The Physical Effect of Cherries

At 4pm yesterday, I hit a bit of a wall. I felt like someone from that awful awful 5 hour energy ad - "we all know what 2:30 feels like...". Oh how I loathe that ad. I'd post it here, but then I'd be furthering their cause.

The first thing I did was take off my shoes. This always provides some cooling relief by releasing all the pent-up heat energy in my feet. Then I got up and headed for the ki

tchen. My legs were sore from soccer - especially where the quads meet the hips. (How in the world does one stretch this region? You can yank your feet up behind you all day long, and you'll most likely end up with a hyper-extended knee, and sore quads the next day).

In any case, I decided to pull the bag of cherries from the fridge rather than the bag of oatmeal-raisin cookies from on top. I poured a goodly amount into a bowl, planning on sharing with vFlyer, and gave them all a nice cold rinse. I also grabbed a little tupperware for the pits. The first one was delicious, and I had two or three before I began to make the rounds of the office.

The devteam was deep in conversation - something about computers - so I started with Todd. He had two or three while I told him the story of the cherries' purchase - an extreme organic grocery store impulse buy (along with $23 of other assorted goods, all gathered in my arms in a matter of 3 minutes).

Sindy obviously likes cherries, and took 3. She smiled and actually said "I'll take three".

Sam doesn't like cherries. Nor fruit in general. "I like oranges", he said. "I eat alot of oranges".

I returned to my desk and my work, and as 5pm neared I noticed I only had 2 cherries left. I counted the pits in my tupperware: 25. Twenty-five cherries! This seemed like alot - too much, even, so I did some research.

I found some good news:

"Cherries are a potential treatment for diabetes that may lower blood sugar levels. They may help prevent colon cancer, significantly reduce pain due to muscle damage, provide relief from the pain of gout and arthritis and lower LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, a contributing factor in heart disease and strokes." -Life 123.com

I also found a troubling tale:

"Former President Zachary Taylor ate a substantial amount of cherries the day of his death. He i

s presumed to have died from a foodborne illness that lasted 5 days."

I suspect Taylor's death had more to do with what was on those particular cherries, and the gulps of warm milk he was simultaneously downing. And then the subsequent bleeding by his doctors.It turns out there's a conspiracy theory surrounding this cherry-lover's death, with enough momentum to warrant digging up the old bones in 1991 for a scientific examination (read: the exhumation of Taylor's remains): http://bit.ly/ctjKME

Me? I had two more cherries, bringing my grand total to 27. I made it home just fine, with no ill effects to report, and I'm happily back to the cherry-eating today.

Overall, I feel that cherries have a lot to offer those looking for an afternoon pick-me-up. They're sweet and juicy, and according to one loyal non-reader, eating a cherry is:

"Like playing a little game - you try to eat the cherry

without breaking your tooth on the pit"

And, best of all - the satisfaction of spitting the little wooden pit, especially hearing it plunk into the bottom of a plastic container.