You\u2019ve probably heard cherries are good for you. Antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, great for muscle recovery\u2026 the list goes on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019re not doctors – we\u2019re cherry growers – but we\u2019ve been around long enough to know what cherries are really good for. Here\u2019s a look at the health claims people make, what the science actually says, and why we think cherries are worth eating anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cherries, especially the darker ones, are rich in anthocyanins \u2014 natural compounds that give the fruit its colour and are linked to cell protection. That\u2019s where a lot of the antioxidant talk comes from. Antioxidants help reduce oxidative stress, which sounds technical but just means they may help the body repair itself over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is this real?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes \u2014 though it\u2019s not magic. Eating a punnet of cherries won\u2019t reverse a decade of bad sleep, but adding them to a balanced diet is a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some studies suggest cherries, particularly tart varieties, can help with post-exercise muscle soreness. This is why you\u2019ll sometimes see athletes sipping cherry juice like it\u2019s the new Gatorade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is this real?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s research to support it, but you\u2019d likely need a concentrated juice or supplement, not just a handful of fruit. Still, it doesn\u2019t hurt to test the theory if you\u2019re feeling sore after a long day in the garden or a big gym session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This one comes up a lot, especially for people with arthritis or gout. The idea is that cherries may help reduce uric acid levels and inflammation, which could ease joint stiffness or flare-ups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is this real?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s promising data \u2014 especially in small studies around gout \u2014 but results vary person to person. Our patriarch Graeme says he “doesn’t get gout in cherry season”, enjoying a few cherries a day, keeps his gout away. He also recalls a long-time customer stocking up on cherries through the season, juicing, freezing and cooking them up to ensure he had cherries every day of the year! Some people swear by them, others notice no change. Either way, cherries beat a second helping of painkillers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes \u2014 but maybe not for all the reasons people think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They\u2019re real food, grown from the ground, packed with flavour and nutrients. They don\u2019t come with a label full of numbers. And in our opinion, they make healthy eating feel less like a chore and more like a treat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether you\u2019re eating them fresh, gifting a box to someone, or cooking up a cherry glaze on the BBQ \u2014 the best reason to enjoy cherries is that they taste good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You\u2019ve probably heard cherries are good for you. Antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, great for muscle recovery\u2026 the list goes on. But what\u2019s hype, and what\u2019s actually backed by research? We\u2019re not doctors – we\u2019re cherry growers – but we\u2019ve been around long enough to know what cherries are really good for. Here\u2019s a look at the health…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1335,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cherries","category-1","description-off"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leftbankdigital.com\/wandin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leftbankdigital.com\/wandin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leftbankdigital.com\/wandin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leftbankdigital.com\/wandin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leftbankdigital.com\/wandin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.leftbankdigital.com\/wandin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3071,"href":"https:\/\/www.leftbankdigital.com\/wandin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555\/revisions\/3071"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leftbankdigital.com\/wandin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leftbankdigital.com\/wandin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leftbankdigital.com\/wandin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leftbankdigital.com\/wandin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Muscle recovery \u2013 fact or marketing spin?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Cherries and joint health<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
So, are cherries good for you?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n