Cherries and cherry juice have long been favorite simple remedies for joint pain. Whether it’s black cherries, pie cherries, sour cherries, tart cherries or Montmorency cherries, the benefits appear to be similar.

Many people are surprised to learn that drinking cherry juice or eating cherries can help prevent a gout attack or speed recovery from one.

This is because tart cherry juice lowers the level of uric acid in both the blood and the urine (Journal of Functional Foods, Nov., 2014).

The red compounds in Montmorency cherries have anti-inflammatory effects that are helpful when muscles have been stressed (Nutrients, Feb. 21, 2014). Tart cherry juice can also benefit osteoarthritis pain (Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, Aug., 2013).

Some readers like to take their cherry juice dissolved in unflavored gelatin, because gelatin is another health remedy for aches and pains.

It is important to make it with real cherry juice, however. Commercially produced cherry-flavored gelatin desserts use artificial flavors that don’t have the active compounds found in cherry juice.

“Ten months ago, I started having knee pain. I was given Tylenol, steroid shots, heat, cold, rest, and got no relief. I finally had knee surgery, but that didn’t help either,” a reader told us.

“The pain and stiffness traveled to my other knee, and eventually to my lower back. My doctor diagnosed moderate arthritis and prescribed Lyrica to no avail. A week’s treatment with prednisone helped only while I took the pills.

“Out of options, I finally tried tart cherry juice. Within a week, I had almost no pain.”