Sources: Associated disease heart disease and diabetes - www.med.umich.edu
A study in animal guinea pigs suggested that cherries can positively alter the factors linked to the onset of heart disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
According to certain data from this research by the "University of Michigan Health System", cherries would seem much more than a tasty fruit or an ingredient for jams and desserts.
In this work carried out on rats genetically predisposed to hypercholesterolemia and hyperglycemia but NOT to obesity, the researchers suggest that animals fed acid cherry powder (1% and 10% of the diet, Montmorency cultivar), compared to the others, showed:
a reduction in total cholesterol
a reduction in blood sugar
less fat storage in the liver (fatty steatosis)
an increase in the expression of a hepatic receptor that improves fat metabolism and, indirectly, sugars (PPAR RNA or peroxisome receptor-proliferator)
less oxidative stress (estimated by TEAC)
no toxic reaction
All the discriminating parameters are related to the appearance of metabolic syndrome and therefore of vascular diseases of atherosclerosis. To date, tens of millions of people suffer from this disorder and many ignore it.
Researchers say the correlation between cherry intake and significant changes in metabolic parameters suggests a positive effect of antioxidant concentrations belonging to the anthocyanin group.
It is not yet known whether diets rich in cherries can have a similar impact in humans, but the initiative of a specific clinical trial is already in the pipeline. In the meantime, further research is being carried out on animals at risk of obesity and diabetes.
