A study led at Central Michigan University has shown that Michigan cherries will help those with Alzheimer’s and other degenerative brain diseases.
The Detroit Free Press named Michigan one of the leaders in the production of tart cherries, which are now rumored to help with these brain diseases.
According to the Wyandotte Patch, the extracts from the cherries helped mice that suffered from Alzheimer’s symptoms.
Experiments like these are often controversial because people have unlimited access to cherries, unlike drugs that are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.
There are many skeptics to the idea of cherries being able to really help people. Dr. Sidney Wolfe, founder of the Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, is among the skeptics. She says, “Publicizing something like this, you can give false hopes … to people who start slugging down cherry juice.”
The cherries have been proven to relieve symptoms of arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. The findings of the medical benefits of Michigan’s berries were published in the Journal of Medicinal Food in 2012. The claims have not been regulated by the FDA.