Summer Time is here GET YOUR CHERRIES

Hello World! Summer is here! and I am so excited! Summer time is my favorite season. I love the sunshine, beautiful weather and yummy summer time fruits like the tiny but mighty CHERRY! Of course cherries can be a pain to eat due to the seed BUT would you believe cherries can actually help your body out. You're probably wondering how? Not that lil red thing with the seed in the middle... YES the cherry is tiny but mighty

Everyone needs proper rest in order to function properly. Unfortunately everyone is not able to rest... WELL would you believe the tiny but mighty cherry is actually one of the only fruits that have natural sources of a substance named melatonin.

What is melatonin? (Per WebMD) Melatonin is a hormone made by the pineal gland , a small gland in the brain. Melatonin helps control your sleep and wake cycles
And we all know how important proper rest.

Cherries are also well known for specific anti-oxidants! What are anti-oxidants? Antioxidants are nutrients (vitamins and minerals) as well as enzymes (proteins in your body that assist in chemical reactions). They are believed to play a role in preventing the development of such chronic diseases as cancer, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, Rheumatoid arthritis, and cataracts.

I think everyone can agree WE ALL LOVE ANTIOXIDANT filled foods and according to livestrong.com, cherries are loaded with a specific antioxidant, called anthocyanins, which gives cherries their bright red color. Cherries have the highest levels of the antioxidants anthocyanins 1 and 2 (compared to any other fruit) which have been shown to relieve the pain associated with inflammation.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/71065-choose-cherries-health/#ixzz1PDms0vgx

Many of us prefer the sweet taste of cherries BUT the tart cherries are actually the cherries with the highest levels of antioxidants so don't pass up the dried tart cherries for the sweet ones. The tart cherries are very good especially if you're suffering from Gout. If you don't like to eat dried tart cherries try drinking tart cherry juice. Your body will thank you.

As I said the tiny but mighty cherry is more than a pretty red fruit but it actually has health benefits that everyone can use. The next time you're in the store or the farmers market pickup some cherries. They're a nice snack, easy to put in a bag and head out the door. YES that's right grab some cherries world! Don't mind the seeds... get your antioxidants and melatonin via a sweet/tart tiny but mighty lil cherry.

Here are some other links you may enjoy reading
http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/7-health-benefits-of-cherries.html
http://www.livestrong.com/article/476-smart-shopping-cherries/
http://www.choosecherries.com/health/main.aspx


(Thank you to the sources http://health.howstuffworks.com; http://www.livestrong.com; www.webmd.com; http://www.choosecherries.com/health/main.aspx)