The Tart Fruit You Can Eat Whole Or Enjoy As Juice That's Rich In Magnesium

Magnesium may not get the hype of iron or protein, but it's what keeps your muscles from locking, your heart from racing, and your nerves from short-circuiting. It's a mineral that steadies the current. Most people are low on it, especially those who drink coffee, live on stress, or sweat a lot. But, most foods rich in magnesium tend to be a little bland — nuts, grains and seeds — and in different hues of beige. Tart cherries, though, are the vibrant outlier.

Tart cherries bring in around 17 milligrams of magnesium per cup, but the real story is their synergy. Their magnesium comes bundled with trace minerals and deep red anthocyanins that temper inflammation and steady energy levels. When you incorporate sour cherries as a regular part of your diet, the effect is cumulative. You'll gradually feel less tension, get more restorative sleep, and experience fewer 3 a.m. wake-ups. 

It has to be tart cherries. These are the Montmorency, Morello or Balaton varieties grown in the Pacific Northwest, Michigan and northern Europe. You might know them as the kind used for pie filling and juice, and in summer, they show up at farm stands in the areas they're grown. The rest of the year, just keep a big bag chilling in the freezer, so you can reach for scoops as needed for smoothies, a clafoutis with a personality, or even muddled into cocktails. 

A cup of tart cherries isn't a magnesium bomb like almonds are, but it's metabolically more interesting. Studies have found that tart cherry juice can slightly raise circulating melatonin levels and shorten the time it takes to fall asleep. They also contain a bit of tryptophan, which the body converts into serotonin, then melatonin, reinforcing the sleep-promoting matrix. Magnesium regulates electrical impulses and helps shuttle calcium and potassium in and out of cells. The natural acids and pigments within cherries make the magnesium easier to absorb, and that mineral acts like a conductor, helping melatonin do its job.

Tart cherry consumption was originally studied among marathon runners with many reporting faster muscle recovery and less soreness after switching to small daily shots of the juice. That's because magnesium relaxes muscle fibers and antioxidants keep the whole process from overcooking by reducing oxidative stress after exercise, helping repair micro-tears in muscle fibers and soothing the central nervous system. That combination is rare in a single food, when most post-workout drinks trade one benefit for another. 

Tart cherries make the dull work of rest and repair taste good. Because they're tart, you can keep snacking on them without harsh glucose spikes and crashes. The same acids that make your face pucker also slow the release of sugar into your bloodstream, because unlike popping a capsule, whole food sources come with checks and balances. The acids and natural sugars in cherries slow absorption, which prevents the common magnesium-supplement side effect everyone hates (diarrhea).

Tart cherries have been a part of northern diets for centuries. In traditional European practices, tart-cherry cordials and related syrups were often made at the end of summer and kept through winter as "strengthening tonics" for circulation and digestion. There's wiśniówka, a sour-cherry liqueur that was typically prepared by macerating sour cherries in spirits and sugar and then sipped in small amounts for medicinal effects. In Hungary, they make sour cherry soup; in Michigan, the fruit goes into hand pies.In the Pacific Northwest, sour cherry jam jars up the best of summer's sunlight. Before anyone measured magnesium levels, people used these fruits to balance heavy meat-and-potato seasons. They cut through the richness, then help you sleep it off like a hibernating bear.

Fresh tart cherries have a short season, appearing briefly in midsummer, but frozen and juice versions are around all year, although they're pricey at times. Before bed, a small glass of unsweetened tart cherry juice mixed with sparkling water is a lovely recovery ritual. It tastes lightly sour, almost floral. Dried cherries work, too. They're chewy, concentrated, and easy to enjoy by the handful, especially when combined with almonds or dark chocolate.

Tart cherries illuminate the intersection of traditional knowledge and biochemistry, showing, and explaining in finely tuned detail, that the old instincts were often exactly right. Long before we knew how to parse out minerals, people ate what helped them. Sour cherries are an accessible fruit that steadies blood sugar, cools inflammation, and calms the nervous system. And they taste good, too.