add one teaspoon of organic honey to the mash and mix the lot.
Now, as you are mixing the solution, add a few drops of lemon juice.
Just apply the paste on your face and areas where you have some spots etc. You can also use it on your neck.
Wait for about 20 minutes and wash your skin off with lukewarm water.
I would suggest using this beauty remedy about 2 times a week to get rid of acne and rosacea.
3 – Cherries to support Alopecia Areata scalp
Alopecia Areata is one of those hair conditions that is mostly found in men (though, nowadays many women are being affected by this condition). You can identify this condition on people where hair is not present on their scalps.
You can also identify this condition when hair is lost from some portions of the scalp.
The scientific community is clear about this condition. It happens when your body cells do not recognize their own cells. As such they counter-attack and destroys them.
In this case, your body will go into a war and mistakenly destroys your hair follicles.
The good news is that you can control this issue by eating food that is rich in quercetin.
Quercetin food has been proven to prevent and in some cases cure alopecia Areata conditions.
I am sure you guessed it, cherries are fully loaded with quercetin.
The only thing you have to do is to eat cherries and include these in your diet.
You should see a significant reduction in loss of hair and at times some hair should regrow.
4. Increase hair volume
With the rich type food that we eat nowadays, our body is not able to cope with what I would call minute problems.
Eating rich food affects our bodies, and it is clear that hair loss is affected by this.
If you have hair on your scalp, but you have a low volume, then cherries are really good for you.
Experts have demonstrated that by eating 5 to 10 cherries on a daily basis, you can recover much of your hair volume.
And this is excellent news for us ladies that lose hair through the heavy use of hair dryer and other bad chemical treatments.
As this fruit is full of vitamin B6, it will help you recover from your disaster hair loss, increase the volume and finally makes them thick by preventing hair loss.
5. Cherries to nourish your scalp and hydrate it
One of the good things about cherries is that they can help nourish your scalp and keep it moisturized.
We all know this. It is not only essential but critical to provide enough nutrients and some minerals to our scalps if you want them to be nourished and no hair falling.
Cherries do that really well. Again, if you eat 5 to 10 a day, then you’ll give you scalp enough nutrients.
If you think about it, cherries have plenty vitamins that your head and scalp can use (and use!). They have Vitamin A, calcium, iron and much more.
These vitamins will also provide the well-needed moisture of the scalp and you’ll end up with a silky hair.
6. Get rid of your hair split ends
Our hair is made of several layers and among these, there is one layer that is of high importance to us. It is the protective layer.
When this layer is attacked and lost from the cuticles, you end up with split ends.
The most likely cause is that you lack the appropriate vitamins and protein. Experts agree that vitamin C deficiency is one of the major cause of hair split.
Obviously, cherries are full of vitamin C. They are also full of nutrients, the source of proteins that will help you in addressing hair split ends.
All in all, it is widely accepted that cherries make you look younger.
Its compound has an anti-aging effect, makes your skin look shiny, and your hair nicer.
You’ll find that the aging process is slowed down when you consume and use them as a protective and cleaning mask.
You’ll end up with fewer wrinkles, fine lines, etc., because of the flavonoids in the fruit.
Health benefits of cherries
Now that we all look younger and have a better hairstyle, it is time to tell you all about the wonderful, amazing, miraculous health benefits of cherries.
7 – Cherries helps prevent cancer
The American Institute for Cancer describes that cherries have a number of phytochemicals and nutrients as well as dietary fibers that fight cancer.
In fact, Experts agree that the use of cherries reduces and inhibit colorectum/colon cancer.
Studies available on this particular disease have proved that food containing polyphenol lower the risk of several cancers such as Mouth, Pharynx, Larynx, and Lung.
The compound called anthocyanin widely found in cherries is the one responsible for reducing the risk of contracting cancer.
Just for this particular point, I would say we all need to eat cherries.
8- Fight against gout pain and arthritis
I am one of the victims of Gout attack and I can safely say that it is a painful and difficult condition to deal with.
However, I have found that cherries can come to rescue for this. And this is backed by scientific evidence.
A study published in a highly rated scientific journal conducted with 633 individuals having gout conditions concluded that cherry intake is associated with a lower risk of gout attacks.
The study showed that eating cherries over a 2-day period is enough to lower risk of gout attacks by 35% compared with no intake.
Similarly, and if you do not have access to natural cherries, then consuming cherry extract will have the same effect (reduction of gout attacks by 35%).
This same study described that cherry intake has the same effect on different groups categorized by sex, obesity status, alcohol use, purine intake, diuretic use, and use of anti-gout medications.
In fact, if you eat cherry and combine it with allopurinol medication, your lower your risk of gout attacks by 75% lower.
In essence, cherries are citric fruits which act like peaches fruit.
They are really good against painful conditions like rheumatism and arthritis.
This fruit is really helpful against osteoarthritis of knees.
9 – Cherries do work against sleeping disorders
Several studies have demonstrated that cherry tarts can help you fight insomnia and sleeping disorders.
In fact, the relationship between the level of anthocyanins in cherries and their effect on protecting you from oxidative stress in neuronal cells has now been scientifically proven.
What you really need to know is that when you have a heavy workload or under exams, you cause stress to your neuronal cells.
When doing so, you end up not being able to sleep.
However, intake of cherry tart reduces this negative effect dramatically.
Looking further down the line, insomnia is another issue that can be fully or partially resolved by tart cherry juice.
The juice has shown really good results if you are someone who has a sleeping disorder at a clinical level.
If you travel a lot, then you will have a disrupted circadian rhythm like jet lag. The melatonin that you find in cherries helps induce sleep for this condition.
10 – Treating diabetes with cherries
A chemical bioactive compound found in cherries has been scientifically proven to help fight and stabilize Diabetes.
Several studies have shown that eating 1 to 2 cups of cherries will lower the risk of type 2 diabetes.
The studies illustrated that the chemicals known as anthocyanins will increase your body insulin production by up to 50 percent.
11 – Relief inflammation and joint pain
A lot of people have now resumed to eating cherries as an anti-inflammatory agent instead of medication that have a lot of side effects.
It is the melatonin found in cherries that gives you a sense of relief from your condition.
What is of interest to me is that a study conducted on many athletes that compete in the renown Oregon’s Hood to Coast Relay clearly showed the positive effect of the Montmorency cherry juice.
The test performed by scientists demonstrated that runners who consumed the juice for a week prior to undertaking the race had significantly less pain than runners that received a placebo drink.
You need to know that the Hood to Coast run is a 197-mile race that starts at Mount Hood to Seaside, Ore. The race involves about 1000 relay teams of 8 to 12 person.
The study was conducted by Kerry Kuehl, M.D., associate professor of medicine (health promotion and sports medicine) in the OHSU School of Medicine.
On the other hand, tart cherries are able to reduce the musculoskeletal pain. And eating them leads to the reduction of swelling due to heavy physical activities.
The good news is that if you consume the juice on a regular basis, you’ll gain in strength, and you’ll end up with less muscle soreness.
12- Fight cardiovascular diseases
Again, it is the bioactive compound in cherries that will help you fight against cardiovascular diseases.
By fighting this, cherries lowers the risk of heart strokes.
Cherries are full of antioxidants, and though this may sound trivial, the antioxidants help to prevent damage done by oxidants.
Anthocyanin is a component found in the fruit that has cardioprotective effects.
This component is very helpful in decreasing your cholesterol level and by default will improve your health.
13 – Get your blood pressure level down
You know you have an abnormal blood pressure when it is higher than 120/80 mmHg. If you are among people who have higher levels, then you have high blood pressure or hypertension.
Scientists are the Northumbria University in Newcastle have shown that cherries can reduce and regulate your blood pressure.
They even selected a given type of this fruit and more specifically by drinking tart Montmorency cherry juice.
14 – Cures Gallbladder Diseases
Gallbladder diseases which include gallstone and gallbladder inflammation are a type of disease that often results in surgery.
The conditions associated with this disease are very painful and highly disturbing.
The common symptoms are a loss of appetite and a real pain in the abdomen, etc.
Well, one can avoid this by eating cherries.
The fruit has a huge amount of antioxidants which can help in preventing the disease but also can reduce the symptoms.
Eating this fruit regularly will definitely provide relief.
15 – Increase your memory and cognition performances
Katherin Kent from the University of Tasmania with other Scientists has demonstrated that the consumption of cherry juice for 12 weeks will improve the memory and cognition of older adults with mild-to-moderate dementia.
Let me tell you this: if this juice works for these people, it will definitely work for you.
I’d like to take a pause here, as I feel dementia is an important disease we need to know off. When we get older, we gradually decrease our ability to remember things.
An experiment was conducted on a small number of aged population.
Cherry juice was provided to a number of elderly people and placebo juice to others.
It was proved that the one who drunk cherry juice have dramatically improved their short-term and long-term memory.
They also improved their verbal fluency in adults.
Alzheimer’s is a disease that is on the increase and it was found that cherries can prevent it effectively and slow down its effects.
16 – Decrease oxidative stress
Oxidative stress is nowadays one of the most common issues that humankind faces.
It is a condition where your defense system is low and the level of antioxidants is decreasing to an alarming level.
In essence, scientists define it as an imbalance of antioxidants and pro-oxidants.
When you reach the level of oxidative stress, then you may end up with vitiligo, heart failure, Parkinson’s disease, etc.
Tart cherry juice helps to decrease this stress in aged men and women and hence you avoid contracting the above diseases.
17 – Keep a good eye health
Cherries are full of quercetin compound.
This compound is really good at alleviating symptoms of watery eyes.
In addition, eating or drinking the juice made from this fruit can prevent the occurrence of glaucoma.
Glaucoma is a disease that damages your optic nerves. You can end up blind. So better eat some cherries.
18. Lose weight and belly fat with cherries
As weird as it can be, cherries is a fruit full of minerals, fibers, and vitamins. Among all of these compounds, you find anthocyanins.
Scientists have studied this compounds and found that it can lead to a 5% loss of body weight as published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition.
The most important part of this study is that cherry’s anthocyanins prevented weight building up around bellies.
And we all know this: the worse weight and fat is the one that builds up around our bellies. This fat leads to major health issues.
So, if your aim is to lose weight with some nice and healthy food, you can add cherries to your daily diet.
19 – Help you get immune to common diseases
This is really good. Cherries does help your body to fight against cold, cough, flu, etc.
These are very common diseases that we all suffer from and you can avoid these by eating a nice cherry.
Black cherries are best for this like the Bark of wild cherry.
Note that this cherry is commonly used as a sedative for a cough.
You can also use it to fight mild cold, sore throat and fever.
20 – Fight anxiety
Anxiety is often associated with depression and is now becoming a common disease.
Unfortunately, as the number of patients increases, there is an urgent need for solutions and some of these are practicing sports, meditation, and medication.
However, very few know that cherries can help fighting this phenomenon.
Much of our anxiety is due to a low level of antioxidants in our bodies.
The easy way out of this is to eat antioxidant-rich food.
By now, I am sure you know that cherries have plenty antioxidants.
Eating the fruit or drinking its juice can dramatically decrease anxiety, stress, depression, and many other similar disorders.
21 – Address your peripheral neuropathy problems
When your nerves don’t work as they should, then you are a victim of peripheral neuropathy.
This is transmission problem between your brain and your nerves.
In essence, if you do not have a good communication connection between your brain and your nerves, then your body doesn’t work properly.
This is exactly what cherries are good at. Scientists use them to treat peripheral neuropathy. Reports describe that there are great signs of success in getting rid of this disease.
22 – Support good blood supply during pregnancy
When pregnant, there is always the question whether your baby has enough supply of blood.
Obviously, it is hard to know this without the intervention of professionals.
However, you can help blood flow by using natural solutions. One of these solutions is to eat some cherries (as long as you are not allergic to them).
When eating cherries during pregnancy, you absorb a compound called melatonin.
Melatonin is really good for you as it helps in easing the stretch of your belly, which at times can be really uncomfortable.
23 – Treat constipation and support digestion
Cherries can help in treating constipation and support a better digestion.
Constipation is a difficult condition that we all suffer from one day or another.
We get stomach pain, and we have hard and dry stools which lead to fewer bowel movements.
The main cause for this is a low-fiber diet or not drinking enough water, and even traveling can cause such conditions.
To reduce this uncomfortable side effect, one can consume water-insoluble fiber. This will promote better bowel movement.
As cherries are rich in fiber, the aid in treating constipation and promote digestion.
But there is a big But, you should not over-consume cherries as in some cases this overconsumption may lead to the opposite effect. So one to two cups a day is plenty.
24 – Get rid of dry skin
Dry skin is very common nowadays due to the over-use of chemical soap and high-stress levels.
Cherries can help cure this. Here is a simple recipe that will aid to treat dry skin.
First, take the pulp of a couple of cherries (say 10). Add one ripe peach. Remember, I said ‘ripe’.
Now blend these ingredients in a food processor or a blender.
Apply the mixture on your dry skin for about 20 minutes. Then rinse with plenty water.
You can add a little bit of extra-virgin olive oil (say one teaspoon). This will make the mixture more skin nourishing.
25 – Fight oily skin
There are times where your oily skin is really annoying, to say the least.
While cherries are good at getting rid of dry skin by nurturing the skin, they are also good at getting rid of oily skin.
You may rightly ask yourselves how this can be? Well, cherries provide the right balance of nutrients to your skin, and therefore, cancel dry skin and promote an appropriate level of oily skins.
What you need to do is beating an egg white.
Mix two tablespoons of cornmeal with it.
And add one single tablespoon of honey.
Now mash about 10 cherries in the above mixture and mix the lot.
That’s it. Apply the mixture on your oily face.
Wait for 20 minutes and rinse with lukewarm water. You’re done.
Conclusion
Cherries are really good for you. They are rich in vitamin A, C, fiber, potassium, and many other minerals that are essential for your body and brain.
They look nice, children love them and they contain carotenoids, phenolic acid, anthocyanins, and plenty phytonutrients.
I have given you 25 reasons to eat or drink cherry juice. Some of these reasons are fighting cancer, reduce weight, decrease blood pressure, fight diabetes type 2, decrease wrinkles and fine line, improves your bowel functioning, etc.
So many positives with this little fruit, that you must start eating them right away.
Back to you
I hope you’ll start eating this fantastic fruit.
Cherries are unique and they are up there with other superfruits.
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See you soon in another Omigy post.