Heart Disease Discoveries: Favorite Fruit has best Benefits for Heart Disease & Cancer

Can cherries protect against heart disease and cancer?

A growing body of research is showing that tart cherries not only have among the highest antioxidant value of all fruits – and that they help with gout and the pain of arthritis -- but that they also contain complex antioxidants that fight heart disease and cancer.

Tart cherries may have some of nature’s most powerful combinations of cell rejuvenating antioxidants, say scientists!

• Researchers are reporting that different antioxidants in tart cherries can help with: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, insulin resistance as well as inhibit some human tumor cells to help against cancer.

Researchers are finding that tart Montmorency cherries can:

• Aid in the prevention of vascular diseases by reducing CRP (C-Reactive Proteins) one of the key markers for inflammation leading to heart disease.

• Tart cherries can help reduce metabolic syndrome (MetS) a condition characterized by obesity, hypertension, and disturbed glucose and insulin metabolism.

Cherries Against Heart Disease?

1) lower cholesterol, 2) lead to less fat storage and 3) improve antioxidant defences in animal studies.

• "These data from whole tart cherries join other findings that suggest a correlation between anthocyanin intake and reductions in cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors," say researchers Steven Bolling and E. Mitchell Seymour.

• Seymour and co-workers told attendees in Washington D.C. that cherry-supplemented groups of animals had significantly lower levels of total cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose and insulin than those that did not receive cherries.

• "We are enthusiastic about the findings that tart cherries conferred these beneficial effects at such a modest daily intake," according to lead researcher E. Mitchell Seymour from the University of Michigan Health System. (Presented at Experimental Biology 2007 in Washington, D.C)

Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate: Heart Antioxidant Power

This fruit concentrate contains a wide variety of powerful antioxidants and phyto-chemicals unmatched by any other fruit as measured by the scientifically validated ORAC method.

• In fact each serving (2 Tbs.) contains a whopping 3,657 ORAC units! ORAC is an acronym for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (the ability to scavenge free radicals).

• E.B.Tahitian Noni 165 units, Goji Juice™ 380 units, Xango Juice™(Mangosteen) 530 units Y.L. Berry Young Juice, 1,000 units Eniva VIBE™ 2,600,

• Cherry Concentrate™ 3,657 units

According to researchers at the Human Aging Institute, ingesting 5000 ORAC units per day substantially reduces your risk of coronary heart disease, cancer, and other age related illnesses.

How Cherries fight Inflammation, Cancer & Heart Disease

These fruits are naturally occurring compounds that impart color in fruit, vegetables and plants.

Anthocyanins protect against a variety of oxidants. They inhibit cyclo oxygenase (COX). This COX enzyme is the chemical that transforms other substances into potential mediators of inflammation.

• Because the inflammation promotes pain, suppressing this COX enzyme can suppress pain.

• The Anthocyanins in tart cherries are comparable to the cox inhibitory effects of ibuprofen, naproxen and aspirin.

• As for the potency of COX inhibition, one serving of tart cherry juice concentrate is equivalent to 0.300 grams of aspirin.

A standard aspirin tablet is .325 grams.

Anti-cancer, Anti-aging Fruit

Imunotec’s concentrate also naturally contains perillyl alcohol and ellagic acid, both natural compounds that are powerful in reducing the incidence of all types of cancer.

Clinical tests conducted at the Hollings Cancer Institute at MUSC shows consuming ellagic acid may aid the body in cancer prevention.

• Flavenoids (Isoqueritrin and queritrin)are part of the Cherry Concentrate™’s phyto-chemical profile that assist the body in eliminating by-products of oxidative stress -- THEREBY SLOWING THE PROCESS OF AGING.

Best Disease – fighting Fruits?

Tart Cherry juice Concentrate is Highest in ORAC units!

Three separate tests were conducted on the tart cherry products; each product registered a high ORAC value.

Per 100 grams:

a.. Tart cherry juice concentrate has 12,800 ORAC units

b.. Dried tart cherries have 6,800 ORAC units

c.. Frozen tart cherries have 2,033 ORAC units

d.. Canned water-pack tart cherries have 1,700 ORAC units.

Other fruits that have been tested range from 700 to 5,700 ORAC units per 100 grams. For example Oranges compare at 750 and Red Grapes at 739

The ORAC (oxygen radical absorption capacity) test accurately quantifies the antioxidant capacities of foods by taking into account the fact that most natural products are a complex mix of phytochemicals of which many are antioxidants.

Brunswick Labs is a leader in ORAC testing and has set the standard for the food industry.

Nutritionists suggest that people should eat 3,000 to 5,000 ORAC units per day to have an impact on health.

Antioxidant Capacity of Selected Fruits

ORAC values for the top twelve fruits:

2. Dried tart cherries 6,800

3. Prunes 5,770

4. Blueberries 2,400

5. Blackberries 2,036

6. Frozen tart cherries 2,033

7. Canned waterpack tart cherries 1,700

8. Strawberries 1,540

9. Raspberries 1,220

10. Plums 949

11. Oranges 750

12. Red Grapes 739

Research conducted at Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston and Brunswick Laboratory in Wareham, Massachusetts.

ORAC values for Fruits and Vegetables Comparison:

Spinach 1,260

Brussels Sprouts 980

Alfalfa Sprouts 930

Broccoli Florets 890

Beets 840

Red Bell Pepper 710

Sweet, or "Black" cherries 670

Pink Grapefruit 495

Grapes, white 460

Onion 450

Corn 400

Tofu 205

Carrot 200

Tomato 195

Iceberg/Head Lettuce 105

Highest Antioxidant Score of Juice Products:

ORAC Value Score Summary

ORAC Score per ounce, or two tablespoons

Sea Silver™ 90

E.B.Tahitian Noni™ 165

Goji Juice™ 380

Xango Juice™(Mangosteen) 530

Y.L. Berry Young Juice™ 1,000

Eniva VIBE™ 2,600

**Immunotec's Tart Cherry Concentrate™ 3,657

Brunswick Laboratories, Wareham, MA, recently conducted extensive nutraceutical evaluations and ORAC testing on four Montmorency tart cherry products. Dr. Boxin Ou, principal research scientist at Brunswick Laboratories and one of the leading scientists in the U.S. on phytochemicals in plant foods.

Cherries: THE fruit against Neurodegenration and Aging

During the testing of tart cherry products, Brunswick Labs discovered for the first time that tart cherries contain a class of compounds that act like super oxide dismutase (SOD), which is a powerful enzyme and cellular antioxidant.

• Tart cherries were found to contain significant levels of antioxidant activities against peroxyl radicals, peroxylnitrite, hydroxyl radicals (known as NORAC and HORAC).

• These human-cell killing species are known to be involved in aging and neurodegenerative diseases.

Cherries and the French Paradox of Heart Disease

People who follow a Mediterranean style diet, which contains catechins, anthocyanins and proanthocyanins are noted for their general good health and longevity.

• Their diets and general health are sometimes referred to as the "French Paradox" because they consume large amounts of saturated fats and yet exhibit low rates of heart disease.

Proanthocyanins are a group of flavonoids, also called condensed tannins, and are known powerful free radical scavengers and antioxidants. In fact, they are the most powerful chain breaking antioxidants known so far.

• Researchers are starting to discover the positive relationship between the Mediterranean diet and flavonoids, such as proanthocyanins.

Ask for Studies on the Benefits of Tart Cherries:

Links:

Tart Cherries for Muscle Pain, Arthritis and Better Sleep

Heart Disease Discoveries: Favorite Fruit Benefits for Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure & Cancer

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