Cheery News for Cherry Fans

Cherries may have strong positive potential in preventing heart disease, according to a study released Monday by University of Michigan researchers.

The study, which will be presented today at the annual meeting of Experimental Biology, also suggests that the fruit has preventative effects against a number of other diseases. Dr. Steven F. Bolling, one of the study's co-authors, said research found cherries work to prevent the development of metabolic syndrome in people, a precursor to a number of more serious conditions.

"Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of traits that can greatly increase your risk of heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes, so it's a serious condition that significantly affects public health," Bolling said.

Estimates by the American Heart Association place the number of Americans with metabolic syndrome at 50 million and the group said many who have the condition may be completely unaware of it.

Bolling said cherries are a good means of prevention but cautioned that they are not a magic bullet for the syndrome.

"Lifestyle changes have been shown to lower the odds of developing metabolic syndrome," he said. "But there is tremendous interest in studying the impact of particular foods that are rich in antioxidants, such as cherries."

The study, which was funded by the Cherry Marketing Association, has not yet been replicated in people. The subject of the study were a group of rats who were fed a cherry-rich diet for a period of 90 days. Afterwards, Michigan researchers found the rates had lower cholesterol and insulin levels, among other positive benchmarks.

The study's authors said humans would need to eat a little more than a cup of cherries a day to replicate the study's methods.

A recent study suggested cherries may have additional benefits. Researchers at the University of Granada found that cherries also had a preventative effect on aging in mice. They said the melatonin compound in the fruit will act to delay cell damage and prolong cell life.