What is Montmorency tart cherry?

Nature has the wonderful ability to provide everything the body needs to live a healthy life. With the right nutrients to support your lifestyle, you’ll both look and feel great. But hectic modern lifestyles mean it can be challenging to put your nutrition first.

Good quality supplements are an ideal solution, particularly for something as fundamental as sleep. Adding to the toolkit of athletes who want to hit the gym hard and wake up fresh, rejuvenated and ready to do it all again the next day. 

Montmorency tart cherry is one of those foods that probably isn’t on your grocery list. But is absolutely packed with nutrients to support rest and recovery – and a key component of the best sleep supplements.

This is why you'll often hear sleep expertsdiscussing the benefits of tart cherry pills (or capsules) for sleep in certain dosages, for example. 

Maximal nutrition, minimal intake

Rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals, Montmorency tart cherry provides just 120 kcal per 1-cup serving - that’s a lot of nutrition for minimal energy intake.

You’ll find 62% RDA of vitamin A in an 8 oz serving, as well as 14% RDA of vitamin C.

The active phenolic acids found in the fruit include chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and ellagic acid. Plus, an abundance of flavonoids such as isorhamnetin, kaempferol, quercetin, epicatechin, catechin and procyanidin.

The main bioactive ingredient of interest in tart cherry is anthocyanin - the chemical responsible for the deep red pigmentation of cherries.

Montmorency tart cherry is packed with anti-inflammatory anthocyanins that support health and performance, thus being an effective natural sleep aid.

Cherries contain a significantly greater amount of anthocyanin compared to other fruits and can be eaten as a whole fruit, juice or powdered supplement form.

Research shows that there is a linear relationship between anthocyanin content and the degree to which tart cherry protect cells1