Mad Scientist
07-25-2002, 08:42 PM
Antioxidant-rich red fruit may keep maladies at bay
A sip of cherry juice or a handful of the dried fruit each day can help diminish crow's-feet and arthritis and possibly slow the growth of cancer cells in the human body, a Texas researcher says.
For the past two years, Russ Reiter, professor of neuroendocrinology at the University of Texas, has been smashing and drying cherries and found the fruit is loaded with antioxidants.
"Whether it's in the dark-red coloring we don't know," Reiter said. "But of the fruit we've tested, we know that cherries contain significant amounts of melatonin."
Reiter has been studying melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone best known for its role in sleep patterns, for nearly 40 years.
"Melatonin is an efficient scavenger of free radicals, which are toxic to the body," Reiter said. "The line that you get in the corner of your eyes, that's free radical damage. Skin cancer, that's free radical damage. If you get cataracts, that's free radical damage. We are not talking cure. Everybody is going to get the disease, but we are talking about healthy eating and delaying some of these things."
In his studies, Reiter said he came across many people who claimed that eating cherries or drinking cherry juice helped them with the aches and pains of arthritis. He contracted the Cherry Marketing Institute in Michigan, which is funding his research.
The studies are still in their early stages, Reiter said. But the research has shown that melatonin is 60 percent more protective of DNA when it comes to fighting cancer than antioxidants vitamin A and vitamin C.
"The great thing about cherries is that they contain significant amounts of melatonin and vitamins A and C," Reiter said. "In addition to that, there is research to show that cherries also contain anthocyanins, which are shown to inhibit the Cox 2 enzymes, which cause inflammation and arthritis."
Source: The Orange County Register
A sip of cherry juice or a handful of the dried fruit each day can help diminish crow's-feet and arthritis and possibly slow the growth of cancer cells in the human body, a Texas researcher says.
For the past two years, Russ Reiter, professor of neuroendocrinology at the University of Texas, has been smashing and drying cherries and found the fruit is loaded with antioxidants.
"Whether it's in the dark-red coloring we don't know," Reiter said. "But of the fruit we've tested, we know that cherries contain significant amounts of melatonin."
Reiter has been studying melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone best known for its role in sleep patterns, for nearly 40 years.
"Melatonin is an efficient scavenger of free radicals, which are toxic to the body," Reiter said. "The line that you get in the corner of your eyes, that's free radical damage. Skin cancer, that's free radical damage. If you get cataracts, that's free radical damage. We are not talking cure. Everybody is going to get the disease, but we are talking about healthy eating and delaying some of these things."
In his studies, Reiter said he came across many people who claimed that eating cherries or drinking cherry juice helped them with the aches and pains of arthritis. He contracted the Cherry Marketing Institute in Michigan, which is funding his research.
The studies are still in their early stages, Reiter said. But the research has shown that melatonin is 60 percent more protective of DNA when it comes to fighting cancer than antioxidants vitamin A and vitamin C.
"The great thing about cherries is that they contain significant amounts of melatonin and vitamins A and C," Reiter said. "In addition to that, there is research to show that cherries also contain anthocyanins, which are shown to inhibit the Cox 2 enzymes, which cause inflammation and arthritis."
Source: The Orange County Register