amount of melatonin in cherries
Dr Oz: Tart Cherry Juice Has Melatonin to Help Sleep. You may have enjoyed tart cherries in a pie or on an ice cream sundae, or maybe you just like eating them fresh from a bowl. Now you might want to start looking for them in the form of Tart Cherry Juice in the aisle of your supermarket. Recent studies have shown that the perfect amount of melatonin found naturally in Tart Cherry Juice could be the key to you getting a good night’s sleep. Dr. Oz says it just might the Miracle to end your insomnia. The presence of melatonin is not the only benefit you can get from cherries. This berry is also very rich in potent phytonutrients including anthocyanins which give cherries their deep red color and act as powerful antioxidants. Anthocyanins also help block the COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes causing pain reaction in the body. The findings mark the first time melatonin has been pegged as a naturally occurring substance in food, although trace amounts are evident in bananas, corn and other foods, Reiter says. “The combination of antioxidants in cherries can be very beneficial,” Reiter says. While Reiter’s study gave cherries some health bonafides, Patricia Leischner already knew the fruit was making her feel better. Leischner, 63, lives on a farm about 25 miles north of Springfield, Ill., and has suffered from back trouble — she had surgery in 1996 — and arthritis for years. According to the information on the web-site of Michigan cherry growers King Orchards 1 ounce of concentrated cherry juice from Montmorency cherries contains approximately 4910 ng (4.91 mcg) of natural melatonin, which is about the minimum amount circulating in the blood stream of a healthy male adult at night time. Dr Oz: Tart Cherry Juice vs Sleeping Pill. Dr. Mike Dow, author of the book Diet Rehab, says the secret to why Tart Cherry Juice could be the Miracle to getting better sleep is because it has melatonin, which is important to getting on a good sleep regimen every night. Reiter recently put some hard science behind the cherry folklore. He conducted a five-month study and found that tart cherries contain significant amounts of melatonin — a hormone produced in the brain’s pineal gland that has been credited with slowing the aging process, and fighting insomnia and jet lag. Melatonin is not considered an effective treatment for insomnia. Melatonin in pill form does not function like your body's naturally produced melatonin; it effects the brain in bursts and rapidly leaves the system, instead of the slow build-up and slow wash-out that your body's naturally produced melatonin experiences. The correct dosage of melatonin can be a problem. According to research conducted at M.I.T., the correct dosage of melatonin for it to be effective is 0.3-1.0 mg. Many commercially available forms of melatonin are in three to 10 times the amount your body would need. In fact, there is some evidence that higher doses may be less effective. Montmorency cherries which account for the majority of cherries grown in the US contain approximately 13.5 nanograms (ng) of melatonin per 1 gram of cherries which is higher than the amount normally found in the blood. “I firmly believe that there’s absolutely no doubt the compounds in these cherries, if taken on a daily basis, definitely have an impact on joint inflammation. And the amount of antioxidants is good for the immune system and other things that don’t have anything to do with that kind of pain and gout.”.
Approximately 13.5 nanograms (ng) per 1 gram of cherries