Tart cherries, especially the Montmorency variety, have the strongest research backing for arthritis relief. But sweet cherries like Bing also show promise for reducing inflammatory markers linked to joint pain. The key is the deep red and purple pigments in both types, which act on the same inflammatory pathways targeted by common pain relievers.
Tart Cherries vs. Sweet Cherries
Cherries fall into two broad categories: tart (sour) and sweet. In the United States, Montmorency is the most widely grown tart cherry, and Bing is the dominant sweet variety. Both contain the plant pigments responsible for anti-inflammatory effects, but their concentrations differ in ways that matter.
Red sweet cherry varieties (including Bing, Benton, Black Gold, Kordia, and Skeena) contain between 82 and 297 mg of anthocyanins per 100 grams of fruit. Red sour cherries like Montmorency and Balton contain 27 to 76 mg per 100 grams. By raw anthocyanin count, dark sweet cherries often come out ahead. However, Montmorency tart cherries scored higher than sweet varieties on certain antioxidant tests measuring their ability to neutralize free radicals. The takeaway: both types deliver anti-inflammatory compounds, and Montmorency tart cherries have simply been studied more often in arthritis trials.
Yellow cherries like Rainier contain far less of these pigments, ranging from just 2 to 41 mg per 100 grams. They’re not a useful choice if joint inflammation is your goal.
How Cherry Compounds Fight Inflammation
The pigments that give cherries their red and purple color belong to a family called anthocyanins. Two specific types, cyanidin and delphinidin, block the production of COX-2, the same enzyme that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen target. They do this by interrupting a chain of chemical signals that normally ramps up inflammation in your tissues. Other anthocyanin types found in lighter-colored fruits don’t have this effect, which is why deeper-colored cherries matter more for joint pain.
In a large review of cherry research, all five studies examining arthritis outcomes found measurable improvements. Across the broader evidence, 11 out of 16 studies showed cherries reduced markers of inflammation in the body, including C-reactive protein and nitric oxide, both of which tend to be elevated in people with inflammatory joint conditions.
What the Arthritis Studies Found
For osteoarthritis specifically, a randomized double-blind trial tested tart cherry juice in people with knee osteoarthritis. Participants drank two 8-ounce bottles of tart cherry juice daily for six weeks. A larger trial with 66 adults who had symptomatic knee osteoarthritis found that drinking 16 ounces of tart cherry juice daily led to significant reductions in pain and improvements in quality of life by the two-month mark.
For gout, a form of inflammatory arthritis caused by uric acid crystal buildup in the joints, the evidence is particularly compelling. Tart cherry juice reduced serum uric acid levels by 19.2% in clinical testing. A USDA-funded study using fresh Bing sweet cherries found that plasma urate levels dropped significantly within five hours of eating them, while the amount of uric acid excreted in urine increased over the same period. Both mechanisms work to clear the substance that triggers gout flares.
How Much to Consume
Most clinical trials used 16 ounces of tart cherry juice per day, split into two servings. Some used tart cherry juice concentrate, which delivers the same compounds in a smaller volume. The USDA sweet cherry study used a single serving of fresh Bing cherries eaten throughout the day. Improvements in pain and quality of life typically appeared around two months of consistent daily intake in osteoarthritis trials, though uric acid reductions for gout showed up within hours of a single serving.
If you prefer whole fruit, roughly two cups of fresh tart or dark sweet cherries provides a comparable amount of anthocyanins to what was used in juice-based studies.
Fresh, Frozen, Dried, or Juice
Fresh and frozen cherries retain their full nutrient profile. Drying concentrates both the flavor and the beneficial compounds by removing water, making dried tart cherries a practical option, especially outside of cherry season. Tart cherry juice concentrate is the most common form used in research and is widely available year-round.
The forms to avoid are those with heavy added sugar. Maraschino cherries, for example, are preserved in sugar syrup, food dye, and flavoring oils, stripping away most of what makes cherries useful for inflammation. Sweetened cherry juice blends can also add significant calories without increasing the active compounds. Look for 100% tart cherry juice or unsweetened dried cherries.
Despite being a fruit juice, tart cherry juice is relatively low in sugar compared to other juices. Cherries themselves are high in dietary fiber and low enough in calories that clinical reviews have not found cherry consumption to increase body weight or waist circumference, even over weeks of daily intake.
Which Variety to Choose
If you’re managing osteoarthritis, Montmorency tart cherry juice or concentrate is the best-studied option. It’s widely available as bottled juice and as concentrate you can mix with water. For gout, both Montmorency tart cherries and Bing sweet cherries have direct clinical evidence supporting uric acid reduction. If you prefer eating whole fruit, choose the darkest red or purple sweet cherries you can find, as their anthocyanin content runs significantly higher than lighter varieties. Skip yellow cherries like Rainier for this purpose.