Health Benefits Of Cherries - WebMD

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Written by Sadiya Ansari, Sarah GleimMedically Reviewed by Lalitha Kadali, MBBS, MD on December 10, 2025

• Types of Cherries
• What Are the Benefits of Eating Cherries?
• Cherry Nutrition
• How to Buy and Use Cherries
• How to Store Cherries
• Takeaways
• FAQs on Health Benefits of Cherries

6 min read

Cherries are small stone fruits, which means they have a pit or seed inside. They grow in several colors and flavors, but they're considered either sweet or sour. Sweet cherries are juicy and have a lower acid content than sour cherries, which are much more tart.

Michigan grows most of the sour cherries in the U.S., while Washington, California, and Oregon grow 90% of the sweet cherries.

Cherries thrive in most temperate regions, so they're harvested throughout the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, cherry trees blossom around April and produce fruits from June to August. In the Southern Hemisphere, cherries are a winter holiday fruit.

No matter where they're grown, cherries can be a tasty, healthy addition to a well-rounded diet.

Types of Cherries

This fruit comes in more than 900 varieties. But you're probably familiar with only a handful. Some of the most common types of cherries include:

Bing. These are one of the most popular sweet cherries. Bings are dark red and have a crisp, sweet taste with a touch of acidity. These cherries are ideal for eating fresh as a snack. 

Rainier. These juicy, sweet, golden yellow and red cherries are a specialty crop because they're hard to grow. You can get them only in late spring through early summer. 

Queen Anne. These look similar to Rainier cherries. But Queen Anne cherries are more tart. Also known as Royal Ann, these cherries are often used to make maraschinos.

Black. This sweet variety has dark skin and is commonly used in pies, jellies, sodas, and other foods.

Maraschino. You might recognize these vivid red, syrupy-sweet cherries atop ice cream sundaes and in classic cocktails. They're full of added sugar because they're preserved for weeks in red food dye, sugar, and bitter almond oil.

Dried cherries. Removing moisture from cherries thickens their skin and concentrates their flavor and nutrients. Dried cherries last longer than fresh, are good for baking, and add flavor to yogurt, granola, salads, and trail mix.

 

What Are the Benefits of Eating Cherries?

Fresh cherries are full of minerals and other nutrients. Key among them is vitamin C, which helps your body absorb iron, produce collagen, and defend against cell damage. Cherries may benefit your health in other ways, including:

May help prevent muscle soreness after workouts

Eating tart cherries daily could help your muscles recover faster after you exercise. Drinking tart cherry juice before a marathon or other intense workouts can also support muscle recovery.

May prevent certain types of cancers

Many studies show that eating sweet or tart cherries may help prevent cancer by reducing inflammation . Inflammation can lead to and feed cancer cells. Cherries also have plant compounds that may fight tumors. But more studies are needed to prove this.

May protect heart health

Cherries are full of polyphenol antioxidants, which are found in plants. These can help protect your heart from cell damage and reduce inflammation. A study of more than 84,000 people found that people who got more polyphenols in their diets from foods such as cherries had a lower risk of heart disease. Cherries have a ton of potassium as well, which helps you regulate blood pressure and maintain a healthy heart.

May improve sleep

Tart cherries in particular contain key compounds that support better sleep. These include melatonin (which helps your body tell the difference between night and day), serotonin (which helps your body produce melatonin), and tryptophan (which can help boost serotonin). 

May reduce inflammation

Part of why cherries may protect you against certain cancers and support heart health is that they contain antioxidants that fight inflammation. "Cherries are certainly part of the total fruit and vegetable consumption that have antioxidant activity that tends to reduce inflammation," says David Jenkins, MD, a professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto. 

Tart cherry juice may help people with conditions such as arthritis who have chronic inflammation, which can show up as joint pain or swelling. Studies have shown that people with gout who drank cherry juice or had cherry extract regularly experienced fewer attacks, but more research is needed.

Cherry Nutrition

Fresh cherries are rich in many vitamins and minerals. A 3.5-ounce serving of sweet cherries has 10.4 milligrams of vitamin C, which is almost 14% of its recommended daily amount.

Cherries are also a good source of:

• Vitamin B6
• Potassium
• Magnesium
• Fiber

Nutrients per serving

Without pits, 1 cup of sweet cherries contains:

• Calories: 97
• Protein: 2 grams
• Fat: Less than 1 gram
• Carbohydrates: 25 grams
• Fiber: 3 grams
• Sugar: 20 grams

What to watch for

Since you eat cherries whole, wash them well to remove any pesticides or other contaminants.

Cherry pits naturally have small amounts of cyanide, which can be poisonous. Avoid eating cherries with damaged or crushed pits. If you swallow one pit, don't worry. You'd have to eat a lot of crushed pits for them to cause harm. And it's just good practice to spit out the pits.

How to Buy and Use Cherries

You can find cherries at the grocery store, health food stores, co-ops, and farmers markets. Some farms will let you pick your own cherries and pay for them by the pound.

Choose cherries that have bright green stems and plump fruit. A darker-color fruit will mean better flavor. 

You can enjoy cherries on their own, or add them to your diet in many ways. You can:

• Make a yogurt parfait with rolled oats or granola and cherries.
• Blend frozen cherries with banana, yogurt, and milk for a smoothie.
• Add chopped cherries to onion, tomato, and jalapeño for a twist on pico de gallo.
• Include dried cherries in your next batch of fresh granola or trail mix.
• Punch up a side of wild rice with a handful of tart cherries.
• Swap cherries for blueberries in muffins and for raisins in cookies.
• Mix dried cherries with quinoa and walnuts for a whole-grain salad.

How to Store Cherries

If you have ripe cherries you want to eat fresh, store them uncovered in your fridge to extend their shelf life. If you wash them before putting them away, just make sure they are dry so they don't get moldy. 

If you want to freeze cherries for later, the best method depends on how you want to use them. 

• For smoothies or to add them to your cereal, first freeze them on a baking sheet, then place the frozen cherries in a freezer-proof bag for longer-term storage. 
• If you want to use cherries for baking, you can pack them in tighter, filling a container and leaving 1/2 inch space at the top (or 3/4 inch if you're using a freezer bag).

Takeaways

Cherries are a good source of vitamin C, fiber, and potassium. They are also rich in antioxidants, which can help fight inflammation, potentially reducing the risk of certain cancers and protecting heart health. Drinking tart cherry juice before intense exercise can help with muscle recovery. Cherries may also improve your sleep. But it's important to focus on fresh cherries, or forms that are unsweetened, Jenkins says. "When the food industry gets ahold of cherries, they sometimes crystallize them and put all sorts of sugar and other preservatives in them," Jenkins says. 

FAQs on Health Benefits of Cherries

How many cherries should you eat a day?

There's no hard and fast rule, but one portion of cherries would be about 14 cherries. Aim for five servings of fruit each day.

Are cherries high in sugar?

If eaten in large quantities, cherries can be high in sugar, as a cup of sweet cherries (about 21 cherries) contains 16 grams of sugar.

Are cherries good for constipation?

Cherries are a good source of fiber, which can help with constipation.

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