According to the National Arthritis Foundation, one in five American adult’s suffers from arthritis. This means almost 45 million American’s feel this excruciatingly pain consistently. In addition, as the population ages, the number of people experiencing arthritis pain is expected to increase dramatically. So with all of the prescription drugs available to help fight joint pain, why is a tiny fruit grown in Northern Michigan get so much attention from gout and arthritis suffers?

The Tart Cherry - Mother Nature’s Joint Pain Solution

For years, the tart cherry has been the source of legend and folklore. The natural pain relieving properties has been handed down from generation to generation for natural joint pain relief. Just as the old saying goes, "an apple a day will keep the doctor away", tart cherry believers may soon be saying, "Twenty cherries day will keep the pain away". In fact, according to research from Michigan State University, as few as twenty cherries can make a difference in relieving inflammation in the body.

So what takes the tart cherry so legendary to fighting joint pain? Although food scientists are not absolutely certain on the specific compound that is 100% responsible for the natural pain relieving properties of tart cherries, several encouraging studies have revealed some very compelling facts.

Ongoing research points to the unique make-up of the compounds found in the tart cherry that helps to fight joint pain. So in other words, the compounds found in the tart cherry are natural COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitors. In addition to fighting joint pain due to arthritis and gout, research also shows tart cherry juice helps to soothe sore muscles due to physical exercise. In addition, tart cherries are a natural and high source of Melatonin. This helps to regulate circadian rhythms and maintain nightly sleep patterns.

In addition to fresh cherries and cherry drinks you can also choose from tart cherry juice concentrate and dried tart cherries. One of the benefits of tart cherry juice concentrate is it takes approximately 100 cherries to make just one ounce of tart cherry juice. So the tart cherry juice is a highly concentrated way to get your daily dose of cherries. One source of a complete line of tart cherry products is Traverse Bay Farms. The company only specializes in fruit-based products including tart cherry juice, dried tart cherries and more.

In addition the tart cherry juice, you may consider tart cherry capsules as another way to get joint pain relieving properties of tart cherries. Tart cherry capsules are made with tart cherry powder. The tart cherry powder uses the whole cherry, including the skin and the pulp of the fruit. One source for tart cherry capsules is Fruit Advantage. The company uses the freeze dried process to produce the tart cherry powder. This process is the best way to capture 100% of the nutritional value of the tart cherry. The leading super fruit company in the U.S. is Fruit Advantage. The company offers a complete line of super fruit capsules including tart cherry capsules.