Tart Cherry Juice & Muscle Recovery
Let’s face it—muscle soreness after a workout is a love-hate relationship. On one hand, it’s a reminder of the hard work you put in. On the other hand, getting out of bed can feel like a miraculous feat in the days that follow! So, what if we told you there’s a natural remedy that could help you recover faster and hit the gym (or the trails) again with a little more ease? Enter: tart cherry juice. Yes, that sour red stuff your grandma used to sip might just be your next fitness hack!
No doubt some of you are raising your eyebrows right now. Honestly, we were too until we dug into the research and science behind this super power beverage.
What’s the Deal with Tart Cherry Juice?
Tart cherry juice, especially from Montmorency cherries—this is the variety that has been predominately studied, is packed with some serious health benefits. Not only is it rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds like anthocyanins (which are what give it that deep red color), but it also contains vitamins C, potassium, and melatonin.
Why does that matter? Because when you’re pushing your body to the limit—whether through endurance sports, weightlifting, or a particularly intense HIT class—your muscles undergo stress, inflammation, and oxidative damage. And that, my friend, is where tart cherry juice comes in for the rescue.
Science Time: Tart Cherry Juice & Muscle Recovery
Let’s look at a couple of juicy (pun intended) studies to back this up:
Study 1: A 2010 study in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports looked at marathon runners who consumed tart cherry juice before and after their race. Guess what? The runners who drank the cherry juice experienced less muscle pain and recovered faster than those who didn’t.
Study 2: In a 2016 study, football (soccer) players who supplemented with tart cherry juice were able to maintain greater functional performance and reported less muscle soreness compared to those who received the placebo beverage.
Review Article — this article reviewed 36 different studies to draw conclusions
putting it into practice
One thing that doesn’t appear to be fully understood is the ideal dose—that will need to come from future studies!
Here is what we know so far:
Timing Matters!! Tart cherry juice should be used BEFORE athletic endeavors. We typically think of recovery as the things that we do post-activity, but to reap the benefits you’ll want to be ingesting this juice before activity. The best results come from the studies in which folks drank this magic juice at least 3 days prior to activity, the day of activity, and the days after. Studies that have assessed intaking tart cherry juice just on the day of activity have not shown the same positive results.
The use of tart cherry juice appear the most beneficial as powders have not demonstrated the same benefits
The current doses used in studies are 2x8-12oz/day, but again the most effective dose remains an unanswered question.
what about sweet cherries?!
Both tart and sweet cherries have a range of different phytonutrients (plant foods that contain natural chemicals) that have both antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory effects. Tart cherries get the claim to fame simply because of cost and availability for manufacturers. Earlier studies did in fact use sweet cherries which equated to folks eating approx 45 cherries per day. Subsequent studies looked at whether tart cherry juice would have the same impact because let’s face it eating that many cherries each day is exhausting in itself and the use of sweet cherries is costly and season dependent.
conclusions:
Tart cherry juice isn’t just a trendy health drink—it does have some science to back it up and can improve your muscle recovery game. Whether you’re running marathons or just getting back into the gym, this tart little juice could help you feel less sore and recover faster.
So, next time you’re browsing the grocery store, grab a bottle of tart cherry juice and give it a try. Your muscles will thank you.
PS—If you’re not doing the basics for recovery, aka sleeping 8 hours/night, maybe start there before increasing your grocery bill ;-)