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Benefits of Tart Cherry Juice
Health | April 05, 2020
Pucker up! Tart cherry juice is more than just fruit juice. It’s one of the few with the honor of providing several health benefits. From lowering inflammation to improving sleep, it’s a great little tonic to keep in your medicine cabinet. Let’s not wait any longer and dive right into the benefits of tart cherry juice!
Antioxidants
Antioxidants are unique substances that protect the body from the damaging effects of free radicals. They can either slow free radical damage down or stop it altogether. [1] The best sources of antioxidants come from foods with bright or unique colors, such as purple, red, and orange. Tart cherry juice is one such food with a high concentration of anthocyanins, a class of antioxidants. Compared to regular sweet cherries, tart cherries contain between 27-200% more anthocyanins. [2] According to research published in the Journal of Food Processing and Technology, anthocyanins have the potential to lower blood pressure and cardiovascular disease risk, prevent diabetes, and function as a unique anti-bacterial. [3]
Inflammation
Because tart cherry juice is so rich in antioxidants, it’s also capable of lowering inflammation. Numerous studies have put it to the test, whether it was on athletes or patients with osteoarthritis. In long-distance runners, 3 cups (24 oz) of tart cherry juice a day leading up to a big race resulted in 3x less pain. [4] A similar study should that just 2 cups (16 oz) a day led to less muscle damage, inflammation, and soreness. [5] As for osteoarthritis, an inflammatory condition on the joints, patients who drank tart cherry juice twice a day for 21 days in a row reported fewer instances of pain compared to those that didn’t. The icing on the cake? Their results weren’t a placebo, as blood tests confirmed that they’d dramatically lowered inflammatory markers, all without any changes save for drinking the tart cherry juice. [6]
It’s also a natural remedy for swelling. While the conventional go-to are NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), they don’t come without their drawbacks. First is the potential liver toxicity when taken in high doses or extreme lengths of time. Second are the side effects, which include stomach upset, gas, diarrhea, or allergic reactions (hives, rashes, itching). The third is their timeline. Like I mentioned before, NSAIDs are potentially damaging when taken for a long time. They’re only meant for either the occasional or short-term use; anything longer increases both the risk and side effects. [7] That’s why natural alternatives like tart cherry juice are worth trying. Most can be taken for as long as you’d like with little to no risk of side effects. [8]
A few studies even suggest that it reduces symptoms of gout, with one claiming it can reduce incidences by up to 50%. [9] It may be because it decreases uric acid in the body, which triggers gout in high amounts. [10] However, the research is either very small or observational, so we cannot confirm whether or not tart cherry is the go-to solution for gout.
Better Sleep
Tart cherry juice might be the ultimate sleep elixir! It contains plenty of nutrients that are specific for sleep. The most important being melatonin, which improves both the quality and length of sleep. It also contains tryptophan, which is a precursor to serotonin and melatonin. In one study, insomniac participants that drank two cups (16 oz) of tart cherry juice increased their sleep time by 85 minutes- almost an hour and a half! [11] Another cool study proved tart cherry to be more effective than two of the top natural sleep agents- melatonin and valerian root. [12]
Possible Benefits
Here’s a list of potential benefits of tart cherry juice. The reason I say “potential” is because the research available is either based off of animals or is done only on a small number of people. We need wider-scale studies with more human participants to get the full story on tart cherry juice:
- Better vision; relieves glaucoma (fluid buildup in the eyes)
- Improved short-term memory
- Brain health
- Prevents upper respiratory tract (URT) infections
- Lowers blood pressure and cholesterol
- Weight loss (currently limited to animal studies)
Nutrition
Here’s what a typical full cup (8 oz) serving of tart cherry juice contains:
119 Calories, 28 grams of carbs, 5 grams of fiber , 2 grams of protein, 1 gram of fat
With micronutrients, you get 62% of the RDI for Vitamin A, 40% of the RDI for Vitamin C, 7% of the RDI for Vitamin K, 14% of the RDI for Manganese, 12% of the RDI for Potassium, and 12% of the RDI for Copper. [13]
It’s worth mentioning that this is loads more nutrition compared to regular sweet cherries you buy at the market. Real tart cherry juice is as its name implies. It’s very, VERY tart.
Let’s also talk about the elephant in the room- the carbs. If you eat a high-carb diet, tart cherry juice is fine to have now and then. But for those of you following a low-carb or keto diet, heads up. Instead of having the full serving, stick to either ¼ cup (2 oz) or just a few tablespoons mixed in plain or sparkling water. You’ll still get some of the benefits of tart cherries minus the extra carbs.
Another alternative is supplements. You can purchase tart cherry juice either in powdered or capsule form. This is an effective, convenient supplement to have when you’re on the go or want all the benefits without the carbs.
Have you ever taken tart cherry juice? Why, or why not? Has it helped? Share your thoughts with me in the comments!
Sources:
[1] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/301506.php
[2] https://www.naturalmedicinejournal.com/journal/2011-08/health-effects-tart-cherries
[3] https://www.longdom.org/proceedings/health-benefits-of-anthocyanins-30841.html
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20459662
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/19883392/
[6] http://www.macrothink.org/journal/index.php/jfs/article/view/1927
[7] https://www.healthline.com/health/pain-relief/otc-anti-inflammatories#interactions
[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2874510/
[9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4974079/
[10] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1756464614002886
[11] https://www.fasebj.org/doi/abs/10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.830.9
[12] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20438325
[13] https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1861/2
Private Member |
warwickshire, united kingdom
I bought tart cherry juice and thought it was only an antioxidant but loved reading the other benefits like brain health and sleep. However, my boyfriend guzzles it like pop – no wonder he sleeps well !😴
Private Member |
Howdy. I the article above you wrote that there are 28g carbs, 5g fiber, with net total 3g carbs. Is that right or a mistake? Maybe I’m not understanding the math right, because I would think there would be 23g carbs net.
Also, what do you suggest for keto nausea? I’m feeling nauseated most of the morning and not wanting to eat at all. It also greatly hinders my workouts- low energy from low too low of calories and I’m mentally stifling that feeling instead of using that focus to do well. Thanks!
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
Hi, yeah that was a screw up on my part. Thank you for letting me know. I have no idea why I added 3 net carbs – maybe it was a wishful thinking 🙂
First of all do you have a blood ketone meter? If you don’t, then that’s a first mistake. If you can’t measure your ketones, then you can’t know if you’re in nutritional ketosis and if your diet is actually supporting keto.
The low energy and yacky kind of feeling is normal at the beginning when your body is depleted of glycogen but is not efficient yet at producing ketones. You won’t have much strength for the first 3-4 weeks. I’m personally now in week 2 and I still can’t do my most advanced workouts. So getting the strength back will take time.
It’s a good idea to increase the calories and fat at the beginning to give your body enough energy. Because your body won’t know yet how to use stored fat for energy.
Also you need to salt everything. Use sea salt or pink Himalayan salt. Salt your water too and stay hydrated. You need electrolytes. Bone broth is great for energy and replenishing electrolytes. You can also buy electrolyte drinks. I like Ultima Replenisher. The keto nausea will pass. It shouldn’t take too long unless you’re not measuring your ketones and therefor staying in that miserable low ketone state. When you measure your ketones and it’s below 0.5mmol than chances are you won’t feel great. That’s how it works for me. I try to stay above that mark. It’s also when you’re actually in nutritional ketosis.
Private Member |
Thanks you!
Private Member |
Thank you for the information. I have another question 😬
I thought I understood nutrition panels well, but this one is confusing to me. I am using this monk fruit sweetener by lakanto. I don’t use it often but occasionally I want to use it in a recipe. The cover says “zero net carbs” but the panel says total carbohydrates 4g (sub cat) sugar alcohol 4g.
How am I to process that? Is it zero or 4?
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
Sugar alcohol doesn’t usually count as net carb. When you’re doing low carb or keto then sugar alcohol is ok because it typically doesn’t raise your blood sugar.
Private Member |
I’m always looking for something to consume as my last form of calorie intake of the day. I guess you could call it intermittent fasting but the regiment around I.F. can be off-putting to me. Our health routines shouldn’t stress us out! Lol. I’m learning, for sure. I like the idea of a nighttime ritual. My Grandmother included prayer, these days it’s more widely accepted to say ‘meditation’. I like the idea of a cherry juice concoction or or golden milk or chamomile tea as a signal to turn down the lighting and unwind for the day. Connect to God or ‘source’. So nurturing.