Anyone who has followed cycling closely in recent years may have noticed it: after the finish, many cyclists drink a dark red beverage. From the Tour winner to the fastest riders on the Roubaix track. It is tart cherry juice, made from sour cherries, which is increasingly being used to support recovery after strenuous exercise. Also available in the Etixx range as the Etixx Cherry Juice Shot. A unique, ready-to-use 60 ml recovery shot with an exceptionally high concentration of tart cherry (49%), standardised to 100 mg of anthocyanins per shot.
But what makes these sour cherries so special? Can they mainly support recovery, or can they also improve sports performance itself? And how much should you take, when is the best time to take it, and when should you avoid it?
In this blog, Dr. Helene Schroé, dietitian and postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Movement and Sports Sciences at Ghent University (UGent), explains what the science says about it.
What Makes Tart Cherry Juice So Interesting for Athletes?
Tart cherry juice is made from sour cherries (Prunus cerasus), unlike sweet cherries (Prunus avium), which we usually eat as fruit. Both types contain various bioactive compounds, but their composition and quantity can differ considerably between cherry varieties. The Montmorency sour cherry, which is also used in Etixx Cherry Juice Shot, is the variety most commonly used in sports research. It is particularly rich in polyphenols, including anthocyanins (Bell et al., 2014).
Anthocyanins are plant compounds that are partly responsible for the characteristic red, purple and blue colours of various fruits and vegetables. They have been studied for some time because of their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties (Marzochella et al., 2011; Bowtell & Kelly, 2019). These properties may be particularly interesting for athletes. During strenuous exercise, the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) increases and temporary inflammatory responses occur. Anthocyanins and other polyphenols may help moderate these oxidative and inflammatory processes and, in doing so, support recovery after exercise (Bowtell & Kelly, 2019; Gonzalez et al., 2026).
Can Tart Cherry Juice Actually Improve Recovery?
Most scientific research on tart cherry juice has focused on recovery after strenuous exercise. Several meta-analyses, which combine the results of multiple studies, show small to moderate beneficial effects on recovery after strenuous exercise.
The meta-analyses by Hill et al. (2021) and Dehghani et al. (2025) found benefits mainly for the recovery of muscle strength and muscle power, along with possible effects on muscle soreness and certain inflammatory markers. The most recent meta-analysis by Daab et al. (2026) again found primarily improved recovery of maximal muscle strength. In addition, a reduction in CRP (a general marker of inflammation in the body) was observed up to 48 hours after exercise. For muscle soreness, muscle damage and several other inflammatory markers, the results were less consistent.
These differing findings may be related to factors such as the type of exercise, the athletes' training status, and the form, dose and duration of tart cherry supplementation. Interestingly, studies that found benefits predominantly used Montmorency sour cherries in the form of juice or concentrate. Studies using powder or gel have so far produced less convincing results (Morton et al., 2026).
Can Tart Cherry Juice Also Improve Sports Performance?
In addition to recovery, researchers are also investigating whether tart cherry juice has a direct effect on sports performance. Gao & Chilibeck (2020) found a small positive effect on endurance performance in a meta-analysis of ten studies. However, caution is warranted: only two of the ten studies found a significant improvement in performance when considered individually. Furthermore, in nine of the ten studies, tart cherry was consumed for several days before exercise, making it difficult to determine whether the effect was directly related to performance or partly mediated by improved recovery.
A more recent study (Wangdi et al., 2024) did find a possible acute performance effect: consuming 60 ml of cherry concentrate 90 minutes before a 15 km cycling time trial resulted in participants completing the time trial an average of 48 seconds (2.8%) faster.
The evidence for a direct performance-enhancing effect is therefore currently more limited and less consistent than the evidence for recovery. Tart cherry juice cannot yet be considered a reliable performance-enhancing supplement in the same way as, for example, caffeine.
When and How Much Should You Use?
Tart cherry juice appears to be most useful when rapid recovery is important, for example during a multi-day cycling race, tournament or busy competition period. Because it may take several days before tart cherry juice has a measurable effect on oxidative and inflammatory processes in the body, it is recommended to start 4 to 7 days before an important competition and continue using it throughout the competition (Morton et al., 2025; Daab et al., 2026).
There is even less scientific evidence regarding the optimal amount. Research typically uses 60 to 90 ml of cherry concentrate per day (Morton et al., 2025). A commonly used practical protocol is 30 ml of concentrate twice a day, for example in the morning and evening (Daab et al., 2026).
It is important to note that products can vary considerably in concentration and composition. Therefore, a standardised amount of anthocyanins — for example, 100 mg of anthocyanins per serving, the exact amount contained in our Etixx Cherry Juice Shot — can be useful: this makes it easier to know how much of the bioactive compounds you are actually consuming. However, 100 mg has not been established as the optimal dose. Current recommendations remain mainly practical guidelines, as the exact optimal dose has not yet been scientifically established.
When Is It Better Not to Use Tart Cherry Juice?
Tart cherry juice appears to be particularly interesting for athletes when rapid recovery is the primary goal, and less so when training adaptation is the main priority. This distinction is important. The oxidative stress and inflammatory responses that occur during training are also part of the signalling processes through which the body adapts to training. Long-term supplementation with high doses of certain antioxidants may potentially blunt these training adaptations (Merry & Ristow, 2016; Morton et al., 2025).
For tart cherry juice specifically, it is currently unclear whether long-term use affects training adaptations. However, this does not mean that antioxidants should be avoided. Fruit, vegetables and other polyphenol-rich foods remain very important for athletes (Morton et al., 2025; Gonzalez et al., 2026).
A periodised approach therefore appears to be the best option: use tart cherry juice primarily when rapid recovery is a priority, such as during competitions or periods with limited recovery time, rather than after every training session when training adaptation is the main goal (Morton et al., 2026).
Conclusion
Tart cherry juice is not a miracle drink, but research does show that it can be a useful additional recovery strategy, particularly when athletes need to perform again within a short period of time. Evidence for a direct performance-enhancing effect is currently less convincing.
Timing and periodisation are particularly important. Tart cherry juice appears to be most useful around competitions or during periods with limited recovery time, for example for 4 to 7 days before and during an important competition. During regular training periods, daily use is less advisable, especially when training adaptation is the primary goal.
References
- Bell, P. G., McHugh, M. P., Stevenson, E., & Howatson, G. (2014). The role of cherries in exercise and health. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 24(3), 477–490. doi:10.1111/sms.12085.
- Bowtell, J., & Kelly, V. (2019). Fruit-derived polyphenol supplementation for athlete recovery and performance. Sports Medicine, 49(Suppl. 1), 3–23. doi:10.1007/s40279-018-0998-x.
- Daab, W., Bouzid, M. A., Nassis, G. P., Arumugam, A., Ammar, A., Pojskić, H., & Abaïdia, A.-E. (2026). Effects of tart cherry juice supplementation on recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage in athletes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine - Open, 12(1), 40. doi:10.1186/s40798-026-00993-3.
- Dehghani, E., Beba, M., Danandeh, K., Memari, A., Ershadmanesh, M. J., Rasoulian, P., Danandeh, A., & Djafarian, K. (2025). The effect of tart cherry juice (TCJ) supplementation on exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) in an athletic population. Annals of Medicine & Surgery, 87(2), 880–890. doi:10.1097/MS9.0000000000002914.
- Gao, R., & Chilibeck, P. D. (2020). Effect of tart cherry concentrate on endurance exercise performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 39(7), 657–664. doi:10.1080/07315724.2020.1713246.
- Gonzalez, D. E., Dickerson, B. L., Roberts, B. M., Kurtz, J. A., Waldman, H. S., Gonzalez, A. M., McAllister, M. J., Heileson, J. L., Bloomer, R. J., Arent, S. M., Candow, D. G., Stout, J. R., Hecht, K. A., Campbell, B., Kerksick, C. M., Kalman, D., Antonio, J., & Kreider, R. B. (2026). International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: Effects of dietary antioxidants on exercise and sports performance. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 23(1), 2629828. doi:10.1080/15502783.2026.2629828.
- Hill, J. A., Keane, K. M., Quinlan, R., & Howatson, G. (2021). Tart cherry supplementation and recovery from strenuous exercise: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 31(2), 154–167. doi:10.1123/ijsnem.2020-0145.
- Marzocchella, L., Fantini, M., Benvenuto, M., Masuelli, L., Tresoldi, I., Modesti, A., & Bei, R. (2011). Dietary flavonoids: Molecular mechanisms of action as anti-inflammatory agents. Recent Patents on Inflammation & Allergy Drug Discovery, 5(3), 200–220. doi:10.2174/187221311797264937.
- Merry, T. L., & Ristow, M. (2016). Do antioxidant supplements interfere with skeletal muscle adaptation to exercise training? The Journal of Physiology, 594(18), 5135–5147. doi:10.1113/JP270654.
- Morton, J. P., Hearris, M., Fell, M. J., Owens, D. J., Halson, S., & Trommelen, J. (2025). UCI Sports Nutrition Project: Nutritional periodization: Strategies to enhance training adaptation and recovery. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 36(3), 279–304. doi:10.1123/ijsnem.2025-0073.
- Wangdi, J. T., O’Leary, M. F., Kelly, V. G., Tang, J. C. Y., & Bowtell, J. L. (2024). Montmorency cherry supplementation enhances 15 km cycling time trial performance: Optimal timing 90-min pre-exercise. European Journal of Sport Science, 24(10), 1480–1494. doi:10.1002/ejsc.12187.
