I’m finding that cherries or pure cherry juice has the effect of stopping/postponing my menstruation.
What property(s) does cherries have which causes such an effect?
And I wonder, am I the only one? (because I’m also different in other ways; for example, whereas garlic cures others’ colds, yet when I dare to eat garlic, it causes me to get a terrible sore throat & cold.
.
Not me. I find that if I eat garlic, my cold last for 7 days, but if I eat cherries, they cure my cold in a week.
You need a herbalist not a gynaecologist. Cherries don’t seem to be listed as an emmenagogue in any of my herbals. Personally I’d put it down to coincidence and I certainly wouldn’t rely on it as contraception 
I assure you it’s not coincidence. I rarely eat cherries, and the phenomenon has happened only at those times when I have eaten cherries.
The only way to disprove it would be to run a controlled study on a HUGE cross section of the menstruating populace, not excluding those with irregularities (since it just might be the latter on whom it might have the most effect).
Samclem:
Very funny. Strike the term “cures” & substitute “relieves” if it makes ya feel betta.
I’ve heard that Red Tart Cherry juice concentrate has various health benefits including pain and inflamation reduction.
Resources:
http://www.naplesnews.com/01/05/marco/d191879a.htm
and
http://www.cherryjuicepower.com/magazine1.htm
So it could be possible that cherries are affecting your cycle, but I wouldn’t say it is keeping you infertile.
IANAGOH (I am not a gynecologist or herbalist), but birth control pills obtain their effects through doses of the human hormones progestin and estrogen. Cherries may contain phytoestrogens (hormones similar to animal estrogens, but produced by plants), and it is possible that this causes the effect you’ve seen. How much of these cherries and cherry juice do you ingest? A lot? Please note this paragraph from the site mentioned above:
I was a bit surprised to find any connection between cherries and menstruation, but this page at least mentions cherries as being of use “…to ease menstrual difficulties”. In addition, this page mentions that cherries contain bioflavinoids, which can strengthen blood vessel walls. Perhaps you’re less likely to bleed during menstruation with stronger blood vessel walls? It doesn’t sound like you’re talking about reduced bleeding, though, but a total stop to menstruation.
However, this really caught my eye:
When it comes to claiming some medical benefit for ingesting some substance (natural or not), it is not the burden of anyone to disprove the claim. The person making the claim must prove that the substance has the claimed medical benefit.
Well, I love cherries, and I have noticed not ilregularities after eating them, but that doesn’t disprove your theory, it just doesn’t add any evidence to it.
However, I find your statement about the garlic to be implausable. Perhaps it could cause your cold to worsen somehow, but colds are caused by viruses, not food. Are you sure it’s not an alergy? I can’t eat anything with basil in it, since I get an itchy red rash, so maybe a general ill feeling could be the result of an alergy too. In any case, don’t eat it if it bothers you, my alergy has gotten worse since I have occasionally ate pizza, and the reaction has become more severe.
I’ve actually never heard garlic being touted as a cold cure though, just as a natural antibiotic.
Wevets, your response was really on target, thanks!
I’d been thinking about this subject, even before your post to me, & that triggered a memory that a dentist once gave me a berry syrup as a supplement to toothpaste to strengthen my gums. I also know for a fact that I’m acid intolerant, and furthermore, that even drinking orange-juice can cause me menstrual bleeding. So it’s very likely that cherries (which btw contains bitters) can have a strengthening effect on my lining. I’m still not sure whether it’s the bioflavanoids or bitters, or perhaps a combo of both, which caused that effect.
In response to everyone in general, I’m not going to go thru the hassle of debating re: burdens of proof about cherries, or re: garlic. It’s up to anyone to choose to believe (or not) that every individual has unique idiocyncrasies. For example, I’m sure that people with peanut allergies were once disbelieved too.
Thanks for the links, but actually, as I stated above, I’m intolerant to tartness, and acidic drinks spurs my menses. The cherries that I ate were black and sweet (probably even containing bitters). And I think it’s either the bioflavanoids, or the bitters, or perhaps a combo of both which caused the effect.
And I know it’s not birth control, but rather just delayed or reduced menses.
Nah we skeptics always believed those suckers who dropped dead after eating peanuts 
I wish that the VBulletin script would offer the below feature (in particular, see the orange text reading “off-color”):
Even if vBulletin allowed such a thing, I really doubt that we’d implement it on this message board. Most of our posters ENJOY the off-topic banter as much as the original subject. Sometimes even more so.
So the SDMB administrators enjoy encouraging inane perversion, which does NOT further the eradication of ignorance (isn’t that how the SDMB is touted)? It isn’t too much fun for the victims of these perverts, as it just wastes their time.
When I post here, I only do so for the statistical reason that there’s bound to be a small minority of non-perverts who will actually keep on topic (& by some miracle be knowledgeable).
Furthermore, as I told TubaDiva, this needless clutter might just be a factor in the clogging & resultant slowness of these boards.
And it’s not as if I’m acting like a Commie (by barring idiotic respondents from posting to my posts). No, all I’m advocating is TAGGING rather than outright BARRING, even though the latter is what they actually deserve for the frustration they cause. (you too? perhaps…considering what you just said.
Another alternative would be for SDMB to start a separate GQ board where facetiousness is discouraged by moderators. That way, anyone who wishes to avoid same would have a choice of which board to use. Granted, that board may be less popular but I personally wouldn’t care, since I prefer reading short, concise quality, rather than wading through garbage to find the occasional nuggets.
Sheesh jally lighten up, virtually every Cecil column I’ve ever read contains enough humorous, and often irrelevent, material as to be entertaining and not just enlightening. That’s why I like this website.
Now to talk about the OP, I hope you’re washing those things before you pop them in your mouth. The foal deaths in Kentuckey this spring was a result of cyanide poisoning via caterpillar fecal matter. The caterpillar’s home is the Black Cherry, not the same as fruit cherry tree IIRC. This being said this is just an example of it may not be the fruit that is causing this problem but what is on the fruit. Just an idea on the matter.
For a story on the dead foals and cyanide…
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_304616.html
Were you deliberately quoting eek (in the site quoted above? Here’s that site again:
http://features.homestead.com/files/index.htm.html
Not everyone shares your sense of humor. I’m talking about offering a choice to those with “other” senses of humor. Fair enough? And there’s enough boards, such as the Mundane Issues, Great Debates & Pitt that do already cater to your type. Isn’t it fair to offer a choice to my type?
BTW, Primaflora, in case you’re reading this, I can understand where you might be coming from (i.e. your frustration at an “unproven” issue such as cherries for bleeding.) But that’s because you don’t even know my background. The fact is, that I’m VERY skeptical of nutritionist & health-food lore, since most vitamins & homeopathy have proven ineffective for me personally. In fact, I’m much more a believer in stuff like hormones and real medicines as being truly effective for whichever conditions they’re indicated. That’s why I was quite surprised when cherries actually did have a real effect on me even though it’s merely a food. & I’m not talking now about stuff such as raw garlic which had a negative effect on me. On the contrary, the cherries had a positive effect by strengthening my internal lining.