August 28, 2014

Cheribundi 7-Day Challenge: Recovery With Cherries!

I'll just say that Hood to Coast was amazing so don't worry, you'll be hearing plenty more about it!

While I clearly love things like compression socks, I'm always looking for new ways to help speed recovery and reduce soreness especially during a big training cycle like marathon training.


That's why I was really excited to learn that sour cherries could help with recovery

I really like cherries, especially in pie, so I knew you wouldn't have to twist my arm to get me to drink some cherry juice!

Cherry pie is always yummy. 

 Sour or tart cherries are not only delicious, but also happen to be superfruits loaded with nutrients. I learned that they are tart and red because of the amount of anthocyanins inside. The chemistry nerd I am loves learning all the real science behind things like food.  Anthocyanins are also responsible for health-promoting properties such as reducing muscle soreness, easing arthritis pain, and promoting heart health. Cherries also may help in improving sleep due to the melatonin they contain. 


So  sour cherries are pretty much awesome-plus they are loaded with antioxidants!




Disclosure I was given a set of juice and Cheribundi coupons for the duration of the challenge along with two free cases of Cheribundi juice to review on my blog. I received no other compensation for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always. 

The product: 

After learning about the science, I couldn't turn down a chance to add some Cheribundi cherry juice to my diet. Each bottle of Cheribundi contains at least 40 tart cherries so you are sure to be getting all the phytonutrients, potassium, iron, calcium in each bottle! In case you were wondering, Cheribundi Tart Cherry Juice is only 130 calories per bottle and tastes delicious. 

You can also read more about all the cherry growers Cheribundi works with-I love reading about how they source their fruit.

 I was also surprised to find out that Cheribundi is a vendor to over 90 professional and college sports teams including my Philadelphia Phillies, the NY Yankees, New York Knicks, Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks, and New England Patriots. 

Ultramarathoner Scott Jurek is even one of their brand ambassadors!

CheribundiCherryJuice7DayChallenge Recap

The challenge: 

Cheribundi's 7 Day Challenge involves drinking two 8 ounce servings of Cheribundi Tart Cherry Juice, Tart Cherry Juice Light, Restore, Rebuild or Relax on the first day of the challenge. After Day 1 you simply drink one 8 ounce serving each day for the next six days. 

Here's some of the basic differences between their cherry juice products: 
  • Tart Cherry Juice Light has less sugar. 
  • Restore has vitamins and electrolytes added
  • Rebuild contains added protein. 
  • Relax includes L-Theanine for extra relaxation properties. 
I stopped taking the l-glutamine and Vega Sport Recovery Accelerator supplements I have been using during marathon training while participating in this 7-day challenge to really focus on what effects I could attribute to the cherry juice.

.My favorite combo was drinking the Tart Cherry Juice before a workout and the Cherry Rebuild afterwards to get a dose of protein post-workout!
Cheribundi7-DayChallengeRecap2

Cheribundi provides a few questions to answer before and after the challenge so you can compare answers and focus on the changes cherry juice may have on your recovery and sleep. 
Don't worry, it's not a test!

My thoughts: 


I loved the taste of the cherry juice and usually drank it straight out of the refrigerator or over ice.



CheribundiCherryJuice7DayChallenge Recap3

It does have a lot of natural sugar in the juice, so that might be a downside if you worry about that. Not this fruit-loving gal. 
 I still am working on getting enough sleep so I didn't notice a huge change there. I did find that my recovery was just as good or even better post-run than when I was previously just using protein shakes and any sort of supplement. I didn't feel very sore post-run, not even after my 18 mile training run toward the end of the week.  

If you are looking for an all-natural recovery source, I'd recommend checking out Cheribundi and tart cherry juice. It's definitely something delicious I'd love to continue to incorporate into my training. 

You can sign up to try a 7-day Cheribundi challenge here and receive some coupons to make it easier on your wallet!

*I included this post in this linkup.


Have you ever tried tart cherry juice?  What is your favorite post-recovery drink/snack? Are you a fellow fruit-lover?

18 comments:

  1. Awesome! This is great! I am hearing so much good stuff about cherries and their impact on recovery time. I have never heard of Cheribundi, but I am glad I have now. these would be perfect for me right now....running 85 miles a week is hard on your body!

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    1. That's more than double what I've been running so I can imagine! It helps that cherry juice tastes so yummy too!

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  2. So cool! I love cherries but have never tried the juice!

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  3. I really need to look into incorporating cherries into my diet- I have heard so much about it lately! I am not usually a cherry fan but mixed with some chocolate I could be persuaded :)

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    1. I agree-cherries and chocolate is a killer combo. I'm sure you could make a delicious smoothie with the two!

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  4. Interesting - I had no idea cherry juice could help with recovery! This sounds like a great product to use in conjunction with marathon training!

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    1. It's definitely something awesome to use for recovery and is really portable for training!

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  5. Lauren, I started putting some tart cherry juice into my morning smoothie on days when I run; not sure how well it helps with recovery, but it sure does taste good - ha! Thanks so much for the review!

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    1. I agree that it tastes delicious and maybe you're getting some sneaky health benefits too :)

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  6. I have been hearing about how great cherries are for recovery! Looks like this juice would be great- and I love how they make different types to serve different purposes. Thanks for reviewing!

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    1. Thanks for reading-it's definitely something to check out!

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  7. Cherries really are amazing. I love them in everything, but will always pick fresh cherries over any baked stuff. The juice looks tasty and I'm glad to hear they helped with recovery

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    1. Fresh cherries are SO good-I'm sad that their season is so short!

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  8. I was putting frozen cherries in my morning smoothie but this looks even better. Thanks for linking up with us!

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    1. Thanks for reading! Frozen cherries are so good in smoothies-especially with chocolate!

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  9. I've heard a lot about the tart cherries and actually have it on my list to buy! I might take that challenge!

    Thanks for linking up to Did You Know! :)

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    1. Thanks-it's so yummy and cherry juice is easy to incorporate post run or in a smoothie!

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