Cherries are possibly my favourite fruit. I can eat far more than I should at a time, sour or sweet, and I've been known to schedule a visit to my parents' place in BC for when their cherry tree will have fruit. (Nothing is better than fresh-picked.)

In winter, rather than spend outrageous amounts of money on cherries imported from South America, I depend on frozen sour cherries (excellent in smoothies and just as a snack or dessert) and dried cherries (also a good snack, or add them to oatmeal while it's cooking). I also have a bottle of local cherry juice concentrate that I'll mix with sparkling water (or, ahem, sparkling wine) for a delicious and refreshing beverage.

So I was beyond pleased to read that one study has shown that consuming tart cherry juice could help relieve running-induced muscle pain due to its anti-inflammatory effects. (I've certainly experienced enough of it.) The research, performed at Oregon Health & Science University, studied 60 healthy adults aged 18-50 who were training for a long-distance relay. Those who drank 310 mL of cherry juice twice a day for seven days prior to (including the day of) their race had significantly less muscle pain afterwards than the control group.

Now, this is just one study with a small sample size, and when have you seen research that says that a whole plant food is bad for you? In that sense I'm not surprised by this. But I think it's a good reminder that just because something tastes like candy doesn't mean it's bad for you. So eat your fruit! You can get started with our collection of healthy cherry recipes.