Tart Cherry Juice for Insomnia

Sat. Dec. 17, 2011

(NaturalHealth365) The fact that tart cherry juice helps with insomnia is great news. Tart cherry juice offers a multitude of health benefits, and now it is shown to have a beneficial effect on the length and quality of sleep.

Cherries

Cherries have a short growing season and grow best in temperate latitudes. The summer is the peak season for cherries. In North America, June is the best time to find cherries. In the United States, most of the sweet cherries are grown in Washington, California, Oregon, and Michigan. Traverse City, Michigan considers itself the “Cherry Capital of the World.” This region of northern Michigan is known for tart cherries.

Cherries are the smallest member of the stone fruit family, which includes plums, apricots, nectarines, and peaches. Cherries are usually classified as either sweet or tart. Sweet cherries include Bing, Lambert, and Rainer cherries. These are grown in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Tart cherries include Montmorency and Balaton and these come from Michigan.

Tart Cherries

Tart cherries offer a combination of sweet and tart tastes that more Americans are seeking. Sweet tastes ranks third as a favorite flavor, while tangy is ranked fifth, with sour at ninth place. Tart cherries are not only versatile, but available year round in either dried, frozen and juice products. Tart cherries are being added to granola cereals and bars that are found on supermarket shelves.

Tart cherries are a superior source of nutrients. A glass of tart cherry juice is a better source of antioxidants than five portions of bananas, tomatoes, watermelon, peas and carrots. They contain 19 times more beta-carotene than blueberries, and strawberries. Tart cherries are a source of vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, iron and folate.

Benefits

The benefits come from the antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Cherries have been shown to reduce muscle pain following exercise, due to the anti-inflammatory properties. Cherry juice is known to lower blood uric-acid levels, which in turn reduces gout pain. Since, cherry juice also contains high amounts of vitamin A, it benefits the skin.

Cherries contain anthocyanins, the red pigment that gives cherries the bright red color. This reduces inflammation, which has been linked to heart disease and diabetes. There are also studies that linked cherries to lower levels of cholesterol and triglycerides.

Sleep

Americans need more sleep. According to a new study in the European Journal of Nutrition tart cherry juice may be the answer. An international team of researchers found that adults who consumed two
daily glasses of tart cherry juice, slept an average of 39 minutes longer. Also, they had up to a 6 percent increase in overall sleep efficiency. This means they had less non-sleep time under the covers.

The study was conducted by North Umbria University. They had one group of healthy adults drink two servings of tart cherry juice from the Montmorency cherry. They had a second group served a non-cherry fruit drink. Everyone had one serving when they woke up, and another before bed. The researchers found significant improvements in sleep patterns of those on the tart cherry juice. These ranged from longer sleep time, and less daytime napping.

The researchers attribute the benefits to the melatonin content of the fruit. This is a powerful antoxidant, which is critical for the sleep-wake cycle regulation. Each serving of the tart cherry juice concentrate was estimated to contain the equivalent of 90-100 tart cherries. This amount would contain high levels of melatonin.

Isn’t it time for Americans to wake up to the fact that good nutrition is the answer for some of the most pressing health issues. Scientists are beginning to learn from research that individuals who consume fruits and vegetables prevent disease, and get a better nights sleep.

About the author Blanche has been a student of natural healing modalities for the last 25 years. She had the privilege of working with some of the greatest minds in Natural Healing including Naturopaths, Scientist, and Energy Healers. Having seen people miraculously heal from all kinds of dis-ease through non-invasive methods, her passion now is to help people become aware of what it takes to be healthy.