Tart Cherry
Natural source of melatonin and procyanidins; studied for sleep quality.
Tart cherry juice improves sleep duration and efficiency in older adults with insomnia
Tart cherry juice (240ml twice daily) increases total sleep time by approximately 84 minutes and improves sleep efficiency in older adults with insomnia. The effect is attributed to natural melatonin content and procyanidins.
Montmorency tart cherry and blueberry juice consumption may improve cardiometabolic outcomes including systolic blood pressure, sleep efficacy, and other indices in healthy individuals.
This protocol describes a 20-day, single-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial testing the effects of 60 mL/day of Montmorency tart cherry juice or blueberry juice versus a flavored placebo on cardiometabolic outcomes in 45 healthy individuals. Primary outcome is between-group difference in systolic blood pressure from baseline to post-intervention; secondary outcomes include sleep efficacy indices, anthropometric measures, energy expenditure, and psychological wellbeing. The study is registered and approved but results are not yet reported.
Blueberry juice improves total and LDL cholesterol and psychological wellbeing in adults
In a 20-day randomized controlled trial, 60 mL/day of blueberry juice significantly reduced total cholesterol from 4.36 to 3.79 mmol/L and LDL cholesterol from 2.71 to 2.23 mmol/L compared to placebo, which showed increases. Psychological wellbeing indices (Beck Depression Inventory, State Trait Anxiety Inventory, COOP WONCA) also improved significantly in the blueberry group.
Kiwifruit, Tart Cherry Juice, and high dairy intake promote sleep in elite athletes
This scoping review identified that kiwifruit, Tart Cherry Juice, and high dairy intake (limited to females) demonstrated the highest potential to promote sleep in elite athletes, despite limited sample sizes. Protein-based interventions may have a ceiling effect when athletes already consume >2.5 gยทkgโปยน body mass or meet sleep duration needs.
Food-based antioxidant strategies may support recovery and redox homeostasis without suppressing exercise-induced redox signals that contribute to training adaptation.
This narrative review suggests that food-based antioxidant nutrition, such as tart cherry, berries, pomegranate, cocoa, green tea, beetroot, extra virgin olive oil, and Mediterranean-style dietary patterns, can influence recovery-related outcomes through mechanisms beyond direct radical scavenging, including inflammatory regulation, vascular function, and gut-derived metabolism. The evidence is strongest during periods of elevated recovery demands, such as heavy training blocks or environmental stress, but does not support universal daily antioxidant use.
Tart cherry supplementation protocols are highly variable and poorly characterized, preventing reliable extrapolation of efficacy for health, exercise performance, and sleep outcomes.
This review of 43 studies found that tart cherry supplementation protocols varied widely in duration (acute to 84 days) and polyphenol dose (143โ2,140 mg/day) and anthocyanin dose (15โ547 mg/day). Only 20 studies analyzed their own supplement batch, while 17 relied on previously published data from different batches, and 6 did not report polyphenol content at all. The use of diverse analytical methods further undermines the ability to compare doses or blends across studies.
Tart cherry juice promotes sleep quantity in team-sport athletes and healthy adults
The narrative review reports that tart cherry juice can promote sleep quantity in athletes and healthy adults. This finding is based on a semi-systematic review of studies up to November 2020, though specific effect sizes are not provided in the abstract.
Montmorency tart cherry powder at 500 mg daily does not improve sleep or inflammation outcomes in individuals with overweight or obesity
In a randomized controlled crossover trial of 34 individuals with overweight or obesity and sleep issues, 500 mg of Montmorency tart cherry powder taken one hour before bed for 14 days showed no significant effects on sleep outcomes (total sleep time, deep and REM sleep, nap duration, nocturnal sleep duration) or inflammatory markers (CRP, TNF-ฮฑ, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17A) compared to placebo (p > 0.05 for all). The study suggests that higher doses than currently recommended may be needed for this population.
Montmorency tart cherry powder (500 mg) does not improve sleep or inflammation outcomes in individuals with overweight or obesity.
In a randomized controlled crossover study of 34 individuals with sleep issues and overweight or obesity (mean BMI 32.1 kg/mยฒ), 500 mg of Montmorency tart cherry capsules taken one hour before bed for 14 days showed no significant effects on sleep outcomes (total sleep time, deep and REM sleep, nap duration, nocturnal sleep duration) or inflammatory markers (CRP, TNF-ฮฑ, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17A) compared to placebo (p > 0.05 for all). The findings suggest higher doses than currently recommended may be needed for this population.
Montmorency tart cherry supplementation does not improve sleep time or quality in healthy adults
In a 30-day randomized trial with 44 healthy adults, Montmorency tart cherry juice or capsules did not significantly improve sleep time or quality compared to placebo. Both groups showed increased sleep over time, but no between-group differences were observed. Body mass decreased in capsule groups, but other outcomes like body composition, cellular health, and blood pressure were unaffected.
Nutritional interventions improve subjective sleep in menopausal women
A systematic review of 59 studies found that 37 studies reported a nutritional intervention improved some aspect of sleep, while 22 observed no benefit. The majority of studies recruited postmenopausal women, and the improvements were mainly in subjective sleep measures.
Kiwifruit, Tart Cherry Juice, and high dairy intake (limited to females) promote sleep in elite athletes
This scoping review identified that kiwifruit, Tart Cherry Juice, and high dairy intake (limited to females) demonstrated the highest potential to promote sleep in elite athletes, despite limited sample sizes. The median participant group size was 19 across 12 included studies. Protein-based interventions may have a ceiling effect when athletes already consume >2.5 gยทkgโปยน body mass or meet sleep duration needs.