Why Tart Cherry Should Be Your Post-Workout Supplement
Posted on Nov 04, 2020

Whether you are a professional athlete or a casual runner, it is important to provide your muscles with the necessary nutrients needed to replenish themselves after physical activity. If you are looking for a fantastic supplement for sports nutrition, look no further than tart cherries. Here’s why.


TART CHERRIES & MUSCLE PAIN


Consuming tart cherries is steadily becoming a popular means of managing inflammation. This is one of the very reasons that make tart cherries a fantastic post-exercise supplement!

It is not uncommon to have muscle aches and tension following a workout. This can be caused by a number of reasons:

  • You didn’t stretch before and/or after exercising. (Shame on you.)
  • You over-exercised and strained your muscles. (Shame on you again.)
  • You are experiencing the general tension and inflammation that comes after finishing a workout.
  • Your body has too much chronic inflammation to properly recover on its own

If you are training, working on maintaining a healthy weight, trying to build muscle, or simply keeping up with a fast-paced lifestyle, the last thing you want is to be slowed down by muscle pain. That’s where tart cherry supplementation comes in.

Muscle pain is generally due to increased acute inflammation. The microscopic structure of the muscle fiber is damaged, and this causes inflammation.

Inflammation, of course, is necessary to start the healing process for that muscle. However, if left unchecked and not balanced, this inflammatory response can become painful and damaging.

For example, neutrophils that come to the site to eradicate the damaged muscle fibers can produce a lot of free radicals. These radicals cause oxidative stress and further damage. Cherries can help to promote the proper balance of healthy inflammation and damaging chronic inflammation.


HOW DO TART CHERRIES HELP TO REDUCE MUSCLE PAIN?


Tart cherries work within the body to block oxidative stress and also decrease inflammation levels. Consuming at least 45 cherries each day is able to reduce circulating inflammatory cytokines in healthy people. For those participating in athletic endeavors, more might be needed.

Oxidative stress causes damage to the tissue itself and also promotes pain signals to form. These stress signals create pain responses and the free radicals may further inhibit the body’s ability to repair itself. Tart cherries are high in polyphenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins which are plant-based compounds that help to fight inflammation and deliver antioxidants into your system. Even eating sweet cherries can help. Markers of inflammation, even CRP (C-reactive protein) decreased 25% in those that ate sweet cherries for a month.  

Tart cherries and other dark-colored fruits with high levels of these healing compounds – including blackberries, blueberries, concord grapes, black currants, and more – also affect the microglial cells within the body, reducing inflammation and oxidative stress to control swelling and pain. Microglials cells are supportive cells for the nervous system, and they play a large role in pain production.

For healthy runners and athletes, it is thought that consuming about 11-120 cherries (or the equivalent) daily can reduce the pain and strength loss associated with delayed-onset-muscle-soreness (DOMS). Tart cherries simply hold more of the powerful phytochemicals than sweet ones. One scientific study looked at a group of endurance runners that took cherry juice for a week before and after a 24-hour racing event. The cherry was found to significantly reduce muscle pain after the event.

Rather than reaching for ibuprofen to relax muscle pain after a workout, trade your medication for the natural benefits of tart cherries instead. They naturally provide pain relief and inflammation control without the negative side effects of chemical-based pain medicine.


HOW TO USE TART CHERRIES POST-WORKOUT


There are many ways to get the healthy benefits of tart cherry into your daily routine. The first is to consume fresh cherries. Make sure that you are choosing tart cherries and not traditional sweet cherries. Montmorency cherries contain higher amounts of the phytochemicals needed to provide your system with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory results than do Bing cherries.

You can also find tart cherry juice at your local grocery store, but be aware of the sugar content of these juices. Many varieties of these juices are packed with excess sugar for sweetness which counteracts the healthy effects of tart cherries. If you opt for juice as your source of supplementation, look for unsweetened varieties.

Tart cherry supplements are also a great way to add antioxidants into your day without the hassle of hunting through the juice aisle at the grocery store or pitting cherries at home. Also, cherry extract has little to no caloric content.   

No matter how you choose to incorporate it into your day, make sure to keep tart cherries in mind as a natural method of health and recovery to strengthen your active lifestyle.


ADD OUR NEW TART CHERRY EXTRACT INTO YOUR ROUTINE


If you are interested in adding the power of tart cherries into your daily supplement regimen, Well Theory is here to help with our new Tart Cherry Extract Supplements. This daily capsule provides you with a high dose of antioxidants to help fight joint and muscle pain, lower inflammation, and promote high-quality rest.

Order our surgeon-formulated supplements today!