Ashley Boehm

Sports Nutrition

October 4, 2019

Tart Cherry Juice and Athletes

For my topic of research, I chose to look into the study of tart cherry juice on athletes and

recovery. From attending multiple ACSM conferences, this is something that I have heard about

in research there and was interested to look into this topic even more. Although I do not think

that I would be a fan of this drink, it definitely seems to help athletes from what is told about it.

At the conference, there was a researcher telling about the topic and how much it helped the

athletes in the study, which she did in a very compelling way. The way she presented about the

topic was very passionate and helped to lead further conversation about it with my fellow

classmates and I. From here, picking a topic for this research project was very easy.

Tart cherry juice is supposed to accelerate strength recovery as well as reduce pain. While

some supplements only help for a specific type of exercise, the TC juice is supposed to be

helpful for both endurance and strength exercises. It should be looked at while looking to take

something for recovery purposes, rather than the adaptation phase. TC juice is helpful in

reducing inflammation, reducing muscle damage and increasing maximum strength after high

intensity exercise. There are also many other helpful things that this product can do for the body

as well. These are things such as, and some as said before, reducing swelling, post workout

recovery, inflammation, boosting immunity, regulating metabolism and fighting fat levels,

helping with sleep and rest and blocking cancer growth. One cup of TC juice can be about 120
calories. TC juice is also very rich in nutrients such as potassium and iron, which can help with

more than just post-exercise problems and concerns. When looking for tart cherry juice to buy

and drink, one should look for TC juice that is 100% cherry juice and has no added sugars of

sweeteners. There was a study done in one of my resources that discusses after 21 days of

drinking TC juice twice a day, the consumers of the juice with osteoarthritis felt much less pain.

The blood work done on these individuals also showed that there was much less inflammation

because of it as well. Because of the content of anthocyanin, it has similar anti-inflammatory

properties like those of ibuprofen and naproxen. Cherries also contain about 330 milligrams of

potassium, which is about 10% of your daily value. Cherry juice can also reduce the pain of

joints without the side effects of any medications that could be taken for the same reasons. I can

name so many of my friends and teammates that take large amounts of ibuprofen that are

excessive and not healthy. This is not only going to take some of that pain away, but it also can

cause other problems because of the amount that they are intaking. If people like this could

understand the benefits in the TC juice and take this as directed rather then the medications, then

they could improve their health, muscle inflammation, and joint pain as well as not worry about

if they are damaging their liver. There are specific measurements of TC juice that can be taken

for each type of pain, but this can also be a personal thing as well. If someone was to enjoy the

taste of the TC juice, then this could be something that can help them even more since they

would be consuming it more often than someone who does not like the taste.

From my first study that I looked at, they looked at running athletes and how to reduce

muscle pain. This population of athletes were chosen because long distance running can cause

acute muscle damage that can result in inflammation. The experiment was a randomized control

trial. They used a TC juice on some of the athletes, while the rest were tested with a placebo of
the cherry juice. It is found that the consumption of about 45 cherries per day can reduce

inflammatory markers in both men and women. The study looked at 54 runners and had them

complete 3 different running segments. 28 of the participants were given the TC juice, while 26

of them were given the placebo. There were three drop outs through the process due to factors

that did not allow them to drink the TC juice. There was no difference in the pain readings for the

participants in both groups prior to the race. After the race, there were complaints of pain for

both groups. Although this complaint, the increase in pain felt in the TC juice group was

significantly smaller than the pain found in the placebo group. The people in the TC juice group

also said that they are more likely to drink this again, had a higher overall satisfaction with the

drink, and higher satisfaction in the pain decrease from the juice.

For my second study that I looked at, this was a study that was done on water polo

athletes and the effects of next day performance and recovery for them. This study was a

randomized double blind study. They took 9 water polo athletes and supplemented them with a

TC juice and a placebo of the juice. They consumed 90 mL of the juice for 6 days and took this

in two different doses each day. There were blood analysis of the participants to understand the

blood lactate levels in the athletes. From the results, they were able to find that there was not a

huge difference between the placebo effects compared to the TC juice results. They were able to

conclude that although the great results found in individuals who drink TC juice and play land

sports, there is not a different product for those that are individuals that participate in water

sports. The juice is not necessary for individuals who are doing non-weight bearing water

activities.

Overall, tart cherry juice does indeed have great results when used in the proper way and

for the proper events. This product is definitely healthy, and also more healthy then the
alternatives to help with the same pains and problems. If choosing between taking a medication

of drinking the TC juice, it is much healthier for the organs as well as the body to drink the

beverage instead. I believe that an athlete should take this product. It has continuously shown

good effects for those who participate in strength of endurance exercises of sports and can help

with muscle pain and inflammation. The research from my first two sources as well as my first

study looked at has shown that the product is successful in doing what it is said to do. I would

recommend this product, as well as have been recommended it by friends and acquaintances. The

presenter at the ACSM conference was definitely passionate about this topic, and I now can

understand why she was trying so hard to get her point across about the subject. I am now

considering bringing this into my post-exercise recovery and will also recommend it to anyone

who it would effect as well.

Sources:

Kuehl et al., Efficacy of tart cherry juice in reducing muscle pain during running: a randomized

controlled trial Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2010, 7:17

McCormick et al., Effect of Tart Cherry Juice on Recovery and Next Day Performance in well

trained Water Polo Players Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2017, 13:41
Brown, Emily. “Can Tart Cherry Juice Replace NSAIDs to Relieve Body Pain in Runners?”
Runners Connect, 2 Feb. 2014, runnersconnect.net/tart-cherry-juice-for-body-pain-in-runners/.

Wallenfels, Lynda. “The Benefits of Tart Cherry Juice for Endurance Athletes.” TrainingPeaks,
18 Oct. 2016, www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/the-benefits-of-tart-cherry-juice-for-endurance-
athletes/.

Vitale, Kenneth. “Tart Cherry Juice in Athletes: A Literature Review and... : Current Sports
Medicine Reports.” LWW, Aug. 2017, journals.lww.com/acsm-
csmr/FullText/2017/07000/Tart_Cherry_Juice_in_Athletes__A_Literature_Review.11.aspx.