The role of cherries in exercise and health

Phillip Bell, Malachy McHugh, Emma Stevenson, Glyn Howatson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

75 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Recently, cherries and cherry products have received growing attention within the literature with regards to their application in both exercise and clinical paradigms. Reported to be high in anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative capacity, cherries and their constituents are proposed to provide a similar, but natural alternative akin to over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID’s) or analgesics. Within exercise paradigms, concern has been raised with regards to the use of products which inhibit such inflammatory or oxidative actions, due to the possibility of the blunting of physiological training adaptations. Despite this, numerous scenarios exist both within exercise and clinical populations where a goal of optimal recovery time is more important than physiological adaptation. This review critically evaluates and discusses the use of cherries as a supplementation strategy to enhance recovery of muscle function, inhibit exercise-induced inflammation, oxidative stress and pain primarily; furthermore the potential application of cherries to clinical populations is discussed.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)477-490
JournalScandinavian Journal Of Medicine & Science In Sports
Volume24
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2014

Keywords

  • recovery
  • muscle function
  • antioxidants
  • inflammation
  • oxidative stress
  • montmorency tart cherries

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