Cherry juice nutrition can also help prevent heart attacks, strokes, varicose veins, and even cataracts.

Health Benefits of Cherry Juice Nutrition:

Studies show that cherry juice can soothe arthritis by lowering uric acid, and that the anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatories in cherry juice reduces the time in muscle recovery. Some studies show that cherry juice nutrition can help lower blood pressure, and that drinking 2-3 pints a day of cherry juice can relieve gout.

How To Make Use of Cherry Juice Nutrition:

I personally don’t like the taste of black cherry juice, and that’s the only kind that can be found conveniently and cheaply in my area. I’ve tried several combinations to make it palatable, but I’ve found that what works best for me, is to make a soda out of it.

Take 2 parts cherry juice, 1 part dry gingerale (dry means non-sweet, I use Canada Dry), and 1 part sparkling spring water. If you like the flavor of mineral water, you can try that in place of the sparkling spring water.

I had a friend who used to slice fresh ginger root into boiling water and make a strong ginger tea out of it. She then froze the ginger tea into ice cubes and used the ginger ice cubes to cool her cherry juice. The flavors work well together.

Dangers of Cherry Juice Nutrition:

Despite the great health benefits of cherry juice nutrition, there are some dangers of cherry juice. Some forms of gout can actually be aggravated by too much cherry juice, due to the fructose. Diabetics may be benefited by cherry juice, but because of the high sugar content of fruits, and particularly of fruit juices, the intake will have to be carefully watched.

Cherry Juice Nutrition Not Limited to Juice:

The health benefits of cherry nutrition isn’t limited to juice. Fresh cherries are probably the best source of anti-oxidants. Frozen cherries are available year round, and if they’re pitted, you can even blend them up into nutritious smoothies.

Cherry pie filling may not be the healthiest way to get your cherries, but it’s better than nothing. There are even cherry concentrates on the market, and dried cherries retain much of their nutritional value.

How I’ve Used Cherry Juice Nutrition:

I’ve known that cherries are good for arthritis for a long time. It was recommended to my grandmother and my father when they found they had arthritis, and it helped their pains immensely. When I began to have bad knee pain at the age of 29, I didn’t wait to go to the doctor and be put on a regimen of toxic chemicals, or be told to pop pain killers. I went straight out and bought cherry juice. It took 2 or 3 days before I noticed a difference, but within about a week, I was practically pain free. However, if I miss one or two days, I feel it.

I’m only drinking about 1 cup of black cherry juice a day, but for me, it’s enough. Cherry juice nutrition has really been a benefit to me.

Russian Salad:

Simply take 1 or more cucumbers depending on how much salad you want- peel, and cut into slices approximately 1/4-1/2″ thick. Cut those in half to make half circles.

Slice several tomatoes (preferably romano) into thin wedges.

Thinly slice some onion into the bowl.

Chop some fresh dill into the bowl.

Sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and black pepper to taste. Toss and serve.

Keep in mind that if you plan to refrigerate or leave the salad sitting out for long, you may not want to add the salt right away, and may need to scoop the tomato innards out before mixing, otherwise you’ll have a lot of liquid left over.

Alternative: My father sometimes substitutes sour cream for the olive oil and adds a little crushed garlic. It’s very, very nice.

They’re also one of the easiest foods to make. And yes, beets can be eaten raw, but I prefer the texture of them cooked.

If you want to make roasted beets, all you’ll need is a bunch of beets (they usually come 3 beet roots to a bunch), an oven safe bowl, some foil, and a knife.

Clean the beets well. They don’t need to be scrubbed since the skin will be coming off of them after they’re cooked, but you do want to get most of the dirt off.

Next, take the knife and cut the beet stems about an inch above the beetroot (the bulb part). Leave the dangly bit of the root attached, and try not to damage the skin. Even the golden beets have juice that can stain, it’s just not as bright as the juice from red beets.

Place a layer of foil in the bowl, and place the beets on top of the foil, so that they’re nestled in the bowl (or pan, or what have you). Cover with more foil, and press the foil down tightly around the edges.

Place the covered bowl into the oven, and bake at 350 degrees Farenheit for 45 minutes to an hour for small to average sized beets. You may need longer for very large  beets, or for roasting larger quanities.

Often, you can tell when the roasted beets are thoroughly cooked just by smell. When the oven starts giving off the aroma of beets, they’re nearly done. I also add a bit of water to the bowl if the beets are particularly large, to keep them from burning during the extended cooking time.

Once the roasted beets are finished and cooled enough to touch, simply pinch off the long root stem, and the stems at the top. Gently squeeze the beet to break open the skin, and peel it off. I recommend rinsing the beets once peeled, since some of the dirt from the outside may remain.

You can slice beets any which way, and top with anything you wish (oil, butter, herbs, salt & pepper), but I like them best just plain and a little warm.

For an extra nutritional punch, baby beets can be used since they don’t need to be peeled before being eaten, and beet greens are wonderful in salads, sauteed, or my favorite- used in home made fried rice! For more information on the health benefits of beets, please see my other posts.