I, Mythbuster

Time for an embarrassing question...

Have you or someone you know ever gotten the "runs" from eating too many cherries?

Sorry if this is a little personal, but I'd really be interested in your feedback for my non-scientific study. Feel free to reply anonymously if you like.

See, here's the thing--I've never gotten the runs from eating too many cherries. I don't know anyone who has gotten the runs from eating too many cherries. I'm starting to believe that this frequent warning must have originated millions of years ago as a ploy by a cherry-loving cave person to get fellow cave-people go easy on the bowl of delicious prehistoric cherries so he or she could have the most. The myth then was perpetuated and is now taken as conventional wisdom.

In a similar vein is the often believed lie that carrots will improve your vision. (Here's where that story got it's legs...)

As a follow up question, if you have had an adverse digestive reaction to eating cherries, how many cherries was too much? Was it twenty cherries? Fifty? A pound?

If it's a pound or more of cherries that gave you the runs, don't you think we can blame the adverse affects not on cherries, but on simply over eating?

Think about it--if you ate a pound of celery, I'm sure there would be a few changes to your familiar digestive routine. Ingesting a pound of black jelly beans would also surely create a few bodily surprises (don't ask how I know this.)

I just want to clear cherries' good name and restore their dignity. So please help by leaving a comment...it's for research.