1) Packs a Nutritious Punch 

Tart cherries are packed with a ton of vitamins and nutrients in just one serving of juice. “It contains a significant amount of Vitamin A and C as well as some manganese, potassium, copper, zinc and some vitamin K,” . One serving also includes 56 mg of flavonoids, including anthocyanins which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Antioxidants help slow down damage to your cells and reduce inflammation. Too much inflammation in the body can lead to diseases like cancer and heart disease.

2) Treats Sore Muscles

Fitness aficionados — and athletes in particular — began to pay more attention to cherry juice when researchers began examining its effects on recovery.

People started to notice cherry juice when it came to reducing muscle soreness. There was a reduction in soreness after drinking tart cherry juice for seven days.

3) Increases Exercise Endurance

Tart cherry juice can help with strength and soreness, and it may also help optimize overall endurance for athletes over time. Tart cherry concentrate may enhance endurance exercise performance because of its low-glycemic index, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative capacity, and blood-flow enhancing effects. 

4) Enhances Sleep

Tossing and turning all night? Tart cherry juice is being studied as a viable solution to improve your sleep hygiene over time. Tart cherries are one of the foods high in melatonin, a hormone that is naturally produced in our body that helps regulate our internal circadian clocks, which is found in some foods. Many people take OTC Melatonin pills to help with sleep.

5) Fights Inflammation

It’s advice you’ve likely heard a million times, but chronic inflammation can exacerbate countless chronic conditions — and anything that can protect us against it is good. It’s why there are so many diets focused on anti-inflammatory foods.

“The anthocyanins, which are compounds found naturally in the fruit, have anti-inflammatory properties which can be beneficial for those with chronic pain or inflammatory conditions.” 

Anti-inflammatory compounds like anthocyanins can protect our cells against damage, which otherwise can lead to issues like heart disease and poor cardiovascular health.

6) Targets Gout and Other Forms of Arthritis

There is also some research that shows tart cherry juice might help with gout, a form of painful arthritis that often impacts the big toe. This 2019 study showed promise in reducing flare-ups and there are more current studies in progress. The thought is that tart cherries have an impact on reducing levels of uric acid.

“Some preliminary studies show that tart cherry juice helps slightly lower pain and stiffness in those with arthritis after consuming consistently,”. Most of the studies have been done around osteoarthritis, where the cartilage of the joint lining thins. 

7) Decreases High Blood Pressure

A small study done by Northumbria University in New Castle on hypertensive men saw promising results with reduction in high blood pressure, a change effected by drinking Montmorency cherry juice concentrate that was equivalent to that of taking medication. Another study, from the journal Food Function that conscripted both men and women in its methods, showed a reduction in systolic blood pressure and LDL cholesterol. Although these studies weren’t as large as some of the others, they showed results promising enough to signal the need for continued studies.