Updated: October 19, 2026  ·  Written by Andy LaPointe, Co-founder and Wellness, Marketing & Culinary Director, Traverse Bay Farms  ·  Contact Us

The Official Tart Cherry Health Report: What the Research Says About Montmorency Tart Cherries (2026 Edition)

We first published this report more than 15 years ago. Since then the research has grown, and so has the amount of confusing tart cherry marketing. This edition was rewritten from the ground up. Every study below links to its published source. Where the evidence is thin, we say so. Where a study found nothing, we include it.

We're a family-owned tart cherry company in Northern Michigan. We've crafted tart cherry juice concentrate since 2001, and we sell tart cherry capsules too. You should know that up front. 

1. What a tart cherry is, and why Montmorency

A tart cherry is a different species from the sweet cherries sold fresh in the produce aisle. Tart cherries are Prunus cerasus. Sweet cherries, like Bing, are Prunus avium. Tart cherries are smaller, brighter red and sour enough that almost nobody eats them off the tree. Most end up frozen, dried, juiced, concentrated or baked.

Montmorency is the main tart cherry variety grown in the United States. It's also the variety used in most of the human research on tart cherries. That matters. When you read about a tart cherry study, the cherry in the glass was almost always Montmorency. A product made from a different variety, or one that just says "tart cherry," isn't a match for that research.

Variety makes a measurable difference. When researchers compared Montmorency with Balaton, another tart cherry, they measured about six times more natural melatonin in Montmorency (Burkhardt et al., 2001). They also found that orchard and harvest timing didn't change the melatonin level much. The variety did.

2. Where tart cherries grow, and why Michigan

Michigan grows more tart cherries than any other state. In the 2024 crop year, Michigan produced more than half of the U.S. tart cherry crop, and the Northwest Michigan region around Grand Traverse Bay alone grew about 38 percent of it, according to Cherry Industry Administrative Board figures reported by the Traverse City Ticker. Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and a few other states grow the rest.

The reason is Lake Michigan. The lake keeps spring air cool, which holds back blossoms until frost risk drops, and it softens the summer heat. Tart cherry trees need a real winter, and Northern Michigan gives them one. The sandy, well-drained hills along the bays suit the trees well.

It isn't a guarantee every year. Late spring frosts hit Northern Michigan orchards hard in 2025, and the region's crop dropped sharply. A short crop is a reminder that tart cherries are a farm product first. Supply, price and availability move with the weather.

Since 2010, I attended the Northern Michigan cherry harvest and watched the growers working those orchards up close. Weather has always been the one constant in cherry farming, good years and hard ones. Tart cherries are soft and perishable, so the time from tree to processing matters. That's part of why origin matters on a label.

3. What's inside a tart cherry

Researchers study tart cherries mainly because of three groups of natural compounds.

• Anthocyanins. These are the pigments that make tart cherries deep red. The main anthocyanin in Montmorency is cyanidin-3-glucosylrutinoside. Anthocyanins are antioxidants, and they're the compound most tart cherry studies track.
• Melatonin. Tart cherries are one of the few foods that contain natural melatonin, the compound your body uses in its sleep-wake cycle. The amount is small compared with a melatonin supplement, which is one reason researchers think other compounds in the cherry also play a role in the sleep studies.
• Other polyphenols. Tart cherries also contain flavonols such as quercetin, phenolic acids and procyanidins. One sleep study pointed to procyanidin B-2 as a possible active compound (Losso et al., 2018).

Processing affects how much of these compounds survives. Heat breaks down anthocyanins. Light and air do too, over time. That's why freezing, freeze-drying, gentle concentration and protective packaging come up so often when people compare tart cherry products.

4. The research scorecard

Here's where the published human research stands, area by area. "Stronger" means several controlled trials plus at least one review that pooled results. "Early" means a handful of small studies.

5. Sleep research

Tart cherry has been studied for sleep in small human trials, and the results point the same direction: modestly longer, more efficient sleep. The best-known study gave 20 healthy adults 30 mL (about 1 ounce) of Montmorency tart cherry concentrate twice a day for seven days (Howatson et al., 2012). Compared with a placebo drink, they spent more time in bed, slept longer and slept more efficiently. Their bodies also showed higher levels of natural melatonin.

Two studies looked at older adults. In the first, 15 older adults drank 8 ounces of a tart cherry juice blend twice daily for two weeks and reported improvements across several sleep measures (Pigeon et al., 2010). In the second, a small pilot study of adults over 50, the eight people who completed it slept an average of 84 minutes longer, measured in a sleep lab, after two weeks of 8 ounces of tart cherry juice twice daily (Losso et al., 2018). That's an impressive number from a very small group, so treat it as promising, not settled.

The pooled evidence is more measured. A 2023 meta-analysis of eight studies found significant improvements in sleep efficiency and total sleep time when sleep was measured objectively, but not when people rated their own sleep (Stretton et al., 2023). Some trials found nothing. A 2022 study gave healthy adults either tart cherry juice or tart cherry capsules for 30 days and found no difference in sleep time or quality compared with placebo (Hillman et al., 2022). A 2024 trial gave adults with sleep issues and a higher body weight a 500 mg Montmorency powder capsule for two weeks and also found no improvement (Tucker et al., 2024); its authors suggested testing higher amounts. And the newest pooled analysis, published in September 2026, found no significant improvement in overall sleep quality across mixed groups of adults, with a benefit showing up only in the small group of trials that enrolled people who already had significant trouble sleeping (Sinclair et al., 2026).

Put plainly: the sleep research is real but mixed. The positive results come mostly from juice and concentrate, and from people who were sleeping poorly to begin with.

6. Exercise recovery research

Muscle recovery after strenuous exercise is the most thoroughly studied tart cherry topic. The strongest single source is a 2021 meta-analysis that pooled 14 studies (Hill et al., 2021). Across those studies, tart cherry was associated with less muscle soreness and faster recovery of strength and jump performance in the days after hard exercise.

The individual trials cover a wide range of athletes and exercise:

• Marathon runners who drank Montmorency juice for five days before a race, on race day and for two days after recovered strength faster than a placebo group (Howatson et al., 2010).
• Distance runners who drank tart cherry juice for a week before a long relay race reported a much smaller rise in post-race muscle pain than the placebo group (Kuehl et al., 2010).
• Young men doing intense arm exercises lost about 4 percent of their strength with a tart cherry juice blend, compared with about 22 percent on placebo (Connolly et al., 2006).
• Semi-pro soccer players taking 30 mL of Montmorency concentrate twice daily reported less muscle soreness over the following three days (Bell et al., 2016).
• Strength-trained men and endurance athletes took 480 mg a day of freeze-dried Montmorency powder in capsules for 10 days. They reported less soreness after exercise, and the endurance group ran a timed course faster (Levers et al., 2015 and 2016). The powder in those two studies was made from tart cherry skins.

Not every study agreed. When well-trained water polo players took tart cherry concentrate for six days, researchers found no difference in any recovery measure (McCormick et al., 2016). A review in the American College of Sports Medicine's Current Sports Medicine Reports concluded that tart cherry juice looks useful for recovery, but called for more standardized doses across studies (Vitale et al., 2017).

7. Uric acid research

Tart cherry has also been studied for its effect on uric acid in healthy adults. In one study, 12 healthy people drank Montmorency tart cherry concentrate (30 or 60 mL) twice a day for two days (Bell et al., 2014). Uric acid in their blood dropped by about 36 percent at its lowest point, around eight hours later, while uric acid leaving the body in urine went up. Both doses worked about the same.

That's a short study in a small group of healthy people, and it was funded by the Cherry Marketing Institute, an industry group. It shows tart cherry can influence normal uric acid activity in the short term. It doesn't tell us what happens over months, or in people whose levels are outside the normal range. If you're watching uric acid levels for any reason, work with your doctor; tart cherry isn't a substitute for medical care.

8. What this report doesn't cover, and why

You'll find tart cherry articles online that discuss joint conditions, blood pressure, blood sugar and memory. Much of that research was done in people with diagnosed medical conditions, and a lot of it is early and small. Dietary supplements and foods can't be marketed to treat or prevent disease, and we take that seriously. So we've kept this report to the areas studied in generally healthy people.

If you have a medical condition, the right person to talk to about tart cherry is your doctor, with the study in hand. Our Tart Cherry Research Library lists the published studies we track, with links to each one.

9. How to read tart cherry research

Tart cherry research is promising and real, but it has limits every reader should know.

• Most studies are small. Ten to fifty people is typical. Small studies can show large effects that shrink in bigger ones.
• Most studies are short. One to two weeks is common. We know much less about months or years of daily use.
• Some are industry-funded. Several studies, including Losso 2018 and Bell 2014, received funding from the Cherry Marketing Institute. Funding doesn't make a result wrong, but it's worth knowing.
• Forms and doses vary. Studies used juice, concentrate, blends and powders at different amounts, which makes them hard to compare directly.
• Results are modest. Tart cherry is a food. It supports the body's normal processes; it doesn't act like a medication.
• Some studies found nothing. We include them here because an honest picture is more useful to you than a perfect one.

10. Juice, concentrate, capsules or dried: matching a format to the research

The best format is the one that matches the research for your goal and that you'll actually take every day. Here's how each one lines up.

At Traverse Bay Farms we craft concentrate, capsules and dried cherries. Here's exactly what's in the two formats used most in the research.

Our Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate is made from 100% Michigan-grown Montmorency tart cherries, concentrated to 68 Brix at a 7:1 ratio. Each ounce holds the juice of about 100 cherries, so a 16-ounce bottle holds about 1,600. One serving is 1 ounce of concentrate mixed with 7 ounces of water, which is the same 30 mL amount of concentrate used in the Howatson sleep study and the Bell recovery and uric acid studies. We've bottled it in glass since 2001, and it carries our sediment-free guarantee.

Our Tart Cherry Capsules contain 1,200 mg of USA-grown Montmorency tart cherry per serving. We start with individually quick frozen (IQF) whole tart cherries, then freeze-dry and produced into powder with no heat, so the capsules hold the whole cherry, juice included. For anyone who wants to skip the fruit sugar, they're the simplest option. They were formulated under the oversight of Shannon Marie Hampton, RN.

11. How to read a tart cherry label

Tart cherry labels can be hard to compare. These six checks cover most of it.

1. Variety. Look for "Montmorency" by name. "Tart cherry" alone could be any variety.
2. Origin. Look for a country, and ideally a state. If origin isn't stated, ask.
3. Actual milligrams per serving. For capsules, find the real weight of cherry in each serving. Watch for the words "equivalent to." That phrase usually means a small amount of extract has been multiplied back to the weight of the fresh fruit it came from. It's a conversion, not what's in the capsule.
4. What part of the cherry. Powders can be made from whole cherries, from skins left over after juicing, or from extracts. Each is a different product.
5. For concentrate: Brix and purity. 68 Brix is the industry standard for tart cherry concentrate. The ingredient list should say 100% tart cherry, with no apple or grape juice filler and no added sugar.
6. Company transparency. A real address, a phone number that a person answers, and straight answers about sourcing and testing all count.

12. How the studies used tart cherry

If you want to give tart cherry a fair trial, the studies offer a template. This isn't medical advice, just a summary of how researchers did it.

• Daily, not occasionally. Nearly every study used tart cherry every day.
• Twice a day. Most split the amount into a morning and an evening serving. Sleep studies often placed the evening serving one to two hours before bed.
• Long enough to judge. Sleep studies ran one to two weeks. Recovery studies started tart cherry four to seven days before a hard effort and continued two to three days after.
• Consistent amount. Pick an amount that matches the studies for your format and stick with it.

Everyone responds differently. Some people notice a difference quickly, some take longer and some don't notice much at all. That's normal for a food.

13. Safety: who should check with a doctor first

Tart cherries are a food people have eaten for centuries, and studies report few side effects. The most common is mild stomach upset or loose stools, usually from larger amounts of juice. Taking tart cherry with food, or starting with a smaller amount, usually helps.

Talk with your doctor or pharmacist before using tart cherry regularly if you:

• take any prescription medication, especially blood thinners, blood sugar medications or sleep medications
• are pregnant or nursing
• are buying it for a child
• have a kidney condition or follow a potassium-restricted diet
• are scheduled for surgery
• are allergic to cherries or other stone fruits, such as peaches, plums or apricots

If you're watching your sugar intake, remember that juice and concentrate contain the cherry's natural fruit sugar. Capsules contain very little. Stop using any tart cherry product and contact your doctor if you notice a reaction.

14. Frequently asked questions

What are the side effects of tart cherry?

Side effects are uncommon and usually mild. The one people mention most is stomach upset or loose stools, mostly from larger amounts of juice. Juice and concentrate also add natural fruit sugar and calories. People who take prescription medications, are pregnant, or are allergic to stone fruit should check with a doctor first.

Is it okay to take tart cherry every day?

Nearly every study gave tart cherry daily, and it's a food people eat regularly. Most studies lasted one to twelve weeks, so there's less research on years of daily use. If you take medications or have a health condition, ask your doctor before making it a daily habit.

Which tart cherry has the most melatonin?

Montmorency. In a direct comparison, researchers measured about six times more natural melatonin in Montmorency tart cherries than in Balaton tart cherries (Burkhardt et al., 2001). Montmorency is also the variety used in most of the published sleep studies.

When is the best time to take tart cherry?

Most studies split it into two servings, morning and evening. Sleep studies often placed the evening serving one to two hours before bed. For exercise, studies started several days before a hard effort and continued a few days after. Taking it consistently matters more than the exact hour.

How much tart cherry did the studies use?

The most common amount was 30 mL (about 1 ounce) of Montmorency concentrate twice a day. Juice studies typically used 8 ounces twice a day. Powder capsule studies used 480 mg a day for recovery, with positive results, and 500 mg a day for sleep, which found no effect.

Does tart cherry really help you sleep?

The honest answer is: sometimes, modestly. Several small trials found longer, more efficient sleep with tart cherry juice or concentrate. Other trials, including two capsule studies, found no difference. The newest pooled analysis (2026) found a benefit mainly in people who were already sleeping poorly. If you try it, use the format and schedule the positive studies used and give it two weeks.

Are tart cherry capsules or juice better?

For sleep, juice and concentrate match the research more closely. For exercise recovery, both have positive studies. Capsules are the better fit if you want very little sugar, no taste and easy travel. Concentrate is the better fit if you want the format used in the most studies. We make both, so we don't have a reason to push one over the other.

How long did people take tart cherry in the studies?

Sleep studies usually ran one to two weeks. Recovery studies typically lasted 7 to 10 days around a hard effort. The uric acid study in healthy adults measured changes within hours to two days.

Can I take tart cherry with my medications?

Ask your doctor or pharmacist first, especially if you take blood thinners, blood sugar medications or sleep medications. Bring the product label so they can see exactly what's in it.

Where are Montmorency tart cherries grown?

Mostly in Michigan, which grows more than half of the U.S. tart cherry crop. Northwest Michigan, around Grand Traverse Bay, is the single largest growing region. Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and a few other states grow the rest.

Does tart cherry juice have sugar?

Yes. 100% tart cherry juice and concentrate contain the cherry's own natural fruit sugar, even with no sugar added. A capsule serving is about a gram of dried cherry, so it carries very little sugar.

Is tart cherry the same as cherry juice from the grocery store?

Not always. Many "cherry juice" drinks are made from sweet cherries or blended with apple or grape juice. The research used tart cherries, nearly always Montmorency. Check the ingredient list for 100% tart cherry.

15. About Traverse Bay Farms and this report

Traverse Bay Farms is a family-owned company in Northern Michigan, founded in 2001. We make tart cherry juice concentrate, tart cherry capsules, dried cherries and a long list of cherry foods. We've earned 38+ national food awards, and our cherry products have been featured at Michigan State University's Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Center during the National Cherry Festival's Orchard Tour. You'll find us in our two Northern Michigan stores, in Bellaire (opened 2005) and Elk Rapids (opened 2011), in select Kroger and Family Fare stores, and online, shipping nationwide.

This report was written by Andy LaPointe, our co-founder and Wellness, Marketing & Culinary Director. Every study cited below was checked against its published source. The report is for education. It isn't medical advice, and it doesn't replace a conversation with your doctor. To see how we make our products, visit What Makes Traverse Bay Farms Different. Questions or corrections? Contact us; we read every message.

16. References

1. Bell PG, Gaze DC, Davison GW, George TW, Scotter MJ, Howatson G. Montmorency tart cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) concentrate lowers uric acid, independent of plasma cyanidin-3-O-glucosiderutinoside. Journal of Functional Foods. 2014;11:82–90. doi:10.1016/j.jff.2014.09.004
2. Bell PG, Walshe IH, Davison GW, Stevenson E, Howatson G. Montmorency cherries reduce the oxidative stress and inflammatory responses to repeated days high-intensity stochastic cycling. Nutrients. 2014;6(2):829. doi:10.3390/nu6020829
3. Bell PG, Stevenson E, Davison GW, Howatson G. The effects of Montmorency tart cherry concentrate supplementation on recovery following prolonged, intermittent exercise. Nutrients. 2016;8(7):441. doi:10.3390/nu8070441
4. Burkhardt S, Tan DX, Manchester LC, Hardeland R, Reiter RJ. Detection and quantification of the antioxidant melatonin in Montmorency and Balaton tart cherries (Prunus cerasus). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2001;49(10):4898–4902. Publication record
5. Connolly DAJ, McHugh MP, Padilla-Zakour OI, Carlson L, Sayers SP. Efficacy of a tart cherry juice blend in preventing the symptoms of muscle damage. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2006. doi:10.1136/bjsm.2005.025429
6. Hill JA, Keane KM, Quinlan R, Howatson G. Tart cherry supplementation and recovery from strenuous exercise: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. 2021. doi:10.1123/ijsnem.2020-0145
7. Hillman AR, et al. Montmorency tart cherry supplementation does not impact sleep, body composition, cellular health, or blood pressure in healthy adults. 2022. Publication record
8. Howatson G, McHugh MP, Hill JA, et al. Influence of tart cherry juice on indices of recovery following marathon running. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. 2010. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0838.2009.01005.x
9. Howatson G, Bell PG, Tallent J, Middleton B, McHugh MP, Ellis J. Effect of tart cherry juice (Prunus cerasus) on melatonin levels and enhanced sleep quality. European Journal of Nutrition. 2012;51(8):909–916. doi:10.1007/s00394-011-0263-7
10. Kuehl KS, Perrier ET, Elliot DL, Chesnutt JC. Efficacy of tart cherry juice in reducing muscle pain during running: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2010;7:17. doi:10.1186/1550-2783-7-17
11. Levers K, Dalton R, Galvan E, et al. Effects of powdered Montmorency tart cherry supplementation on an acute bout of intense lower body strength exercise in resistance trained males. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2015;12:41. doi:10.1186/s12970-015-0102-y
12. Levers K, Dalton R, Galvan E, et al. Effects of powdered Montmorency tart cherry supplementation on acute endurance exercise performance in aerobically trained individuals. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2016. doi:10.1186/s12970-016-0133-z
13. Losso JN, Finley JW, Karki N, et al. Pilot study of the tart cherry juice for the treatment of insomnia and investigation of mechanisms. American Journal of Therapeutics. 2018;25(2):e194–e201. Publication record
14. McCormick R, Peeling P, Binnie M, Dawson B, Sim M. Effect of tart cherry juice on recovery and next day performance in well-trained water polo players. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2016. doi:10.1186/s12970-016-0151-x
15. Pigeon WR, Carr M, Gorman C, Perlis ML. Effects of a tart cherry juice beverage on the sleep of older adults with insomnia: a pilot study. Journal of Medicinal Food. 2010;13(3):579–583. doi:10.1089/jmf.2009.0096
16. Stretton B, et al. Tart cherries (Prunus cerasus) and sleep: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Current Sleep Medicine Reports. 2023. doi:10.1007/s40675-023-00261-w
17. Sinclair JK, Baker L, Bottoms LM. Effects of tart cherry (Prunus cerasus) supplementation on overall sleep quality, melatonin, and inflammatory biomarkers: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Recent Progress in Nutrition. 2026;6(3):024. lidsen.com
18. Tucker RM, Kim N, Gurzell E, et al. Commonly used dose of Montmorency tart cherry powder does not improve sleep or inflammation outcomes in individuals with overweight or obesity. Nutrients. 2024;16(23):4125. doi:10.3390/nu16234125
19. Vitale KC, Hueglin S, Broad E. Tart cherry juice in athletes: a literature review and commentary. Current Sports Medicine Reports. 2017. doi:10.1249/JSR.0000000000000385
20. Traverse City Ticker. Tart cherry numbers beat expectations (Cherry Industry Administrative Board 2024/2025 crop figures). traverseticker.com

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Traverse Bay Farms products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. This report is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for advice from your doctor or other qualified health professional. Individual results vary.