Cherries come in two main kinds. Sweet cherries (Prunus avium) are the ones sold fresh, and sour or tart cherries (Prunus cerasus) are mostly used for cooking, juice and concentrate. Sweet cherry is thought to be one parent of the sour cherry, from ancient crosses with the dwarf cherry, and it is native to Europe and western Asia.
The dark red color of sweet cherries comes from anthocyanins. In a lab analysis of red sweet cherries, over 95% of them were one compound, cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside. Raw sweet cherries have 63 kcal, 2.1 g of fiber and 7 mg of vitamin C per 100 g, and they are one of only 8 foods in our database with measured peonidin, another anthocyanin.
Much of the famous cherry research, on sleep, gout and exercise recovery, used tart Montmorency cherry juice or concentrate, not fresh sweet cherries. Tart Montmorency cherries had 13.46 ng of melatonin per gram in a lab measurement, and sleep studies on tart cherry juice start from that melatonin content. Each card below says whether it tested sweet cherries, tart cherry juice or concentrate, or both.
Health benefits of cherries
The top findings from 32 studies, strongest evidence first
What the stars mean
- Strong. Several randomized trials, pooled in a meta-analysis, point the same way, or regulators (FDA or EFSA) have approved the claim.
- Moderate. Good randomized trials support it, but there are fewer of them, or their results vary.
- Limited. Small, short or single trials, or mixed results. Promising, but it needs confirmation.
Population and lab studies get no stars: they show a link or a mechanism, not proof.
How we rate evidence →- ★★Lower C-reactive protein, an inflammation markerTart cherry lowered CRP by 0.39 mg/L across 21 trials. In 10 trials in people who were not exercising, it fell by 0.55 mg/L.
- ★★Faster recovery after hard exerciseIn 14 studies, tart cherry supplements eased soreness a little and helped strength and jump height come back faster. Juice or powder taken before an endurance test slightly improved performance in 10 trials.
- ★★Modestly lower blood uric acidAcross 4 trials with 392 people, tart cherry lowered uric acid a little, but the trials varied a lot. The authors call the evidence limited in amount and consistency.
- ★★No clear effect on blood pressureSeven trials of tart or sweet cherries found no significant drop in blood pressure. A review of 21 trials of tart cherry found no change in blood pressure or heart rate.
- ★Mixed results for sleep in small trialsIn healthy adults, tart cherry juice concentrate for 7 days lengthened sleep. In older adults with insomnia, a juice blend cut time awake after falling asleep but not total sleep time.
All 32 studies, strongest evidence first
Across seven trials, eating tart or sweet cherries did not lower blood pressure significantly
Meta-analysis of 7 randomized trials (201 people) of tart and sweet cherries, with searches up to December 2020. Neither systolic nor diastolic pressure dropped significantly. The abstract does not split the results by sweet and tart cherries.
Tart cherry supplements eased muscle soreness and sped the return of strength after hard exercise
Meta-analysis of 14 studies of tart cherry supplements after strenuous exercise, with searches up to July 2020. The effect on soreness was small (effect size 0.44), on strength recovery moderate (0.78) and on jump height large (0.82). Creatine kinase and TNF-alpha did not change.
A review of 21 trials found tart cherry did not change blood pressure or heart rate, but it lowered C-reactive protein
Meta-analysis of 21 randomized trials of tart cherry. C-reactive protein fell 0.39 mg/L with moderate certainty, and TNF-alpha fell 0.14 pg/mL with very low certainty. High-sensitivity CRP and IL-6 did not change. Each extra 30 mL of tart cherry lowered CRP by 0.19 mg/L.
Tart cherry lowered C-reactive protein by 0.55 mg/L in people who were not exercising, but not IL-6 or TNF-alpha
Meta-analysis of 10 randomized trials in adults, with trials that looked at exercise recovery left out. IL-6 did not change, and only 3 studies measured TNF-alpha, which also did not change.
Tart cherry juice or powder taken before exercise slightly improved endurance performance
Meta-analysis of 10 randomized trials (127 men and 20 women) in healthy people who took tart cherry from 7 days to 1.5 hours before an endurance test. The pooled effect was small (0.36, 95% confidence interval 0.07 to 0.64) and the trials agreed with each other.
Tart cherry modestly lowered blood uric acid, but the trials did not agree
Meta-analysis of 4 randomized trials (8 comparisons, 392 people) of tart cherry against placebo or usual diet. The pooled difference was small (-0.22, 95% confidence interval -0.43 to -0.01) and the trials varied a lot. The authors call the evidence limited in amount and consistency.
A dark sweet cherry drink twice a day for 30 days lowered blood pressure in obese adults compared with placebo
Single-blind randomized trial: 19 adults with a BMI of 30 to 40 drank 200 mL of a dark sweet cherry drink (juice plus cherry powder) twice a day and 21 drank a placebo. Systolic pressure fell (p = 0.05) and diastolic pressure fell (p = 0.04), and an inflammation marker, interferon gamma, dropped. Blood fats, glucose and liver enzymes did not differ. Funded by Northwest Cherry Growers.
A drink made from Jerte Valley sweet cherries, taken twice a day, improved nighttime rest compared with a placebo drink
Blinded randomized crossover trial in 30 people: 10 aged 20 to 30, 10 aged 35 to 55 and 10 aged 65 to 85. Sleep efficiency, the number of awakenings and sleep latency all improved on a wrist activity monitor, and a urinary melatonin breakdown product rose. The drink was a patented freeze-dried cherry product from a Spanish valley, not fresh fruit, and the trial was small.
Eating 280 g of sweet cherries a day for 42 days lowered HbA1c, a long-term blood sugar marker, in healthy adults
Pilot study of 27 healthy volunteers, followed for 2 more weeks after the cherries stopped. Estimated average glucose, the inflammation markers IL-6 and AGP-1, and the liver markers GGT and LDH also fell. The abstract describes one group and no comparison group, so the changes may not be due to the cherries.
Eating 280 g of Bing sweet cherries a day for 28 days lowered C-reactive protein by 20% and several other inflammation markers
18 healthy men and women aged 45 to 61, with slightly raised CRP, ate the cherries and were compared with their own starting values. Of 89 markers measured, 9 changed (ferritin fell 20.3% and one marker rose 27.9%) and 67 did not. No illness outcomes were measured.
Eating 280 g of Bing sweet cherries a day for 28 days lowered C-reactive protein by 25% in healthy adults, but cholesterol and blood sugar did not change
Study of 18 healthy men and women compared with their own pre-cherry values. RANTES, an inflammation signal, fell 21% and nitric oxide fell 18% (not significant, p = 0.07). Total, LDL and HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting glucose and insulin did not change.
A dark sweet cherry drink twice a day for 30 days improved working memory scores in obese adults, but not processing speed or attention
Single-blind randomized trial: 19 adults with a BMI of 30 to 40 drank 200 mL of the cherry drink with 3 g of cherry powder and 21 drank an isocaloric placebo. Digit span scores were higher forward (p = 0.006) and backward (p = 0.01). Trail making, digit symbol and a 3D tracking task did not differ. Funded by Northwest Cherry Growers.
Two servings (280 g) of Bing sweet cherries lowered blood urate within 5 hours in 10 healthy women
Women aged 22 to 40 ate the cherries after an overnight fast. Plasma urate fell from 214 to 183 µmol/L at 5 hours, and urinary urate rose. CRP and nitric oxide dropped only marginally (p < 0.1). It was a single dose in 10 people with no placebo group.
Tart cherry juice concentrate for 7 days raised urinary melatonin and lengthened sleep in healthy adults
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial in 20 volunteers. Sleep was measured with a wrist activity monitor and questionnaires. Time in bed, total sleep time and sleep efficiency rose, while the timing of the melatonin rhythm did not change.
A tart cherry juice blend for 2 weeks cut the minutes awake after falling asleep in older adults with insomnia, but not total sleep time
Pilot crossover trial in 15 older adults with chronic insomnia, with a 2-week washout between the blend and a placebo. Sleep latency, total sleep time and sleep efficiency did not differ from placebo. The authors call the effect modest and much smaller than for sleep medicines or cognitive behavioral therapy.
Tart cherry juice (240 mL twice a day) for 2 weeks added 84 minutes of sleep in 8 older adults with insomnia
Placebo-controlled crossover pilot study with sleep measured by polysomnography. Of the people randomized, 3 with sleep apnea were excluded, leaving 8. Sleep efficiency on one questionnaire improved, but the other questionnaires showed no significant differences.
Montmorency tart cherry powder capsules at the usual dose did not improve sleep or inflammation in people with overweight or obesity
Randomized crossover trial in 34 people with sleep problems: 500 mg capsules an hour before bed for 14 days, against a placebo. None of the sleep or inflammation measures changed. The authors suggest testing higher doses. Funded by the Cherry Marketing Institute.
Tart cherry juice around a marathon sped the recovery of muscle strength
Study of 20 recreational runners given cherry juice or a placebo for 5 days before, on the day of and for 48 hours after a marathon. Strength recovered faster (p = 0.024) and IL-6, CRP and uric acid were lower. Other muscle damage markers, including soreness, did not differ.
Tart cherry juice did not speed recovery in professional soccer players after a match
Double-blind crossover trial in 10 professional players, who drank two 30 mL servings before and after a 90-minute match and again 12 and 36 hours later. Jump height fell by about the same amount (5.9% against 5.4% with the control drink), and soreness did not differ.
A single 60 mL dose of Montmorency tart cherry concentrate lowered systolic blood pressure by up to 7 mm Hg in men with early hypertension
Placebo-controlled crossover trial in 15 men with early hypertension. Pressure was lower over 3 hours, peaking 2 hours after the dose. It tested one dose, not long-term use.
Drinking 480 mL of tart cherry juice a day for 12 weeks lowered systolic blood pressure and LDL cholesterol in older adults, but blood glucose, triglycerides and BMI rose
Randomized trial in 17 men and 20 women aged 65 to 80, compared with a control drink matched for energy and sugar. Total cholesterol was also lower than in the control group, while glucose, triglycerides and BMI were higher. Diastolic pressure, HDL and insulin did not change.
Seven days of Montmorency tart cherry juice lowered 24-hour blood pressure in people with metabolic syndrome
Single-blind crossover trial in 12 people with metabolic syndrome. Fasting glucose, total cholesterol and LDL were also lower after 6 days of juice than after placebo. The trial was short and very small.
Tart cherry concentrate for 3 months did not change blood pressure, vascular function or blood sugar and fats in middle-aged adults
Randomized placebo-controlled trial in 50 adults (34 men and 16 women, average age 48) who drank 30 mL of concentrate twice a day. It was safe and well tolerated. Co-funded by the Cherry Research Committee, a not-for-profit group.
Two cups of Montmorency tart cherry juice a day for 12 weeks improved some memory and thinking scores in adults aged 65 to 80
Randomized trial in 37 adults with normal cognition, compared with a control group. Contentment with memory, movement time and paired-associates learning differed between groups. The authors say more research is needed.
Drinking 240 mL of 100% tart cherry juice a day for 4 weeks lowered serum uric acid by 19.2% in overweight and obese adults
Randomized placebo-controlled crossover study in 26 people, with 4 weeks on each drink and a 4-week washout. C-reactive protein fell 19.4% and MCP-1 fell 6.3%, but neither change was significant (p = 0.09 and 0.08). Funded by the Cherry Research Committee of the Cherry Marketing Institute, which also supplied the juice and placebo.
Two 8 oz bottles of a tart cherry juice blend a day for 6 weeks eased knee osteoarthritis symptoms, but not more than placebo
Randomized crossover trial in 58 people with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis, with a 1-week washout. Symptom scores fell after the juice but not after placebo, yet the difference between the two was not significant (p = 0.16). High-sensitivity CRP was lower with the juice, and walking time and uric acid did not change.
Eating cherries over a 2-day period went with a 35% lower risk of gout attacks in people with gout
Case-crossover study of 633 people with gout, followed online for 1 year, in which each person served as their own comparison. Cherry extract showed a similar link (odds ratio 0.55), and cherries together with allopurinol went with a 75% lower risk. Intake was self-reported, and the abstract does not separate sweet from tart cherries.
Extracts of red sweet cherries blocked the inflammation enzymes COX-1 and COX-2 by 80 to 95% in a test tube
Lab study, not people, using water extracts at 250 µg/mL. Red sweet cherries were rich in the anthocyanin cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside, up to 185 mg per 100 g in the Kordia variety. Sour cherry extracts blocked the enzymes by 77 to 91%.
Sweet cherry anthocyanins reduced fatty liver in mice fed a high-fat diet
Study in mice, not people. Mice on a high-fat diet received 200 mg/kg of purified sweet cherry anthocyanins for 15 weeks. The treatment changed the activity of 1119 liver genes, many in fat-handling pathways.
Dark sweet cherry anthocyanins cut the migration of breast cancer cells by 88.6% in a dish
Lab study on mouse breast cancer cells, plus a small pilot in mice, not people. The anthocyanins reduced cell viability and suppressed cell-growth signaling. The authors call for a larger animal study.
Anthocyanins from tart cherries slowed fat oxidation by 39 to 75% in a test tube
Lab study, not people. Three anthocyanins and their base molecule cyanidin, all isolated from tart cherries, blocked lipid peroxidation by 39, 70, 75 and 57% at 2 mM, similar to two synthetic food antioxidants and better than vitamin E.
Montmorency tart cherries contained 13.46 ng of melatonin per gram, about 6 times more than Balaton tart cherries
Lab measurement of fresh-frozen cherries, not a trial in people. Balaton cherries held 2.06 ng per gram, and neither the orchard nor the harvest time changed the amount. The authors suggest cherries could be a source of dietary melatonin. Sweet cherries were not measured.
Who should be careful with cherries
Most people can eat cherries freely. Take a little care if one of these applies:
- Birch pollen allergy. Cherry is one of the fruits linked to birch pollen in pollen food allergy syndrome. Symptoms include an itchy mouth, a scratchy throat, or swelling of the lips, mouth, tongue and throat, and people can usually eat the same fruit cooked.
- Irritable bowel syndrome or a sensitive gut. Monash University lists cherries among fruits high in excess fructose and rich in sorbitol, both FODMAPs. If cherries upset your gut, start with a small amount.
- Pits and young children. Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta lists cherries with pits as a choking hazard until age 4 and advises pitting and quartering them. Swallowing a whole pit normally causes no problems, but crushed or chewed pits release a cyanide-forming compound, so spit them out.
How to choose, store and eat cherries
- Fresh sweet cherries: the sweet cherry trials used 280 g a day for 28 to 42 days. A cup (154 g) has 97 kcal.
- Tart cherry juice or concentrate: trials used 240 mL of juice a day or 30 mL of concentrate twice a day. These are the products behind most sleep and gout research.
- Dark or yellow: dark red sweet cherries were rich in cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside, up to 185 mg per 100 g in the Kordia variety. The yellow Rainier extract held beta-carotene and phenolic acids instead.
Sweet cherries are highly perishable and do not ripen after picking, with a shelf life of 7 to 14 days in cold storage, so buy them ripe and keep them cold. Signs of age are lost firmness and color, stem browning and mold. Residues are no reason to skip cherries: in USDA tests of 232 fresh cherry samples in 2015, only one had a residue above the legal limit.
Sources
- Pollen food allergy syndrome. American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
- Where FODMAPs are found in foods. Monash University FODMAP.
- Baby and toddler choking hazards: what foods to avoid. Strong4Life, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
- Cherry. Wikipedia (health risks of cherry pits).
- Habib M, Bhat M, Dar BN, Wani AA. Sweet cherries from farm to table: a review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2017.
- Mulabagal V, Lang GA, DeWitt DL, Dalavoy SS, Nair MG. Anthocyanin content, lipid peroxidation and cyclooxygenase enzyme inhibitory activities of sweet and sour cherries. J Agric Food Chem. 2009.
- Pesticide Data Program annual summary, calendar year 2015. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service.
History of cherries
Sweet cherries are older than farming. Their native range runs through most of Europe, western Asia and parts of northern Africa, and people have eaten them since prehistoric times. Cherry stones turn up at Bronze Age settlements across Europe, and one pile-dwelling site on Lake Garda in Italy was carbon-dated to about 2077 BCE.
By 800 BCE cherries were being grown on purpose in Asia Minor, and soon after in Greece. The English word cherry comes by way of Old Northern French and Latin from Kerasous, an ancient Greek region near Giresun, Turkey, from which cherries were first thought to be exported to Europe. A cultivated cherry is recorded as reaching Rome from northeastern Anatolia in 72 BCE, brought by the general Lucius Licinius Lucullus.
Sweet cherries and Chinese cherries were not tamed together. A 2021 genetic study of cherry chloroplast DNA found independent origins and domestication for the fruiting cherries, particularly between the Chinese cherry and the sweet cherry. The first cherries probably reached North America around 1606, in the French colony at Port Royal, now in Nova Scotia.
The Bing, still the most popular sweet cherry in the United States, began in 1875 in Milwaukie, Oregon. Horticulturist Seth Lewelling and his Chinese ranch foreman Sit Ah Bing found a seedling with superior fruit in a cross of Black Republican and Royal Ann, and Lewelling named it for Bing. It won first premium at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Ah Bing went back to China around 1889 and, because of the Scott Act, could not return.
The yellow Rainier came later. Harold Fogle developed it at Washington State University in 1952 from a cross of Bing and Van, and named it after Mount Rainier. Today the world grows about 2.61 million tonnes of sweet cherries a year, and Turkey grows 28% of them.
Sources
- Cherry. Wikipedia.
- Prunus avium. Wikipedia.
- Bing cherry. Wikipedia.
- Rainier cherry. Wikipedia.
- Zhang J, Wang Y, Chen T, et al. Evolution of Rosaceae plastomes highlights unique Cerasus diversification and independent origins of fruiting cherry. Front Plant Sci. 2021.
Frequently asked questions about cherries
Are cherries good for you?
For most people, yes. Raw sweet cherries have 63 kcal and 2.1 g of fiber per 100 g, and a cup (154 g) gives 342 mg of potassium and 10.8 mg of vitamin C. In one study, 280 g a day for 28 days lowered C-reactive protein by 25% in 18 healthy adults, and tart cherry products lowered it by 0.39 mg/L across 21 trials. None of this reaches strong evidence, and many trials used tart cherry juice.
Do cherries help you sleep?
Possibly, but the evidence is small and mixed. Tart cherry juice concentrate lengthened sleep in 20 healthy adults, and tart cherry juice added 84 minutes in 8 older adults with insomnia. Montmorency powder capsules did not change sleep in 34 people with overweight or obesity. The one sweet cherry trial used a freeze-dried Jerte Valley cherry drink in 30 people and found better sleep efficiency.
Are cherries good for gout?
Cherries went with fewer gout attacks, but the evidence is mostly a link. In 633 people with gout, eating cherries over 2 days went with a 35% lower risk of an attack, and 75% lower when combined with allopurinol. In trials, tart cherry juice lowered uric acid by 19.2% in 26 overweight adults, while a pooled analysis of 4 trials found only a modest drop. Cherries are not a replacement for gout medicine.
How many cherries should you eat a day?
No study sets an ideal amount. The sweet cherry trials used 280 g a day for 28 to 42 days, and the tart cherry trials used 240 mL of juice a day or 30 mL of concentrate twice a day. If you are new to cherries, start with a small handful and see how your gut reacts.
Can cherries cause gas or diarrhea?
They can in some people, and no trial here measured it. Monash University lists cherries as high in excess fructose and rich in sorbitol, two FODMAPs that can bother a sensitive gut. If cherries cause trouble, try a smaller amount.
Are sweet or tart cherries healthier?
No trial here compares them head to head. Most of the sleep, gout and exercise trials used tart cherry juice or concentrate, while the sweet cherry trials are fewer and smaller. In a lab test, extracts of both kinds blocked inflammation enzymes, by 80 to 95% for red sweet cherries and 77 to 91% for sour cherries.
Are cherries high in sugar?
They have a moderate amount: 12.8 g of sugars and 2.1 g of fiber per 100 g, or 19.7 g of sugars and 3.2 g of fiber in a cup (154 g). In 18 healthy adults, 280 g a day for 28 days did not change fasting glucose or insulin. A 27-person pilot found lower HbA1c after 42 days, but it had no comparison group. If you manage diabetes, check portions with your care team.
Is it safe to eat cherry pits?
Swallowing a whole pit normally causes no problems, but do not chew or crush it. The kernel inside holds amygdalin, which releases toxic hydrogen cyanide, and symptoms would show only after several crushed pits. Spit the pits out, and pit and quarter cherries for children under 4.