In winter, cherries that are full of red, sweet, and juicy are the "stars" of the fruit market. Not only have price fluctuations attracted attention, but there have also been constant discussions about the health of cherries, such as "cherries can nourish blood" and "cherries containing melatonin can help sleep"... are these claims true? Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center and member of the Health Communication Branch of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association, stated that the claim that "cherries can nourish blood" lacks sufficient scientific basis. Iron is an important element for nourishing blood, and the iron content in cherries is only 0.36 milligrams per 100 grams, which is lower than that in Chinese cabbage. The reporter found that there are some foods that are recognized to have high iron content, such as pig liver with an iron content of 22.6 milligrams per 100 grams and duck blood with an iron content of 30.5 milligrams per 100 grams. The iron content in other animal based ingredients such as pork tenderloin is 1.5 milligrams per 100 grams, and in oysters it is 7.1 milligrams per 100 grams. In addition, the absorption rates of different forms of iron vary greatly. Generally speaking, the absorption rate of iron in plant-based foods by humans is much lower than that in animal based foods. Therefore, the good sources of dietary iron are mainly animal liver, animal whole blood, livestock and poultry meat, fish and shellfish, etc. It is difficult to improve anemia or nourish qi and blood by eating cherries. Is it true that eating more cherries can help sleep? Ruan Guangfeng introduced that the pineal glands of mammals and humans secrete a hormone called melatonin, and some studies suggest that melatonin can help with sleep in specific situations. However, the content of melatonin in cherries is very limited, usually only in the microgram range per 100 grams. In contrast, a regular melatonin supplement often contains over 2 milligrams. This means that it is difficult to achieve a good sleep by supplementing melatonin with cherries in the face of a thousand fold difference. It is worth noting that even with melatonin supplementation, its effect on improving sleep varies from person to person and is not effective for everyone. For sleep rhythm disorders caused by time difference, shift work, etc., exogenous melatonin may have a certain regulatory effect, but its effect is not clear for general insomnia problems and should not be used as the preferred treatment method. Experts remind that cherries are a nutrient rich fruit, rich in antioxidants such as vitamin C and anthocyanins. Moderate consumption is beneficial for health, but excessive intake of cherries can increase oral osmotic pressure and cause problems such as foaming at the corners of the mouth. (New Society)