Brenda Lee has a favorite arthritis treatment - tart cherry juice. "I have been drinking a glass of cherry juice everyday for the past two months and all I can say is it works." At the produce department she works at, she had a number of people buying Traverse Bay Farms tartcherry juice in the glass bottles for their pain. After asking the manager why this product was selling so well, he told her it stops arthritis pain. Six months later, she is now completely free from the pain is a cherry juice believer.

But is the tart cherry juice solution a folk remedy or a natural cure? While the definitive answer to that question is still undecided food researchers has begun to figure out why it works so well for those suffering from joint pain. The secret is in the naturally occurring phytochemicals that give the red tart cherry is bright red color. These compounds are called anthocyanins and provide the natural coloring of all fruits in natural. To date over 350 different classes of anthocyanins have been discovered it is the unique makeup of those in the tart cherry that make is such an effective pain killer.

Cherry researchers at Michigan State University, Dr. Muraledharan Naire has published peer reviewed study results that show the Montmorency tart cherry to have 12 times the anti-inflammatory power of aspirin without irritating the stomach. This means that people eating just 25 fresh cherries per day could realize the pain relief benefits naturally.

In addition to Dr. Naire's research, a study conducted on 25female volunteers at the University of California Davis resulted in the participants of the study experienced lower uric levels in their blood. Uric acid levels in the blood is a precursor to the formation of uric acid crystals that form between the spaces in the big toe and can cause extreme pain. So not only does the tart cherry offer arthritis pain relief, but also helps with stopping gout pain.

However, for many pain suffers, it can be difficult to find fresh cherries year round since they are only available for a few short weeks during the harvest season. Thus, many have turned to year solutions to getting the pain relieving properties of the tart cherries. I've included several year round cherry solutions that are easy to find:

Fresh Cherries: During the July harvest season, you can find fresh cherries in the produce section of your local grocery store. In addition, Fox Farms can deliver fresh cherries to your door during the last two weeks of July.

Cherry Juice: It takes 80 cherries to make a single ounce of cherry concentrate, so this is a super charged way to get the arthritis fighting ability of the cherry. A reliable source for the cherry juice is Traverse Bay Farms. All of the Traverse Bay Farms cherry juice is bottled in glass bottles.

Cherry Capsules: Finally, if you are looking to get the entire cherry, the skin, the pulp and the juice of the fruit try the cherry capsules. They contain the entire cherry except the pit and the stem. Each daily serving delivers the antioxidants of 5 glasses of cherry juice. Fruit Advantage is an excellent source of cherry capsules.

So the next time you are looking for a natural relief for arthritis try cherry juice and see how good you feel.