0Candying. Candied cherries are much higher in calories and sugar than fresh cherries.
Maraschino cherries contain about twice as many calories per serving as fresh cherries and
are high in sodium.
Medical Uses and/or Benefits
Anti-inflammatory effects. In a series of laboratory studies conducted from 1998 through
2001, researchers at the Bioactive Natural Products Laboratory in the Department of Horti-
culture and National Food Safety and Toxicology Center at Michigan State University dis-
covered that the anthocyanins (red pigments) in tart cherries effectively block the activity
of two enzymes, COX-1 and COX-2, essential for the production of prostaglandins, which
are natural chemicals involved in the inflammatory response (which includes redness, heat,
swelling, and pain). In other words, the anthocyanins appeared to behave like aspirin and
other traditional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen and naproxen. In
2004, scientists at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, California, released
data from a study showing that women who ate 45 bing (sweet) cherries at breakfast each
morning had markedly lower blood levels of uric acid, a by-product of protein metabolism
linked to pain and inflammation, during an acute episode of gout (a form of arthritis). The
women in the study also had lower blood levels of C-reactive protein and nitric acid, two
other chemicals linked to inflammation. These effects are yet to be proven in larger studies
with a more diverse group of subjects.
Adverse Effects Associated with This Food
Food/Drug Interactions
Cherries