Use, Practices and Attitudes of Elite and Sub-Elite Athletes towards Tart Cherry Supplementation

• Published in: Sports (Basel) Vol. 9; no. 4; p. 49
• Main Authors: Wangdi, Jimmy T, Sabou, Vlad, O'Leary, Mary F, Kelly, Vincent G, Bowtell, Joanna L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 31-03-2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Athletes; Demographics; Dosage; ergogenic aids; exercise performance; exercise recovery; Inflammation; Information sources; Knowledge; Oxidative stress; Polyphenols; Questionnaires; Sleep; Sport science; Supplements; Uric acid; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US; sleep; polyphenols; athletes; ergogenic aids; exercise performance; exercise recovery
• ISSN: 2075-4663; 2075-4663
• DOI: 10.3390/sports9040049

Tart cherry (TC) supplementation can improve exercise recovery and performance; and may also improve sleep duration and quality. This study investigated the use and knowledge of TC supplementation by athletes of all competitive levels. Eighty participants (52.5% elite (international, national, professional), 47.5% sub-elite (semi-professional, state/regional, county level, club level, recreational)) completed an online questionnaire investigating their attitudes towards and use of TC supplementation. Overall, 22.6% of participants were using or had previously used TC supplements, and 12.5% of participants planned to used TC supplements. Improved recovery (71.4%), sleep (32.1%) and immunity and general health (32.1%) were the most frequently indicated goals by respondents using TC supplements. In total, 32.1% of respondents were supplemented with TC chronically, 39.3% acutely and 28.6% used a combination of chronic and acute supplementation. The majority of those employing TC supplementation chronically used TC either over 2-3 days (37.0%) or continuously (37.0%). The most popular TC pre- and post-loading period was one day (34.3% and 41.5%, respectively). There were no significant differences between elite and sub-elite athletes in any parameters assessed (
> 0.05). TC supplementation is not widely used by the athletes surveyed, and athletes using TC supplements showed poor awareness of an evidence-led dosing strategy, regardless of competitive level.