Health Benefits Of Tart Cherries
5 Health Benefits of Tart Cherries
While water is still probably the ultimate health drinkwere not saying anything otherwisea new beverage is getting some major attention for its ability to boost your heart health: tart cherry juice. Bolster Your BrainTart cherries may be the key to a brighter brain, according to research published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, which reports that high levels of antioxidants and anthocyanins in tart versus sweet cherries may slow degenerative brain diseases.
Mice running on tart cherry extract performed better on cognitive tests like object recognition than did the control group. The tart cherry juice prompted participants to get, on average, 84 more minutes of sleep each night compared to the placebo. Tart cherries have more melatonin than any other fruit. .
Fruit During Cancer Treatment
Fruit provides nutrients that you need during cancer treatment. Some fruits may also help ease discomfort. Experts recommend these, depending on how you feel:
- For nausea and vomiting: canned fruit, applesauce, peaches, and other soft fruit
- For constipation: raw fruits, dried fruits, prune juice
- For diarrhea: fruit juices, bananas, and apples as part of the BRAT diet
- For loss of appetite: high-calorie foods, including dried fruit and fruit smoothies
- For mouth sores: nectars, apple juice, canned fruit, applesauce
Pomegranate Helps Reduce Prostate Enlargement
by Case Adams, PhD·
Pomegranate inhibits prostate cancer cells.
Research confirms that pomegranate, combined with other polyphenol-rich foods, can significantly reduce prostate enlargement and cancer risk among men.
The new double-blind, placebo-controlled study comes as controversy has emerged after two clinical studies found pomegranate did not improve prostate parameters.
In the a clinical study on pomegranate, Cambridge University researchers tested 199 men who were diagnosed with local prostate cancer. The men had an average age of 74 years old.
The men were divided into two groups. For six months, one group was given a placebo capsule and the other group was given a capsule with a concentrated blend of powdered pomegranate, green tea, broccoli and turmeric.
After the six months, the placebo groups PSA rose by 78.5% while the treatment groups PSA rose by 14.7% a difference of 64% and a reduced PSA rise by more than five times.
The researchers concluded:
This study found a significant short-term, favorable effect on the percentage rise in PSA in men managed with active surveillance or watchful waiting prostate cancer following ingestion of this well-tolerated, specific blend of concentrated foods.
In this article
Recommended Reading: What Is Perineural Invasion In Prostate Cancer
Why Drinking Orange Juice Is Not A Health Food
People seem to think that just because theyre drinking orange juice, its healthy. Just because its natural, its healthy.
But not all sugars behave the same way in your body. Fruits, for example, contain Fructose. Fructose originally didnt make up much of our diet because, for those of us in the temperate regions, the main natural source of fructose is fruit which is seasonal.
But now because of the massive use of High Fructose Corn Syrup which basically tastes like sugar but is cheaper to make Fructose makes up a much higher percentage of our diet. Fructose is in everything. Soft drinks. Candies. Crackers.
Fructose, when you consume it in normal proportions, is fine. But because people now are drinking 2 glasses of orange juice, then a soda with High Fructose Cornsyrup, and some crackers and chips , and even bread that has it, fructose consumption is at an all-time high.
In studies, high fructose consumption has been linked to alterations in fat levels, cholesterol changes, as well as other obvious changes that occur with a high energy intake like weight gain, metabolic disorder, and cardiovascular issues.
Alright. I get it. Im not supposed to consume a ton of fructose or sugar. But what about fruit?!
Is Orange Juice Actually A Good Source Of Vitamin C For You
Okay, let me first say this. I was raised taking two 500 mg tabs of vitamin c every night as a child. My mom told me to take them every night so I wouldnt get sick. If I was sick, I would take 1-2,000 mg of vitamin C. We were raised in a family that was into alternative medicine and healthy eating in general.
As I got older, I started asking why a lot more and stopped taking it. Somewhere near the end of college, as I kept hearing the vitamin C thing repeated over and over , I figured it was time to jump in and see what the research says.
In one study, researchers gave test subjects 0.2 g of vitamin C a day to see if vitamin C reduced the incidence, duration, or severity of the common cold .
The results? Unless youre a marathon runner, a soldier in an arctic environment, or someone who lives in a very cold environment it wont do much.
It didnt reduce the chances of getting a cold in the general adult population or how bad your cold was, but it might reduce the duration a bit.
Its most effective in people who arent already getting the proper nutrients and vitamins from their diet , or the above-mentioned athletes under extreme stress or people in arctic conditions.
Regardless of whether or not you are taking vitamin C supplements though, the right diet is naturally very high in vitamin C.
And that brings us to the next point: veggies are actually much higher in vitamin C than orange juice or oranges.
Read Also: Prostate Meds Side Effects
The Study Finds Fruit More Protective
When men in the highest fifth of total fruit intake were compared against those in the bottom fifth, it was determined that they had a significantly lower risk of developing PCa. Citrus fruits correlated significantly with this trend but not apples, pears or bananas. However, when it came to vegetables, neither total consumption nor vegetable subtypes were found to have an effect on PCa risk. There was almost link with tumor stage or grade with the exception of high consumption of leafy vegetables which were weakly linked with high grade PCa. Finally, neither fruits nor vegetables were observed to correlate with PCa mortality. Thus, the studys main finding was a higher fruit intake was associated with a small reduction in prostate cancer risk. On the other hand, the authors could not determine if this a causal connection or not.
Tart Cherry Juice Benefits
Tart cherry juice boasts many health benefits from potentially reducing your risk of heart disease to helping you stay asleep at night. Another major benefit is that tart cherry juice may help improve sleep because both sweet and tart cherries contain melatonin.” In short, tart cherry juice offers protection against a host of conditions thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties.
Read on to find out more about the impressive health benefits of tart cherry juice. Tart Cherry Juice May Aid in Sports Recovery”If you’re working out consistently, you might want to consider taking tart cherry juice,” says Los Angeles-based nutritionist Kelly Plowe, RD. .
Don’t Miss: Prostate Gland Definition
Does Cranberry Juice Help The Prostate
3.9/5Cranberry juiceprostatecranberry juicedoes
Drink tea. Both green tea and hibiscus tea are among the top drinks for prostate health. Both types of tea contain potent antioxidants. Studies show that green tea can help prevent prostate cancer from forming and may also slow the growth of aggressive prostate cancer.
One may also ask, does cranberry juice help urine flow? Drinking plenty of water ensures that you’ll urinate more often. This helps to flush bacteria from your urinary tract before an infection begins. Drink cranberry juice. Anecdotally, many women report that drinking cranberry juice seems to help prevent UTIs, says Stapleton.
Also question is, what juices are good for your prostate?
Pomegranate juiceMuch like red wine or green tea, pomegranate is a rich source of antioxidants. It’s been touted as a miracle fruit in preventing chronic diseases related to oxidative stress.
How can I naturally shrink my prostate?
Below are some natural remedies you can try at home to ease symptoms of BPH.
Three Foods That Have More Vitamin C Than Your Orange Juice For You
Alright. So how much vitamin C is in an orange? Around 50-75mg.
How much vitamin C is in a cup of orange juice? Based on my Tropicana carton in the fridge, ~100% which, based on the RDA of vitamin C, is about 75-90mg.
Now compare this to 1 cup of several veggies:
So there are actually a lot of very common vegetables that give you the same vitamin C than oranges, however, they dont contain the added sugar or carbohydrate nature that orange juice has. They also dont contain an insane amount of fructose, which is part of what is slowly killing you.
You May Like: Cranberry Juice For Prostate
How To Add More Legumes And Soybeans To Your Diet
To add more legumes and soybeans to your diet, consider swapping meat for plant protein in at least some meals. This could mean trying Meatless Mondays or moving toward a plant-based diet.
Try making a black bean burger with lots of veggies. Alternatively, homemade hummus made with blended chickpeas makes a delicious dip for vegetables or whole grain bread.
Finally, tofu is an excellent source of soy. Try flavoring tofu with sauces and baking it or browning it on the stove, or adding it to stir-fries.
Summary
Maintaining A Healthy Body Weight
Achieving and maintaining the right body weight is one of the most important things you can do for your health. Excessive body weight is associated with an increased risk for some diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer. These include cancer of the esophagus, pancreas, colon, rectum, kidney, gallbladder, and prostate. Being overweight or obese can lead to advanced prostate cancer.
Read Also: How Long Does It Take For Prostate Cancer To Spread To The Bones
Prostate Symptoms Better With Alcohol
It’s one of those things that people — including urologists — nearly all believe. Men with an enlarged prostate, they say, shouldn’t drink alcoholic beverages. It’s supposed to make the symptoms of an enlarged prostate — urinary flow, urinary irritation, and poor sexual function — worse.
There isn’t much scientific evidence for this, says Claus Georg Roehrborn, MD, of the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center at Dallas. So Roehrborn and colleagues analyzed data from 19,000 men enrolled in six different international clinical trials of treatments for enlarged prostate and prostate cancer.
Some of these over-45-year-old men said they didn’t drink at all. Others said they had no more than two, three to six, or more than six drinks a week.
“The patients who claim they drank more complained of less irritative and obstructive symptoms,” Roehrborn said at a news conference. “The more alcohol people said they were consuming, the better their urine flow, and the better their libido.”
Does this mean a man with an enlarged prostate should take up drinking? No, Roehrborn says. But he argues that doctors should stop telling men their prostate symptoms will get better if they stop drinking.
The finding may put an end to this ‘common knowledge’ advice, says Mark Moyad, MD, MPH, of the University of Michigan, who moderated the news conference at which Roehrborn spoke.
Monitor The Fat In Your Diet
Some fat in our diets is necessary and healthy. There are different types of fat. Some are healthier than others.
Fat is calorie-dense. One gram of fat has more than 9 calories, while 1 gram of a carbohydrate or a protein has 4 calories. Therefore, high-fat foods have a lot of calories in a small amount of food. If youre trying to lose weight or maintain weight loss, this is important.
For some medical conditions, limiting fat may be helpful. However, for most people, there is no need to avoid fat. What is important is to avoid eating too many calories and to choose healthier types of fats.
Your fat intake should be about 20% to 35% of your calories. This is about 40 to 70 grams of fat per day for a 1,800 calorie diet.
The type of fat you eat can be as important as the amount.
Types of cholesterol
Cholesterol is a fat-like substance. Its found only in foods that come from an animal source, such as meat, eggs, and dairy. Cholesterol travels in the blood in packages called lipoproteins. There are 2 types of lipoproteins: good and bad.
- Low-density lipoprotein is bad cholesterol. It can clog your arteries and cause heart disease.
- High-density lipoprotein is good cholesterol. It takes cholesterol out of your body.
Types of fats
Limiting the amount of saturated fat you eat can keep your heart healthy and make it easier to maintain your weight. Choose mostly monounsaturated fats. These fats are described below.
- Olives
- Flax seeds
Read Also: Is Cranberry Juice Good For Prostate Infection
General Information And History
Calcium, the most abundant mineral in the body, is found in some foods, added to others, available as a dietary supplement, and present in some medicines . Calcium is required for vascular contraction and vasodilation, muscle function, nerve transmission, intracellular signaling, and hormonal secretion, although less than 1% of total body calcium is needed to support these critical metabolic functions. Serum calcium is very tightly regulated and does not fluctuate with changes in dietary intake the body uses bone tissue as a reservoir for, and source of, calcium to maintain constant concentrations of calcium in blood, muscle, and intercellular fluids.
To evaluate the association between calcium intake and prostate cancer mortality and morbidity, it may be important to assess objective, biological of calcium, include data that account for nutritional and supplemental calcium intake, and control for other confounding factors. However, studies of the association between calcium and prostate cancer have been limited to nutritional sources of calcium, such as dairy products. Although more than half of the U.S. population uses vitamin and mineral supplements , few studies include supplement use in the association of disease risk, including prostate cancer or mortality rates.
Tips For Nutrition During Cancer Treatment
- Maintain a healthy weight. For many men, this means avoiding weight loss by getting enough calories on a daily basis. For men who are overweight and are obese, this may mean losing some weight. If you are trying to lose weight, it should be moderate, meaning only about a pound a week.
- Get essential nutrients the body needs, such as protein, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, such as carotenoids, and water. Not only will your body function better, you will feel better.
- Be as active as you can, such as taking a daily walk. If you sit or sleep too much, you may lose muscle mass and increase your body fat, even if you are not gaining weight.
If you are struggling to eat enough or are eating too much, nutrition counseling may help you get essential nutrients, such as protein, vitamins, and minerals into your diet and maintain a healthy body weight. Ask your health care team for a referral to a registered dietitian or nutritionist. Dietitians and other members of the health care team work with people to meet their nutritional needs.
Don’t Miss: Does Enlarged Prostate Affect Ejaculation
Why Your Dad Stays In The Bathroom So Long
A mans prostate is a funny little thing. This walnut-sized glands job is to produce fluid that nourishes and transports sperm. About 30% of your baby batter is prostate juice. Feel free to drop that fact during dinner conversation to impress your date.
Weird thing is, the prostate keeps growing a little after puberty. Sometimes too much. Since its close to the urethra, a swollen prostate can disrupt or block urine flow. This is known as benign prostate hyperplasia or BPH. In short, it makes it hard to pee.
And the prostate is also really prone to cancer. Its the most common form of cancer in men and the second biggest man-killer in that category, right behind lung cancer.
Reduce Your Alcohol Intake
Research has shown a link between how much alcohol you drink and your risk for cancer of the esophagus, mouth, and head and neck, and cirrhosis of the liver. Its also high in calories. If you drink, do so in moderation.
Pay attention to the size of the wine glasses you use at home or in restaurants. Some wine glasses hold 20 ounces or moreup to 5 times the amount in 1 serving of wine. Keep in mind that light beer has fewer caloriesbut not less alcoholcompared with regular beer.
Each of the following is 1 serving of alcohol:
- 4 to 5 ounces of wine or champagne
- 12 ounces of beer
- 1.5 ounces of hard liquor, for example, 1 shot of tequila
To help dilute alcohol, use club soda as a mixer.
If you have any questions about alcohol, talk with your doctor, nurse, or dietitian.
Recommended Reading: Does Enlarged Prostate Affect Ejaculation
How To Read Food Labels
The label below lists the nutritional content of a serving of macaroni and cheese. The arrows point to the boxes on the right, which explain what each line means.
Figure 3. How to read food labels
This food label shows that macaroni and cheese is high in total fat and saturated fat. Due to its high fat content, this food wouldnt be considered a healthy choice.
Why Fruit And Not Vegetables
In pondering how fruit consumption might lower PCa risk while vegetables dont, the authors theorize that the high content of vitamins, especially vitamin C, and phytochemicals found in fruits might have anti-carcinogenic qualities on the other hand, they found that there were additional demographic factors that men with high fruit intake dont share with those who eat little fruit, so they were hesitant to conclude that eating a lot of fruit would be the sole explanation for lower rates of PCa.
Recommended Reading: Does Enlarged Prostate Affect Ejaculation