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Tart Cherries


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I've been doing a bit of research on tart cherries, and I know there have been a few mentions on BB of them helping with sleep, but I can’t find a specific thread about it. So I just wanted to hear some opinions from people who have tried them.

 

Over the last couple of nights I’ve tried both the tart cherry fruit and the juice concentrate, and I THINK I’m impressed. I say “think” because it’s probably too early to say one way or the other.

 

For a couple of nights I just had a small bowl of fruit (probably about 100 grams) and I slept okay, although it took a little while to get to sleep.  Last night I had some fruit and I also had about 50ml of the juice concentrate. I felt really sleepy before I went to bed, and I pretty much went to sleep straight away. So now I need to experiment to see which is better – the fruit or the concentrate.

 

Both are reasonably expensive to buy here. I can get a 1 litre bottle of concentrate from my local health food shop for $30 (which would last about 3 weeks if I use 50ml per night), but I might be able to get it a bit cheaper if I shop around. I’ve had a look online, but the price is much the same if you include the postage.

 

I can buy the bottled fruit in my local supermarket and that works out to be a little cheaper, but if the concentrate works better I’m happy to pay for it, although I quite like the fruit as a nightime snack.

 

I'm really not keen on taking melatonin supplements, because I just think there are too many differing opinions on the dose and the long term effects, but I'm quite happy to get some extra melatonin from a natural source like fruit. Anyway, just looking for some feedback from others who have tried it.

 

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Hi DP,

 

I tried the tart cherries earlier on in my taper and I was definitely sleeping better with them. Initially I took the cherries but they were working out quite expensive so on the recommendation of my local health shop I tried the Montmorency concentrated cherry juice and that also worked well for a while. Eventually, however, it didn't seem to be helping any more so I gave up taking it but I've finished tapering now so I intend to resume the tart cherry.

 

I had no luck with melatonin tablets, they revved up my symptoms and I dont respond well to any other supplements either. The tart cherry was the only thing I tried which definitely seemed to help with sleep at that time. I hope you have success with it, let me know how you go.

 

Debbie x

 

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Thanks for your comments Debbie. I'm surprised others haven't commented because I know I have read other people saying they have used them.

 

They can be expensive, but what I'm doing now is having my small bowl of bottled tart (they're called sour here) cherries after dinner, which aren't as expensive and taste quite nice, and then if I feel I'm not getting to sleep quickly enough I'll go to the fridge and have a swig of the juice concentrate, and every time I've gone to sleep straight away. Maybe I'm getting a placebo effect, but I don't care. I'm sleeping really soundly, so I'm happy. Hopefully it will keep working, and not stop working like it did with you.

 

I agree about the tablets. There are just too many varying opinions on (a) the dosage (b) the long term effects and © whether they actually help or not. I have very mixed feelings about them. Sometime I think they have helped, but other times I don't think they do. I always think though if you can get what you need from natural sources, it's better than taking a supplement anyway.

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that's one amazing this about this whole ordeal, I have had a few sleep-aids which helped for a while but then seemed to lose effectiveness.
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Yes, I honestly think that unless you find that melatonin supplements REALLY help you, they're best kept away from. When melatonin was first "discovered" it was touted as the solution to the world's insomnia problems, but that just never happened. It's now known that it's not a "sedative". It is just a hormone that is a body clock regulator. It prepares the body for sleep when it gets dark, but doesn't actually make the body go to sleep.

 

Like I said earlier, there is just too much unknown information about melatonin supplements, especially with the correct dosage and the long term effects. On most of the reputable sites I've seen, the recommended maximum dose is 1mg, yet I've read about some BB'ers taking large doses (like more than 5mg or even more than 10mg). When you consider that the body only naturally produces up to approx 25 micrograms, taking so much doesn't make sense.

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...
I have tried the dried tart cherries before i started my taper and they made me very sleepy. Was very sleepy the next day so only tried it that one time. Nearing the end of my taper am starting to have somnia so i will trying them again to see if they will work this time.
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Hi all,

 

Thought I'd make a note here to say I recently began taking the Montmorency concentrated cherry juice and it did seem to be helping a little with sleep. However, sadly I had to discontinue it because it was upsetting my stomach which apparently can be a side effect. I have IBS and my stomach is very sensitive so this may be the reason I had problems, if you have a stronger stomach you may be fine with it.

 

I have since been taking a handful of tart cherries at night and they are helping.

 

Debbie

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  • 3 weeks later...
I would steer clear of melatonin. I had some bad experience with it in the past and so did my mom. I did try cherry juice too and it was good also but pricey!
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I was able to stop taking Trazodone when I started drinking diluted tart cherry juice concentrate in the evening. It has worked beautifully for me. Plus it encourages your body to produce melatonin naturally.

 

My sleep pattern has improved. Now I'm not even drinking the tart cherry every night. And I am sleeping better than I have in my entire adult life. Seriously! And that's despite the fact that I'm still tapering the monster K.

 

I'm all for tart cherry!

 

Cheery

 

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melatonin at BEDTIME always gives groggy head in the morning and not much good sleep so I have learned not to use it at bedtime.

 

I take 3mg melatonin at dinner time and THEN it works,  They say it takes 6 hours for melatonin to end up loading in the brain for the proper release time.  Any one else ever try this?

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Hmmm - interesting. Whenever I've taken melatonin it's usually been maybe an hour or so before bed. Maybe you do need to take it earlier. I guess it's just one more experiment to try...lol...
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I was able to stop taking Trazodone when I started drinking diluted tart cherry juice concentrate in the evening. It has worked beautifully for me. Plus it encourages your body to produce melatonin naturally.

 

My sleep pattern has improved. Now I'm not even drinking the tart cherry every night. And I am sleeping better than I have in my entire adult life. Seriously! And that's despite the fact that I'm still tapering the monster K.

 

I'm all for tart cherry!

 

Cheery

 

I'd say that's quite a good recommendation. Do you mind if I ask, before I run out and buy some, if you have had any GI issues while tapering?  I have some extreme sensitivities and am too low weight to tear my system up more. Is tart cherry juice very acidic?

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Interesting; even though the juice is extremely concentrated compared to the fruit, the total amount of melatonin in a glass appears to be minuscule compared to supplements (on the order of a few micrograms, I believe, or maybe 0.1mg at the high end).

 

I should try this. Some people think that less is more with melatonin, on the other hand human trials have concluded that consiming more than a gram a day for an extended period of weeks to months doesn't cause any adverse effects. It's definitely a different sort of think than the traditional things I think of as 'hormones'. I'm pretty sure that eating a gram of prednisone or testosterone would make me feel insane if not dead.

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Hello!

 

One Love:

Oh my heavens! Have I ever had GI problems! I look back and realize that this was likely my first sign of tolerance withdrawal, and I just didn't get it. My GI problems have started to diminish, though, and the tart cherry does not seem to have impeded my system's progress in any significant way. I do eat a lot of raw foods to keep my body alkaline, so I am trying to counter-balance acids as best I can -- also seems to be working. And I am sleeping so nicely. By the way, at this point I am not finding the need to drink my tart cherry potion every night. And I was a lifetime insomniac!

I also believe that meditating has had a significant effect on my sleep cycle. I meditate in morning and late afternoon.

One more thing: I also think that my HPA Axis is starting to self-regulate; I am not dealing with cortisol surges anymore. Micro-tapering is working well for me.

 

Spengler:

From what I understand, Tart Cherry does not contain melatonin; it has properties that encourage your body to produce melatonin, which appeals to me. Maybe you too.

 

One more note on Tart Cherry: I have only had success with tart cherry juice CONCENTRATE. I wouldn't bother with regular cherry juice.

 

It's beautiful here in Mass. today; hope it's as beautiful where you are too. Isn't summer grand?

 

xoxoxoxo Cheery

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  • 3 weeks later...
I use montmorcey tart cherry juice concentrate for joint health and to help with soreness and sleeping when I'm lifting weights and working out alot. I tried it once since I went cold turkey and found it helped my emotions to stabilize that day . I've since moved and gave my open bottle of juice to a roomate. It's got a high orac value and is considered a superfood. If it helps you out , I wouldn't hesitate to use it .. Atm I'm using holy basil and passionflower to help stabilize serotonin(less mood swings) and valerian tea at night to help with insomnia. I'm sleeping ok but wish something worked for the night sweats . Hope you find some good zzzz's soon !
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I use Tart Cherry juice and it seems to help for a few nights then stop. If it has an effect, it seems mild to me. But it's full of great antioxidants so there's no harm in it...
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The best source on nutrition can be found at nutritionfacts.org. Dr Michael Gregor reads all the most notiable nutrition journals every year and does a video three times a week to summarize what he learns in layman terms.

 

Here is what he says about tart cherries (by the way, it does work) ... http://nutritionfacts.org/video/tart-cherries-for-insomnia/

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Hi Diaz Pam,

 

Could I make tart cherry juice myself using a blender, or would I have to buy the pre-made stuff? What are tart cherries anyway, just sour cherries?

 

I read that a tiny dab of pure jasmine oil on the wrists at bedtime is said to aid sleep, apparently it enhances the production of GABA.

 

I've been hit with a big wave of insomnia and am willing to try most anything non-med.

 

Hope you're doing well. :hug:

 

Chinook

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Hi Guys,

I tried both melatonin and tart cherry concentrate.

 

With Melatonin it only works for me if I take 1mg only and about 3 hours before bed - and even then it only works sporadically.  If I do take it, it is on a rotating basis, a couple of nights and then off to something else and then back after a while.  My issue is that nothing seems to work consistently, and I usually rotate my sleep aids.  Currently my nightly cocktail is two seriphos at 7pm, 1tsp magnesium citrate powder, 2 lactium, 3 calms forte at bed time.  Then when I wake in a few hours which I always do - one more Seriphos, 2 more lactium and two more calms forte.  I swear the last two nights I actually fell back to sleep for a little while after taking the middle of the night re-loads.  Hope this lasts.

 

DP regarding the tart cherry concentrate (since this is the subject of the post!) I used it every night for two strait weeks following the directions and dissolving two tbsp into 8oz of water before bed.  It did nothing for me but did not cause any problems either.

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Hi Diaz Pam,

 

Could I make tart cherry juice myself using a blender, or would I have to buy the pre-made stuff? What are tart cherries anyway, just sour cherries?

 

I read that a tiny dab of pure jasmine oil on the wrists at bedtime is said to aid sleep, apparently it enhances the production of GABA.

 

I've been hit with a big wave of insomnia and am willing to try most anything non-med.

 

Hope you're doing well. :hug:

 

Chinook

 

Hi Chinook - sorry to hear about the insomnia. It royally sucks doesn't it.

 

When I bought the bottled fruit they were called "sour cherries". I'm only assuming they are same thing. When I bought the concentrate it was actually called "Tart Cherry" concentrate. I guess you could make your own, but you would need a lot of cherries because you would just be making a juice, as opposed to a concentrate which you would use a lot less of.

 

Mind you, I don't bother using the cherries at all now. The bottled cherries did taste very nice, but I didn't really find that it helped that much, and the concentrate was really expensive, so that experiment was short lived..lol...

 

I've actually had a lot more success with "Seriphos" lately. You can read more about it on the Vit C thread - go the last few pages where I think we start discussing it more. It works more for cortisol regulation, so of course if that's not the problem it may not be that helpful. http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=84996.0

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