Tart Cherry Concentrate
A Potent Juice to Help Prevent Cancer and Slow Aging
Montmorency tart cherries are one of nature’s most nutritionally dense foods, containing a wide variety of powerful antioxidants and phytochemicals unmatched by any other fruit as measured by the scientifically validated ORAC method.
ORAC is an acronym for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity—the ability to scavenge free radicals. According to studies, ingesting 5000 ORAC units per day substantially reduces your risk of coronary heart disease, cancer, and other age-related illnesses.
Our organic Tart Cherry Concentrate captures the health-promoting benefits of Montmorency tart cherries in the most nutritionally potent fruit juice available. Each delicious serving contains a whopping 5,286 ORAC units.
In every glass of juice, you’ll also find a wide variety of antioxidants and phytonutrients including:
- Melatonin—Helps balance circadian rhythms that support improved sleep
- Anthocyanins and bioflavonoids—Promote healthy joint functions and may help relieve the pain associated with arthritis and gout
- Isoqueritrin and queritrin—Antioxidant flavonoids shown to help eliminate byproducts of oxidative stress and thereby slow the aging process
- Ellagic acid—Clinical tests conducted at the Hollings Cancer Center and medical research centers show that ellagic acid may be the most potent way to prevent cancer
- Perillyl alcohol—A natural compound that is extremely powerful in reducing the incidence of all types of cancer
- Cell-rejuvenating antioxidants and rare plant compounds
Tart Cherry Concentrate comes in a 16 fluid ounce size and is made from organic Montmorency tart cherries. A unique flash pasteurization process is used so that no preservatives are needed. The juice is heated to 140 degrees for 5-10 seconds—just long enough to kill the surface bacteria while retaining over 90% of all nutrients and enzymes. It has a rich, delicious, sweet-tart taste.
Each one ounce serving contains the equivalent of 100 fresh cherries.
Directions: Add 1 oz (2 Tbls) of concentrate to 8-10 oz water or other juices.
Tart Cherry Scientific References
Cancer-Fighter Perillyl Alcohol Found in Tart Cherries
Research at the University of Iowa is showing the amazing properties of cherries. According to Raymond Hohl, M.D., at the University of Iowa, tart cherries contain perillyl alcohol (POH), a natural compound that is extremely powerful in reducing the incidence of all types of cancer. Perillyl alcohol “shuts down the growth of cancer cells by depriving them of the proteins they need to grow,” explains Dr. Hohl. “It works on every kind of cancer we’ve tested it against.”
Independent Lab Verifies Cancer-Fighting Agents in Tart Cherries
Researchers at Brunswick Laboratories (Wareham, MA) verified the presence of natural antioxidants present in Montmorency tart cherries, the leading U.S. tart cherry variety. Lead researcher Boxin Ou, Ph.D., also confirmed the presence of substantial quantities of melatonin. He also identified two important flavonoids—isoqueritrin and queritrin—and documented the presence of ellagic acid in cherries.
Ellagic acid is a naturally occurring plant phenolic known to be a potent anti-carcinogenic/anti-mutagenic compound. Clinical tests conducted at the Hollings Cancer Institute at the Medical University of Southern Carolina (MUSC) show that ellagic acid may be the most potent way to prevent cancer. It also may inhibit the growth of cancer cells and arrest the growth of cancer in subjects with a genetic predisposition for the disease.
The flavonoids isqueritrin and queritrin act as antioxidants, as do the anthocyanins. They work to eliminate byproducts of oxidative stress and thereby slow the aging process.
High Quantity of Melatonin Identified in Tart Cherries
The University of Texas Health Science Center recently began to quantify the availability and activity of the melatonin in cherry products. Melatonin is a potent antioxidant for which there is extensive evidence showing it to be significant in improving the body’s circadian rhythms and natural sleep patterns. Melatonin is rapidly absorbed by the body, and it is predicted that eating just a handful of cherries will increase melatonin levels in the blood, thereby improving the body’s natural sleep patterns.
As we grow older, we produce less and less melatonin. Also, if there is some sort of trauma in our lives at any time, we do not produce as much melatonin. This could have a great deal to do with why people are not sleeping well. Perhaps it is more than stress; it is because they are not producing enough melatonin to tell them that it is time to sleep.
Russel Reiter, Ph.D., University of Texas Health Science Center, is said to be the “dean” of melatonin research and he gives cherries high marks. We were surprised at how much melatonin was in cherries, specifically the Montmorency variety, says Reiter. And Tart Cherry Concentrate, which has greatly reduced water content, contains ten times the melatonin of the raw fruit. Tart cherries contain an extremely significant amount of melatonin, enough to produce positive results in the body.
Montmorency cherries, which account for the majority of tart cherries produced in the United States, contain up to 13.5 nanograms (ng) of melatonin per gram of cherries, more than is normally found in the blood. Melatonin is by far the most potent of the antioxidants, much more so than vitamins C, E, and A. The reason: melatonin is soluble both in fat and water and can therefore enter some cells that vitamins cannot. For example, vitamin E is soluble in the lipid part of the cell only and vitamin C in the aqueous part. Melatonin is soluble in both. For this reason, Dr. Reiter says, eating cherries with high melatonin concentrations will increase the antioxidant capacity in the body.
In addition to its antioxidative properties, melatonin has been shown to possess anti-inflammatory properties.
Michigan State University First to Identify Anthocyanins in Tart Cherries
“Twenty cherries provide 25 mg of anthocyanins which help shut down the enzymes that cause tissue inflammation in the first place, so cherries can prevent and treat many kinds of pain,” states Muraleedharan Nair, Ph.D., Michigan State University researcher. Anthocyanins are the plant pigments responsible for the bright red color of cherries. These pigments are known to have antioxidant activity, and antioxidants are believed to play a role in reducing the risk of various human degenerative diseases. Tart cherries contain anthocyanins and flavonoids, which prevent inflammation in the body. These compounds exhibit similar activity as do aspirin, naproxen, and ibuprofen. The anthocyanins may also protect artery walls from the damage that leads to plaque build-up and heart disease. Recent studies show that anthocyanins do a better job of protecting arteries than vitamins C and E.
There are 17 antioxidants in tart cherries. Two of these, anthocyanins 1 and 2, can inhibit the cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes, which are associated with the pain of arthritis and gout. In a comparison of 10 small fruits, cherries had the highest level of anthocyanins 1 and 2. Anthocyanins 1 and 2 are not present in blueberries or cranberries.
New studies at Michigan State University (MSU), which were recently published in Cancer Letters, suggest that tart cherries may reduce the risk of colon cancer because of the anthocyanins and cyanidin they contain.
Reference: The Cherry Marketing Institute’s Cherry Advantage
