why cherries are good for your health (and weight loss!)

Last Updated on July 7, 2017 by Venessa

Your mom must have told you this a million times. My mom did. Eat slowly and chew your food for like a minute before swallowing. And while you’re at it, put your spoon and fork down. Chewing would make your brain and body feel full ] and you don’t need to ram all those food down your throat and chew just a few times only to realize later that you’re way stuffed (You see, something about how slow the stomach signals the brain that it’s full. No wonder some awesome peeps pick cherries as their no. 1 fruit for weight loss. You see, you can’t just pop 20 pieces in your mouth in about two minutes like you would, and I bet you do, with grapes or strawberries. That is because the pits make you eat them slowly, making your stomach signal your brain about that fullness thing on time. That is portion control, baby! And cherries score at a low 22 in the glycemic index. Yep, they have the lowest glycemic index of all fruits. More awesome facts about cherries:

One cup of fresh cherries contain less than 90 calories; 16% of the daily recommended Vitamin C; and 3 grams of fiber, which aids in digestion and weight loss, lowers cholesterol and helps regulate blood sugar levels.

Fresh cherries contain Vitamin A, calcium, protein and iron.
The potassium in cherries helps the body function properly and is vital for proper muscle, heart, kidney and nerve cell function.
Cherries are one of the best sources of antioxidants and may assist in the prevention of numerous chronic diseases.

The distinctive red color of cherries is due to their “anthocyanin” content. Anthocyanins also help protect the heart and the tissues surrounding it.
The word “cherry” originates from the town in Cerasus in Turkey.
Cherries belong to the rose family.

The city of Oliver in British Columbia, Canada, holds the world record for baking the world’s largest cherry pie. The pie weighed an astounding 39,683 pounds.
In Kansas, it was once prohibited to serve ice cream on top of cherry pie.
A few drops of pure almond extract is known to bring out the full flavor of cherries.

Cherries also go great with sage and chives with dairy products like sweet cream and ricotta cheese and with meats like pork and beef, especially when seasoned with fresh black pepper.
Glace cherries are fresh cherries that have been processed for two weeks, giving them a candy like property and making them ideal for use in traditional building.
Depending on environment conditions, approximately 7,000 cherries can grow on an average tart cherry tree. Given that a cherry pie is made with about 250 cherries, just 28 pies can be made from one tree.