The Health Benefits of Cherry Juice

Cherries! Mmmm...they're in season and being snapped up in the supermarkets. So sweet and tasty. I've been looking into what other cherry products are on the market. I can highly recommend dried cherries. I thought they'd be boring with little flavour, but not at all! You will find them rather tangy and tasty.

When I recently visited the Algarve I discovered Cherry Juice. Unfortunately it was only at the end of the holiday that I discovered it, but it is one of the nicest juices I've tried. Tangy and tasty are two words that come to mind. On returning home I was keen to see whether I could purchase cherry juice at home and was delighted to find it in my local supermarket.

So now that I'd found something I liked, it was time to research whether it was actually good for me. As with so many foods or drinks, the tastiest are usually the most unhealthy; not this time.

There are four main health benefits from Cherry juice, but first I must differentiate between the two types of cherry: tart and sweet. Sweet cherries are grown with the intention of being eaten fresh whereas tart cherries are mainly for jams, canning and cherry pie fillings etc. Cherry pies are a family favorite in the United States, and rightly so. A well known variety of tart cherry is the Montmorency cherry. You will find that the research into the health benefits of cherries is primarily based on tart cherries.

1. Arthritis and Inflammatory Conditions - Tart cherries contain Anthocyanins which are natural colorings and part of the group of compounds called the flavonoids. Two enzymes that can be blamed for the inflammation and pain in arthritis are inhibited by the Anthocyanins in (tart) cherry juice. These anthocyanins have been found to provide pain relief equivalent to aspirin.

2. Exercise Recovery - Calling all gym lovers; this one's for you. Research has shown that drinking cherry juice helps to repair muscle damage caused by exercise. It was found that athletes drinking cherry juice regularly, suffered less muscle pain than those who didn't. This is thanks to the anti-inflammatary power of the Anthocyanins and Antioxidants.

3. Antioxidant - There's so much talk nowadays about consuming food and drinks that have a high antioxidant content. Mmm...CHECK...cherry juice has that, but what exactly does this mean? When your body breaks down food, or even through exposure to cigarette smoke, free radicals (molecules) are produced. These can form chain reactions which can damage other cells and could lead to cancer. An antioxidant is a molecule that can inhibit the free radicals and terminate the chain reactions before they can do damage. So antioxidants are pretty critical stuff, and cherry juice is rich in it.

4. Aid Sleep and help with Jet Lag - Hope you aren't ZZZ-ing by the time you've got to this point in my article, as this is Cherrygood stuff! Excuse the pun (never worry, you'll get it later). A study was done where volunteers drunk a glass of cherry juice before going to bed and were found to sleep better. This could be due to the high Melatonin content in cherries. Melatonin is a hormone which regulates the body's sleep patterns and can also help with jet lag.

5. Weight Loss - A study showed that a diet rich in cherries helped reduce weight, particularly in the belly region. That got me interested! I'm keen to learn more ways to lower my weight particularly in this region, so I'm all up for giving cherry juice a trial. After all, it tastes mighty good so it's not like I needed much persuasion.

If all these benefits of cherry juice are to be believed, I reckon it's worth trying. I was telling my family about it and they are now hooked. Even if it didn't have the impressive health benefits, I'd still be buying it just because it tastes good.

Disclaimer: The information in this article should not be regarded as medical advice. If in doubt, consult your doctor. Although cherry juice appears to have numerous benefits, there is no guarantee that your health will improve.