WANT TO SPEED UP MUSCLE RECOVERY & SPRING INTO TRAINING?

We’ve all been there, right? Whether we’re trying to get back into a sport after a while, are training for a marathon, or just had a surprisingly active day, the stiffness and soreness that comes the next day can be a lot to handle. Especially if we want to keep active and don’t want the delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) to hold us back. 

Well, it turns out there’s a pretty simple answer: Drink tart cherry juice.

Dr Malachy McHugh, PhD, Director of Research at the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma (NISMA) recommends it to all the athletes he works with because in his words:

“The best way to maximize performance is to drink tart cherry juice."

When he first encountered a Cornell study on the impact of tart cherries on athletic performance, he couldn’t believe it. But after observing the results for himself, it became clear that tart cherries really are a superfruit with a tremendous number of benefits that stack on top of each other.

He specifically calls out the 35 phytonutrients contained within tart cherries as being the thing that puts this fruit above other antioxidant rich superfruits like açai berries or pomegranates.

As he puts it:

“The fact that you have multiple different phytonutrients, means you have different pathways. If it was just one phytonutrient, you might saturate that pathway, but by having multiple different fighting nutrients, you don't saturate any given pathway. Since there are multiple different phytonutrients, some of them have antioxidant effects, some of them have anti-inflammatory effects, and some of them have both.” 

Both the antioxidant effects and the anti-inflammatory effects are essential to what makes tart cherries such a powerful tool in an athlete’s arsenal, but it’s the latter that is so important to an unsung aspect of any athlete’s routine.

Recovery

Soreness is a natural inflammatory response, as the body repairs micro-injuries in your muscle fibers caused by strenuous activity.

It’s in rest and recovery that your body can really do its work and the gains of your workout will manifest themselves. 

"There's a particular type of antioxidant in tart cherries called anthocyanins and these are very potent phytonutrients that fight inflammation and block the enzymes that cause inflammation," explained Malachy McHugh, Ph.D.

That’s why he recommends drinking Cheribundi for three or four days prior to beginning a new workout regimen, loading the body with inflammation-fighting nutrients.

And he’s not the only person advocating for tart cherry juice.

It’s used by over 350+ professional and collegiate sports teams, 94% of American professional football teams, 8/9 of the past professional football champions, and 100% of all collegiate football and basketball champions since 2007.

"I include Cheribundi as part of my daily routine to consistently get all the benefits: antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, reduced soreness, muscle recovery, improved sleep, immunity support.”

- Jordan Mazur, Coordinator of Nutrition, San Francisco 49ers

In short, the science seems to back tart cherry juice, so grab yourself a case of Cheribundi and get back to your routine.