Tart cherry

[JudoJosh]

Efficacy of a tart cherry juice blend in preventing the symptoms of muscle damage

BACKGROUND: Numerous antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents have been identified in tart cherries.

OBJECTIVE: To test the efficacy of a tart cherry juice blend in preventing the symptoms of exercise induced muscle damage.

METHODS: This was a randomised, placebo controlled, crossover design. Fourteen male college students drank 12 fl oz of a cherry juice blend or a placebo twice a day for eight consecutive days. A bout of eccentric elbow flexion contractions (2 x 20 maximum contractions) was performed on the fourth day of supplementation. Isometric elbow flexion strength, pain, muscle tenderness, and relaxed elbow angle were recorded before and for four days after the eccentric exercise. The protocol was repeated two weeks later with subjects who took the placebo initially, now taking the cherry juice (and vice versa). The opposite arm performed the eccentric exercise for the second bout to avoid the repeated bout protective effect.

RESULTS: Strength loss and pain were significantly less in the cherry juice trial versus placebo (time by treatment: strength p<0.0001, pain p = 0.017). Relaxed elbow angle (time by treatment p = 0.85) and muscle tenderness (time by treatment p = 0.81) were not different between trials.

CONCLUSIONS: These data show efficacy for this cherry juice in decreasing some of the symptoms of exercise induced muscle damage. Most notably, strength loss averaged over the four days after eccentric exercise was 22% with the placebo but only 4% with the cherry juice.

PMID: 16790484

 

[JudoJosh]

Regular tart cherry intake alters abdominal adiposity, adipose gene transcription, and inflammation in obesity-prone rats fed a high fat diet.

Abstract

Obesity, systemic inflammation, and hyperlipidemia are among the components of metabolic syndrome, a spectrum of phenotypes that can precede the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Animal studies show that intake of anthocyanin-rich extracts can affect these phenotypes. Anthocyanins can alter the activity of tissue peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), which affect energy substrate metabolism and inflammation. However, it is unknown if physiologically relevant, anthocyanin-containing whole foods confer similar effects to concentrated, anthocyanin extracts. The effect of anthocyanin-rich tart cherries was tested in the Zucker fatty rat model of obesity and metabolic syndrome. For 90 days, rats were pair-fed a higher fat diet supplemented with either 1% (wt/wt) freeze-dried, whole tart cherry powder or with a calorie- and macronutrient-matched control diet. Tart cherry intake was associated with reduced hyperlipidemia, percentage fat mass, abdominal fat (retroperitoneal) weight, retroperitoneal interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) expression, and plasma IL-6 and TNF-alpha. Tart cherry diet also increased retroperitoneal fat PPAR-alpha and PPAR-gamma mRNA (P = .12), decreased IL-6 and TNF-alpha mRNA, and decreased nuclear factor kappaB activity. In conclusion, in at-risk obese rats fed a high fat diet, physiologically relevant tart cherry consumption reduced several phenotypes of metabolic syndrome and reduced both systemic and local inflammation. Tart cherries may reduce the degree or trajectory of metabolic syndrome, thereby reducing risk for the development of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

PMID:19857054

 

[JudoJosh]

Tart cherry intake reduces plasma and tissue inflammation in obesity-prone rats

ABSTRACT

Obesity involves chronic inflammation, which may contribute to cardiovascular disease Previous studies show that diet provision of anthocyanin-rich extracts can reduce inflammation. Our group tested the dietary relevance of these findings using a whole-foods approach with anthocyanin-rich tart cherries. We compared the effects of tart cherry-enriched diets in obesity-prone Zucker Fatty rats fed a pair-fed a higher fat diet (47% of kcal) supplemented with either 1% freeze-dried tart cherry powder or 0.85% extra carbohydrate (1:1 glucose:fructose). After 90 days, cherry intake significantly reduced serum glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, and plasma tumor necrosis factor- and interleukin-6. Cherry intake also reduced body weight, total fat mass and abdominal fat pad weight while increasing lean body mass. In addition, cherry decreased abdominal fat pad NFB activity, TNF- mRNA and TNF- protein. Finally, cherry intake reduced cardiac NFB activity, TNF- mRNA and TNF- protein. In obese rats, tart cherry-enriched diets reduce plasma inflammation, abdominal fat inflammation, and cardiac inflammation, known risk factors for cardiovascular disease

 

[JudoJosh]

Cherry-Enriched Diets Reduce Metabolic Syndrome and Oxidative Stress in Lean Dahl-SS rats

ABSTRACT

Background. Tart cherries are a rich source of anthocyanins which may confer health benefits. We tested whole tart cherry powder consumption for its ability to modify hyperlipidemia, hyperinsulemia, oxidative stress, and plasma antioxidant status in rats. For this, we used the lean, Dahl Salt-Sensitive(DSS) rat model of hyperlipidemia and hyperinsulinemia.

Methods. Whole tart cherry powder(Van Drunen Farms) was mixed weekly with AIN76a as a base diet. Forty-eight DSS rats(Harlan, age 5 weeks) were randomly assigned to four diets - base diet plus 1% or 10% tart cherry powder, or base diet plus 0.8% or 8.0% carbohydrate(glucose:fructose, 1:1). Body weights were taken weekly. After 90 days, rats were sacrificed for assessment of organ weights, clinical chemistries, cardiac fibrosis, blood lipid profile, plasma insulin, plasma 8-isoprostane, and plasma total antioxidant status.

Results. Clinical chemistries, organ weights and histology do not reveal a negative health impact of either dose of cherry relative to its carbohydrate negative control. The cherry-enriched diets significantly reduced triglyceride, total cholesterol, insulin, and oxidative marker 8-isoprostane, while slightly improving HDL and significantly increasing plasma total antioxidant capacity.

Conclusions. The results suggest that anthocyanin-rich tart cherry consumption reduced several key risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

 

[Spaniard]

Keep them coming Josh : ) strong start so far buddy.

 

[JudoJosh]

If I remember right Easy was using some tart cherry concentrate. Maybe he can chime in with some of his experience with it

 

[Aleksandar37]

METHODS: This was a randomised, placebo controlled, crossover design. Fourteen male college students drank 12 fl oz of a cherry juice blend or a placebo twice a day for eight consecutive days.
PMID: 16790484

Random observation. Tart cherry juice is not a subtle flavor. How the hell do they use a placebo for that?! I think you'd know if you got it or not.

 

[JudoJosh]

Random observation. Tart cherry juice is not a subtle flavor. How the hell do they use a placebo for that?! I think you'd know if you got it or not.

Mio?

Or something similar?

 

[EasyEJL]

If I remember right Easy was using some tart cherry concentrate. Maybe he can chime in with some of his experience with it

It is something I consider pretty staple now. Although half of why it is would be that I get bored with the taste of water, and am not that interested in drinking tons of the 0 calorie crystal light type drinks. I also think it is decent as a carb source, and I do have some suffering over what carb choices I pick. So its handy to have one that I feel safe with.

Seems to reduce DOMs somewhat, seems to help recovery as well. Not a scientific study at all but i've tried a week on then week off, then week on again and there is some difference.