A report in the British Journal of Sports Medicine indicated that drinking cherry juice may help to relieve those sore "weekend warrior" muscles.   Researchers at the University of Vermont in Burlington ran a small study on muscle recovery, in terms of strength and soreness.  Participants drank either apple juice or a cherry/apple juice combination for this one week exercise program.  The results were promising. 

The apple juice guzzlers had a 22 percent loss in muscle strength, while the cherry juicers had only a 4 percent loss in muscle strength, and in fact a gain in muscle strength after 96 hours.  Likewise, the cherry juice was more successful than the apple juice in pain reduction.  Overall, they believe that the exercise induced injuries may have been responding to the high level of antioxidants in the juice.  If so, other high antioxidant foods, such as blueberry juice, pomegranate juice, and various whole fruits, may provide similar benefits. 

Source:  www.foodconsumer.org