The benefits of the paleo diet can help your health in many ways. Two of the most important: better sleep and reduced pain.
The key to these benefits derives from the way the paleo diet substitutes berries, cherries and other fruits for the processed snacks and drinks that most people consume. Berries and cherries, for instance, contain a wealth of natural chemicals that help the body cut inflammation and which have also been shown to defuse insomnia.
Inflammation-reducing juice
Among these types of foods, the champ at promoting better wellness may be the tart cherry. If one of your chief complaints in life is the inability to fall asleep quickly and easily, a glass of tart cherry juice right before bed could be the answer to your bedtime difficulties.
In a study at Louisiana State University, drinking tart cherry juice twice a day for two weeks increased sleep time for older adults by an impressive average of 90 minutes every night.
Today, insomnia, especially among seniors, is at epidemic proportions. It is estimated that almost one in four older people toss and turn with insomnia. In general, insomnia often can be associated with chronic pain, type 2 diabetes, brain problems (like dementia) and high blood pressure.
Taking sleeping pills to help with sleep comes with a variety or problematic side effects. For older folks, they increase the chances of daytime falls and serious injury.
“Sleeping pills may be an option for younger insomniacs, but for older people these medications quadruple the risk of falling, which can lead to broken hips and, often, earlier death,” says researcher Frank L. Greenway.
Red helps
Central to the health benefits of tart cherry juice are the natural pigments that make it red: proanthocyanidins. These substances, known as polyphenols, help the body make better use of tryptophan, an amino acid that helps with falling sleep. The juice hampers the activity of an enzyme called indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase that breaks down tryptophan and makes it harder to get some shut-eye. (For better sleep, the body has to convert tryptophan into serotonin.)
“Even though the amount of tryptophan in tart cherry juice is smaller than a normal dose given to aid sleep, the compounds in tart cherries could prevent the tryptophan from breaking down so it’s able to work in the body more effectively,” says Greenway. “These compounds may help to improve tryptophan bioavailability for serotonin synthesis, which could have a positive effect on sleep. Increasing serotonin also helps improve mood and decrease inflammation.”
Tart cherry juice also contains melatonin, a natural chemical that has been shown to help promote better sleep.
Pain reduction
If chronic pain is the reason you can’t sleep, tart cherries can help reduce that problem as well. Research at the Oregon Health & Science University shows that the anti-inflammatory natural chemicals in these tart cherries can ease pain linked to joint problems and arthritis.
According to these scientists, tart cherries possess the “highest anti-inflammatory content of any food.”
This study focused on 20 women between the ages of 40 and 70 who were suffering inflammatory osteoarthritis. Drinking two glasses of the juice daily for three weeks dropped the inflammation in their bodies and significantly reduced the aching in their joints.
“With millions of Americans looking for ways to naturally manage pain, it’s promising that tart cherries can help, without the possible side effects often associated with arthritis medications,” says researcher Kerry Kuehl. “I’m intrigued by the potential for a real food to offer such a powerful anti-inflammatory benefit — especially for active adults.”
If you haven’t started trying to follow some of the precepts of the paleo diet, it may be time for you to try it out. Yes, it means forgoing the bubbly sweet soft drinks that so many of us are hooked on. But it could liberate you from pain and sleep problems.
