Should Athletes Be Eating Tart Cherries??
What are tart cherries?
Montmorency cherries, or tart cherries, are often used in pies and preserves. They are grown in some European countries, Michigan, and a few other northern locations of the US. Most of us aren’t lucky enough to get these gems fresh. However, if you live in the US, you can get them year-round in the forms of dried, frozen, juice, juice concentrate, or canned.
A little nutritional dive into tart cherries:
Tart cherries are loaded with antioxidants and score very high on the ORAC test, a measure of antioxidant concentration. They are rich in anthocyanins, which give the fruit it’s beautiful red color.
There has been a lot of interest in the recent years in tart cherry juice and the benefits for athletes. Could this be something you should add to your training regimen? Let’s take a look!
What does the research say?
One study included 14 male subjects who drank 12 oz of tart cherry juice blend or a placebo for 8 days. On day 4 of this study, all of the subjects completed eccentric elbow flexion and contraction. Several factors were recorded before the test and 4 days later in order to determine strength and pain. This study showed significantly less strength loss and pain in the subjects who drank the tart cherry juice. (1)
A similar study that examined strength during a one-leg knee extension also showed an improvement in recovery time. (2)
Training for an event that requires back to back intense bouts of exercise can be really tough on the body due to inflammation and stress. One study showed some promising results that tart cherry juice could reduce oxidative and inflammatory cascades. Trained cyclists were divided into two groups, one receiving 30 mL of cherry juice concentrate and the other receiving a placebo for 7 days. A simulated, high-intensity, road cycling training was completed on days 5, 6, and 7 for 109 minutes each. Several blood markers that indicate oxidative stress and inflammation were lower in the cherry juice concentrate group. (3)
Another study showed similar results that also supported a reduction in inflammation caused by strenuous exercise and quicker recovery. (4) Even if your training doesn’t require back to back training, a reduction of inflammation is positive for anyone.
Recreational marathon runners have also been studied. Some runners were given tart cherry juice for the 5 days leading up to the event, the day of, and for 48 hours post race. The others were given a placebo to drink. When a number of blood markers indicative of inflammation and oxidative stress were examined before and after the marathon, it was determined that the tart cherry juice group experienced lower levels of those markers. (5)
What dosage is needed?
The research is really unclear about what dosage is needed to achieve a positive result. According to a literature review, many studies used 8oz, 10.5oz, and 12oz of tart cherry juice. That is equivalent to about 45-60 cherries. This dosage was given twice each day. Two studies used only 1oz of tart cherry juice concentrate daily, which was equivalent to 90-110 cherries daily. (6) Throughout the research, many different formulas were used as far as how many days prior to an event and after the tart cherry juice should be administered. Those variations make it tough to recommend when it should be administered.
A few thoughts about the studies:
In all of the studies that I came across, a theme that I noticed was very small sample sizes. The research is really in the beginning stages. While it is very interesting, and some of the results seem very promising, I don’t think we can definitively say that tart cherries will make you a better athlete who recovers faster than the rest.
That being said, I am intrigued by this research because it involves actual food instead of a pill or supplement. Adding tart cherries into your life certainly can’t hurt and may provide you with some really cool benefits. After a long bout of exercise, the sugar in the juice will help to replenish glycogen stores as well. At other times, I am a big fan of incorporating the actual cherry as much as possible instead of the juice.
In general, no athlete can achieve all of their needs through one magical food. A well-balanced diet that incorporates a variety of fruits and vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains is essential. This is just one food that you could try to incorporate to hopefully give your body some added benefits.
Tart cherry juice recipes:
This list will grow over the next few weeks!
Connolly DA, McHugh MP, Padilla-Zakour OI, Carlson L, Sayers SP. Efficacy of a tart cherry juice blend in preventing the symptoms of muscle damage. Br J Sports Med. 2006;40(8):679–683. doi:10.1136/bjsm.2005.02542
Bowtell J.L., Sumners D.P., Dyer A., Fox P., Mileva K. Montmorency cherry juice reduces muscle damage caused by intensive strength exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011; 43(8): 1544-1551. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e31820e5adc
Bell PG, Walshe IH, Davison GW, Stevenson E, Howatson G. Montmorency. Cherries reduce the oxidative stress and inflammatory responses to repeated days high-intensity stochastic cycling. Nutrients. 2014;6(2):829–843. Published 2014 Feb 21. doi:10.3390/nu6020829
Phillip G. Bell, Ian H. Walshe, Gareth W. Davison, Emma J. Stevenson, Glyn Howatson. Recovery facilitation with Montmorency cherries following high-intensity, metabolically challenging exercise. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2015, 40:414-423. https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2014-0244
Howaston G., McHugh M.P., Hill J.A., Brouner J., Jewell A.P., Van Someren K.A., Shave R.E., Howaston S.A. Influence of tart cherry juice on indices of recovery following marathon running. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2010, 20(6): 843-52. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2009.01005.x.
Vitale K.C., Hueglin S., Broad E. Tart cherry juice in athletes: a literature review and commentary. Current Sports Med Reports. 2017, 16(4):230-39. doi:10.1249/JSR.0000000000000385.