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Titled: The Super Fruit Series: Article 1 - Tart Cherries - Mother Nature's Joint Pain Reliever Get the Nutrition category RSS Feed

The Super Fruit Series: Article 1 - Tart Cherries - Mother Nature's Joint Pain Reliever

Article Summary: Learn the amazing secrets of the newest super fruit - the tart cherry. Tart cherries help to relieve joint pain due to arthritis and gout pain.

As more and more people are looking for natural relief for everyday ailments, super fruits are fast becoming the first choice for an entire range of ailments. This is the first article of the ten articles series focusing on the delivering the proven and credible research on the natural healing and healthy benefits of super fruits.

The articles in this series will include the following super fruits:

Article 1 - Tart Cherries - Mother Nature's Natural Joint Pain Reliever
Article 2 - Blueberries - Improve Memory and Reduce Eye Fatigue
Article 3 - Pomegranate - Heart Health and Healthy Cholesterol Levels
Article 4 - Cranberry - Fighting Urinary Tract Infections with Cranberries
Article 5 - Acai Berries- Antioxidant Packed Fruit for a Healthy Body
Articles 6 - 10: Will be disclosed after the 5th Article.

The History of the Tart Cherry and It's Amazing Joint Pain Relieving History:

This little red fruit has a long history of pleasing palates over the centuries. Their ruby-red color and tangy taste won places on the tables of Roman conquerors, Chinese noblemen and Greek citizens. The tart cherry was brought to America in the 1600's by early settlers to the New World. In fact, one geographical region of Northern Michigan produces an astonishing 70%+ of all of the U.S. tart cherry crop. This little region Northern Michigan is also known as the "Cherry Capital of the World."

How Do Tart Cherries Relieve Joint Pain from Gout and Arthritis?:

The common cause of gout is increased blood uric acid levels. According the research conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Western Human Nutrition Center at the University of California reported in 2003 that tart cherries lower blood urate levels. The study was conducted on ten health women participants, ages 20 to 40 and each of the participants consumed 45 cherries. The results of the study showed that all of the women had lower blood uric acid levels and the average reduction in uric acid levels was 15 percent. Thus, cherries can reduce blood uric acid levels, thus fighting one of the main causes of gout.

In regards to arthritis and tart cherries, Michigan State University was the first medical university to identify Anthocyanins in tart cherries. This research has indentified the bioflavonoids and Anthocyanins which naturally inhibit the COX 1 and COX 2 enzymes. According to research from Michigan State University, tart cherries inhibit COX 1 and COX 2 (cyclooxygenase 1 and 2) enzymes and prevent inflammation in the body.

Tart cherries help the body to produce similar types of chemical process as non-sterodial anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). Some examples of NSAIDS drugs are ibuprofen and aspirin. Tart cherries contain natural COX 1 and COX 2 inhibitors that function in the same manner to NSAIDS. The inhibitors found in the tart cherries are of the flavonoids class. Unlike NSAIDS, research shows these flavonoids protect against stomach damage. So in other words, the compounds in the tart cherry are natural COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitors.

Here are a few suggestions to get the powerful antioxidants of the tart cherry:

o Fresh Tart Cherries: When in season, you can get fresh cherries straight from the farm market or the produce section of your local store.

o Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate: It takes approximately 100 cherries to make one ounce of tart cherry juice concentrate.

o Dried Tart Cherries: A handful of dried cherries make a great healthy snack or an addition to your morning cereal. They also make a good alternative to the candy in the candy jar next to your computer. One source for dried cherries is Traverse Bay Farms www.traversebayfarms.com. The company will ship them directly to your home or office.

o Tart Cherry Extract (Super Fruit Supplements): These super fruit dietary supplements start with the whole cherry. A good source for cherry capsules is from Fruit Advantage www.fruitadvantage.com. The entire fruit is used to produce the tart cherry capsules, including the skin and the flesh of the fruit. In addition, the tart cherry capsules are able to deliver 100% of the phytochemicals of the tart cherry. This means each capsules uses the whole fruit and delivers highly concentrated amounts of cherries in an easy-to-swallow capsule.

The research results from leading medical universities indicate tart cherries continue to shed light on the reason why countless joint pain suffers are looking to tart cherries for natural relief for joint pain. The next article in the super fruit series will show how blueberries help to relieve eye strain and improve short-term and long-term memory.

Article Source: http://www.upublish.info

About the Author:
Russ Anderson
Russ Anderson is an avid writer on the natural health benefits of everyday food. To learn more about the companies included in this article visit: http://www.traversebayfarms.com http://www.fruitadvantage.com