New research suggests its anti-inflammatory powers can relieve post-exercise pain
Move over Gatorade, tart cherry juice could be the next big sports drink. In a small study of six adults aged 18 to 50 who drank 10.5 ounces of all-natural cherry juice twice a day for seven days before and on the day of a long-distance relay, the juice drinkers had significantly less muscle pain after the race compared to adults who drank other types of juice. The study was conducted by a research team at Oregon Health & Science University, and found that on a scale from 0 to 10, the runners who drank cherry juice as a “sports drink” had a 2-point lower self-reported pain level after finishing the race. More research needs to be done to understand the effects of tart cherry juice, but researchers say the early findings indicate the juice may work like common anti-inflammatory medications.