I haven't tasted fresh cherries. The preserved ones available here, I don't like the taste of...to me they somewhat tastes like cough syrup.

Anyway cherries are rich in antioxidants known as anthocyanins (which provide the deep rich red color and have been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties and other health benefits) and increasing its intake may help lower the risk of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease.

[Metabolic syndrome (also called insulin resistance syndrome) is known as the "silent epidemic" affecting 50 million Americans according to the American Heart Association.]

Such were the findings presented recently at the annual meeting of Experimental Biology.

The findings, derived from animal studies that will hopefully lead to human studies were conducted by University of Michigan researchers.

The researchers used cherry powder derived from tart cherries (the variety frequently sold as dried, frozen or juice).

According to study co-author Dr. Steven F. Bolling, a cardiac surgeon at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center who also heads the U-M Cardioprotection Research Laboratory, where the study was performed:

"Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of traits that can greatly increase your risk of heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes, so it's a serious condition that significantly affects public health.

Lifestyle changes have been shown to lower the odds of developing metabolic syndrome, and there is tremendous interest in studying the impact of particular foods that are rich in antioxidants, such as cherries."

So, do you like cherries?

Find more details from the full report.