My mom regularly quotes Dr. Oz to me (the man can do no wrong), so it came as no big shock when I saw that tart cherries had made the news yet again—this time as an anti-inflammatory. The great and powerful Oz has been touting tart cherry juice as a sleep aid, post-exercise pain reliever and heart-disease fighter—and now research from Oregon Health & Science University suggests that tart cherries have the “highest anti-inflammatory content of any food.” Think of them as nature’s aspirin.
With all the RA! RA! research, I decided to give the stuff a go. I picked up a jar of tart cherry juice at Trader Joe’s on my way home from volleyball. My body was aching from all the ups and downs in the sand (2 hours worth) and I figured my joints could use some TLC. When I got home I whipped up a super smoothie in my Vitamix, a combo of avocado, kale, frozen pineapple and tart cherry juice. Just what my muscles needed. Granted, the color wasn’t the most appetizing (red + green = yuk) but it tasted delish. And I woke up without an ache. Could it have been the super juice?
I want to hear from you: Have you tried Tart Cherry Juice?
We cyclists are always looking for ways to speed recovery from workouts: I’ll give it a try!