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Straight Dope on Medicine: Cherries
Scott Ganser
November 14, 2022
livejapan.com
From her succulent crimson berries to her delicate, silken blossom, the cherry tree’s splendor is steeped in magic, mystery and mythology! This pretty tree is not only a feast for the senses, it has a rich and vivid history too.[i]
Throughout Japan, the Cherry, or ‘Sakura’ tree is representative of good fortune, new beginnings and revival. Folklore says that when the Sakura spirits release their gorgeous fragrance in springtime, their gift of beauty and elegance is to be truly celebrated! Unfortunately, the Cherry blossoms only bloom once a year and their gentle, pale petals surround us for a short time. It’s because of this that the cherry not only represents beauty and innocent pleasures, it also teaches us to appreciate the brief time we share together with our loved ones.
Even in modern Japan, the festival of Hanami is held every year to celebrate the coming of the Cherry blossom in spring; family, friends and loved-ones congregate amongst the Cherry trees to celebrate and reflect upon their happy lives together so far.
In ancient mythology the fruit of the cherry tree contains the elixir which gives the gods their immortality! In Chinese lore it was believed that the magical Phoenix slept on a bed of cherry blossom to bless it with ever-lasting life.
In old Buddhist stories, the cherry is representative of fertility and femininity. According to legend, the mother of Buddha was supported by a holy cherry tree as she gave birth.
Cherry, any of various trees belonging to the genus Prunus (family Rosaceae) and their edible fruits. Commercial production includes sour cherries (Prunus cerasus), which are frozen or canned and used in sauces and pastries, and sweet cherries (P. avium), which are usually consumed fresh and are the principal type preserved in true or imitation maraschino liqueur.[ii]
The Montmorency is the primary variety of tart cherry.
There are more than a hundred cultivars of cherries
Most cherry species are native to the Northern Hemisphere. The greatest concentration of species, however, appears to be in eastern Asia. They require winter cold in order to blossom in spring.
In Asia, particularly Japan, cherry varieties have been selected for the beauty of their flowers, and most of them do not set fruit. They are simply ornamental.
Tart Cherry Medicinal Benefits.
Blood pressure: A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover study of 15 men with early hypertension found that the participants who consumed tart cherry juice concentrate (60 mL, or the equivalent of 180 tart cherries) experienced a reduction in systolic blood pressure, but not microvascular reactivity or arterial stiffness.[iii]
These benefits may be mechanistically linked to the actions of circulating phenolic acids.
Blood pressure and blood lipids: In a study of 19 women with diabetes, 6-week supplementation with 40 grams a day of tart cherry juice concentrate (720 mg/day anthocyanins) significantly decreased both systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure when compared with the pre-supplementation values. Total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol decreased significantly in 12 of the participants with elevated LDL levels.[iv]
Cherry Research
List of Cherry studies investigating biological or clinical markers for pre-disease and disease conditions.
Investigators Who Examined the Effect of Cherries or Cherry Products on Markers for Listed Conditions
Oxidative stress
Total studies 10.
Inflammation
Total studies 16.
Exercise induced pain, muscle damage, and recovery
Total studies 9.
No change in 1 study [47].
Risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease
↓ HbA1C in diabetic women [59]; no change in fasting glucose or insulin [23,45,51] in healthy subjects;
↓VLDL & TG/HDL ratio in obese [52] but no change in VLDL, LDL, HDL, TG, lipoprotein particle size and number in healthy [23,42,45].
Arthritis and associated risk factors
↓ Osteoarthritis [55];
Sleep
Total 4 studies.
Stress, anxiety, mood, memory and cognitive functions
↓ Urinary cortisol, stress, anxiety, and improved memory, mood, and cognitive functions [19,38]. NC in cognitive functions within 5 h of a TC concentrate [60]. Serum cortisol
VLDL, very low density lipoprotein; TG/HDL, triglycerides/high-density lipoprotein; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; SBP, systolic blood pressure; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; ET-1, endothelin-1; ENRAGE, extracellular newly identified ligand for the receptor for advanced glycation end products; PAI-1, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1; NC, no change; TC, tart cherry.
What is in cherry fruit?
The cherry fruit is a nutrient dense food with relatively low caloric content and significant amounts of important nutrients and bioactive food components including fiber, polyphenols, carotenoids, vitamin C, and potassium.[v]
Cyanidin-3-glucoside and cyanidine-3-rutinoside are the major anthocyanins in both Bing and Montmorency cherries. In addition to the anthocyanins, cherries are also rich in hydroxycinnamates and Flavin-3-ols. Hydroxycinnamates and Flavin-3-ols respectively make up about 25% and 40% of the total phenolics in Montmorency cherries and 50% and 5% in Bing cherries.[vi]
In addition, cherries are also good source of tryptophan, serotonin, and melatonin.[vii]
Melatonin can help you sleep at night.
In German, wild cherry is Vogelkirsche.
Life isn’t exactly a bowl of cherries for her right now das Leben ist für sie im Moment kein Zuckerlecken.
Hebrew Word of the Day – cherry (noun)[viii] April 10, 2012.
אני רוצה לאכול דובדבנים Ani rotze le-echol duv’devanim. I want to eat cherries.
זוג דובדבנים וגבעולים zug duv’devanim ve-giv’olim pair of cherries and stems
שני דובדבנים sh’nei duv’devanim two cherries
In Polish, cherry is wiśnie.
Michigan grows about 75 percent of the tart cherry crop. Oregon and Washington harvest about 60 percent of the sweet cherry crop.[ix]
Cherry Queen
Miss Olivia Coolman is the reigning Cherry Queen.
She is the 22-year-old daughter of Matt and Melissa Coolman of Traverse City. She is a 2017 graduate of Traverse City West Senior High School. Olivia earned her bachelors of arts degree in dance and exercise science from Hope College in 2021 and is currently enrolled in the Grand Valley State University Doctorate of Physical Therapy Program. She looks forward to pursuing a career in Physical Therapy with an emphasis on pediatrics.[x]
I don’t know what qualifies her, other than being from Traverse City, where a cherry festival is held? What exactly are they looking for?
No, there is no Cherry King.
A grave injustice.
I wonder where she stands on world peace?
Modern day cherry production in Michigan began in the mid-1800s. Peter Dougherty was a Presbyterian missionary living in northern Michigan. In 1852, he planted cherry trees on Old Mission Peninsula (near Traverse City, Michigan). Much to the surprise of the other farmers and Indians who lived in the area, Dougherty's cherry trees flourished and soon other residents of the area planted trees. The area proved to be ideal for growing cherries because Lake Michigan tempers Arctic winds in winter and cools the orchards in summer.[xi]
Cherry Art
Luscious Cherries Painting
Cherry Dragon Digital Art
Sakura Branch Painting
Mount Fuji Sakura Photograph
Conclusion
No, George Washington did not chop down his father’s cherry tree. It is a myth.[xii]
In the original story, when Washington was six years old he received a hatchet as a gift and damaged his father’s cherry tree. When his father discovered what he had done, he became angry and confronted him. Young George bravely said, “I cannot tell a lie…I did cut it with my hatchet.” Washington’s father embraced him and rejoiced that his son’s honesty was worth more than a thousand trees.[xiii]
Ironically, this iconic story about the value of honesty was invented by one of Washington’s first biographers, an itinerant minister and bookseller named Mason Locke Weems. After Washington’s death in 1799 people were anxious to learn about him, and Weems was ready to supply the demand.
Weems’ biography, The Life of Washington, was first published in 1800 and was an instant bestseller. However the cherry tree myth did not appear until the book’s fifth edition was published in 1806.
The cherry tree myth and other stories showed readers that Washington’s public greatness was due to his private virtues.
Weems wrote his version of the cherry tree myth to appeal to a broad audience, but decades later William Holmes McGuffey composed a series of grammar school textbooks that recast the anecdote as a children's story. McGuffey was a
Mason Locke Weems, by an unidentified artist, c.1810. Number NPG.95.190, National Portrait Gallery.
Presbyterian minister and a college professor who was passionate about teaching morality and religion to children. His books, known as McGuffey’s Readers, gave him the perfect opportunity. First published in 1836, the readers remained in print for nearly a hundred years and sold over 120 million copies.
That’s my story.
With a cherry on top.
References
[i] https://thepresenttree.com/blogs/tree-meanings/meaning-of-the-cherry-tree#:~:text=In%20ancient%20mythology%20the%20fruit%20of%20the%20Cherry,the%20Cherry%20is%20representative%20of%20fertility%20and%20femininity.
[ii] https://www.britannica.com/plant/cherry
[iii] Keane KM, George TW, Constantinou CL, Brown MA, Clifford T, Howatson G. Effects of Montmorency tart cherry (Prunus Cerasus L.) consumption on vascular function in men with early hypertension. Am J Clin Nutr. 2016 Jun;103(6):1531-9. doi:
[iv] Ataie‐Jafari, A., Hosseini, S., Karimi, F. and Pajouhi, M. (2008), "Effects of sour cherry juice on blood glucose and some cardiovascular risk factors improvements in diabetic women: A pilot study", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 38 No. 4, pp. 355-360.
[v] McCune L.M., Kubota C., Stendell-Hollis N.R., Thomson C.A. Cherries and health: A review. Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr. 2011;51:1–12.
[vi] Kelley D.S., Rasooly R., Jacob R.A., Kader A.A., Mackey B.E. Consumption of Bing sweet cherries lowers circulating concentrations of inflammation markers in healthy men and women. J. Nutr. 2006;136:981–986.
[vii] Garrido M., Espino J., Toribio-Delgado A.F., Cubero J., Maynar-Marino J.I., Barriga C., Paredes S.D., Rodriguez A.B. A jerte valley cherry-based product as a supply of tryptophan. Int. J. Tryptophan Res. 2012;5:9–14.
[viii] https://www.hebrewpod101.com/blog/2012/04/10/hebrew-word-of-the-day-cherry-noun/
[ix] https://www.cherryfestival.org/p/get-cherries/history-of-cherries#:~:text=Michigan%20grows%20about%2075%20percent,of%20the%20sweet%20cherry%20crop.
[x] https://www.cherryfestival.org/p/other/national-cherry-queen-program/national-cherry-queen-olivia-coolman
[xi] https://www.cherryfestival.org/p/get-cherries/history-of-cherries
[xii] https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/cherry-tree-myth
[xiii][xiii] Harris, Christopher. "Mason Locke Weems’s Life of Washington: The Making of a Bestseller." Southern Literary Journal, 19 (1987): 92-102.