Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate Vs. Tart Cherry Capsules: Best Joint Pain Relief?
After multiple surgeries and a partially torn rotator cuff, managing joint pain and inflammation has become paramount to helping me live a normal life. The best supplement I’ve found to do just that? Tart cherry juice.
I’d never heard much of tart cherry juice on the interwebs. The stuff just isn’t popular or known around these parts.
In fact, I heard about this miracle supplement from my Grandma.
She had knee pain stemming from a lack of cartilage and bone-on-bone friction. The old bat claimed tart cherry concentrate reduced her pain more than anything else – even anti-inflammatories, like ibuprofen.
Naturally, I had to give it a shot.
So, I ran over to Whole Foods and grabbed a bottle. I started taking the stuff every night before bed. I wanted to see if it helped.
A week later, my joints felt better than they have since knee surgery. Hell, I was even able to play a little pick-up basketball without issue.
Inflammation was almost completely gone. I felt fantastic.
All because of tart cherry juice concentrate!
The Good Stuff!
Tart Cherry Benefits
After seeing such benefits, I naturally went to Google.
Why were tart cherries so good for the body? Why was this miracle supplement so ideal when dealing with inflammation?
Apparently, tart cherries offer vast benefits for overall health.
Some include (Source):
- Reduced inflammation
- Antioxidant rich
- Treating osteoarthritis
- Treating gout
- Improves sleep cycle
- Improves cardiovascular health
- …And more!
Now, that’s just a quick overview. For a more in-depth look at why this stuff works, check out my guide on the benefits of tart cherry juice.
While some of the reasoning behind why tart cherries work so well for inflammation remains a mystery, there’s one thing we know…
Tart cherries make the body feel damn good.
Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate Vs. Tart Cherry Capsules
Initially, I took tart cherry juice concentrate. I mixed around 1.5 ounces of the concentrate with eight ounces of water.
I absolutely loved the stuff.
However, lugging around 32 ounces bottles while you travel just isn’t ideal. In fact, it’s a huge pain in the ass. I needed the tart cherries to manage inflammation, but I didn’t want to pack all those liquids.
I needed a solution.
Then I stumbled upon tart cherry capsules. These capsules claimed to offer the same benefits of the concentrate, but were in extract form and much easier to travel with.
I was sold.
I grabbed a bottle of tart cherry extract capsules and tested them out. I wanted to compare the two products and see which one helped me manage inflammation better.
Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate 101
Overall, I prefer tart cherry juice concentrate over extract. The stuff is just significantly stronger when in concentrated form compared to taking capsules.
If you truly need to manage inflammation and osteoarthritis, then you’ll want the strong stuff. That’s the concentrate. It just works better.
The issue for me?
I’m a traveler and it’s damn near impossible to bring enough of this stuff for a long trip. While it’s such a useful supplement, it’s just not conducive to moving from city-to-city.
Tart Cherry Capsules 101
That’s why I tried tart cherry extract capsules. One little bottle contained as many servings as a whole 32 ounce bottle of concentrate. I could bring a six month supply of the capsules compared to just one bottle of the juice.
So, I gave them a shot. I took a full serving every day for a month. While I found cherry extract capsules beneficial, they were not nearly as effective as the juice. I noted a noticeable uptick in inflammation during this time.
Then I switched back to tart cherry juice concentrate. Inflammation went back down within a week after switching. It was definitive. The concentrate worked better for me than the capsules.
Now, the capsules still have great benefit. If you’re carry-on traveling, you won’t be able to take the juice with you. In this case, the capsules are definitely better than nothing.
I still bring tart cherry capsules with me on short trips. If I’m packing a backpack and going somewhere for a week, I just won’t have enough space for a bottle of cherry juice. So, I’ll pack the capsules.
Best For Joint Pain & Inflammation?
There’s no contest here.
If you truly want to manage joint pain and reduce inflammation, then tart cherry juice concentrate is what you want.
The stuff is one of the best natural supplements I’ve found.
While tart cherry capsules offer benefit and are ideal for travelers, I think most users will benefit from a cherry juice concentrate much more than an extract.
There is one other thing to note, though.
The tart cherry concentrate is high in sugar. If that’s an issue for you, then taking the extract may make more sense.
Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate Vs. Tart Cherry Capsules: Best Joint Pain Relief?
If you’re looking to reduce inflammation and joint pain naturally, I’ve yet to find a better supplement than tart cherry juice concentrate.
The stuff just works and you’ll find nagging injuries slowly fade away when taking this stuff.
While tart cherry extract capsules offer similar benefits, they simply aren’t as pronounced. Unless you’re traveling light, I cannot recommend them over the concentrate.
