According to researchers with the Baylor Research Institute, tart cherries could be a promising pain-reliever for osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis, is a degenerative illness typically affecting the hands, feet, spine, and large weight-bearing joints, such as the hips and knees.
More than half of the patients enrolled in a pilot study experienced a significant improvement in pain and function after taking tart cherry pills for eight weeks.
Montmorency tart cherries are among the best studied natural products, and they have often been anecdotally linked to beneficial effects on osteoarthritis and other types of arthritis as well.