Cherries are a good source of potassium. Increasing evidence shows that a diet rich in potassium may help to control blood pressure and reduce the risk for hypertension and stroke.
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Sweet cherries have several cancer-preventive components including fiber, vitamin C, carotenoids and anthocyanins. The role of sweet cherries in cancer prevention lies mostly in the anthocyanin content, especially in cyanidin. Sweet cherries are a good source of cyanidin, and cyanidin appears to have particular importance in terms of reducing cancer risk. In a study by Acquaviva et al, a significant increase in free radical scavenging was demonstrated with exposure to cyanidin (Acquaviva, 2003) and a separate study using human cancer cell lines demonstrated cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of mutated cells exposed to cherry anthocyanins (Lazze, 2004; Shih, 2005). Further, research suggests that the growth arrest characteristics of cyanidin are likely, at least in part, to be a result of significant inhibitory effects of these cherry components on epidermal growth factor receptors (Meirers, 2001). Finally, there is compelling evidence from basic science that cyanidin may also promote cellular differentiation and thus reduce the risk for transformation of epithelial cells to cancer (Serafino, 2004).