This Delicious Juice Can Help You Lose Weight, Ease Aches, and Lower Blood Pressure

If you love a sweet-tart treat you’re in luck — and your body will thank you for it. Tart cherry juice not only makes for a delicious and refreshing sip, it can boost your health. If you’re constantly dealing with aches and pain, looking to drop a few pounds, or lower your blood pressure, you may want to consider adding one of the elixirs below to your diet. But first, let’s look at what tart cherry juice can do for you.

Eases Aches and Pains

Plant compounds in this tangy juice halt the output of inflammatory enzymes that trigger joint soreness, plus lower levels of uric acid, which can build up in joints and cause pain. One study at the University of California, Davis, found that subjects who sipped tart cherry juice daily reduced levels of these enzymes by 25 percent after two weeks. And another found that drinking the juice every day cuts the risk of uric acid-induced pain flare-ups in half in just two days.

Spurs Slimming

A daily dose of tart cherry juice can melt stubborn inches, thanks to the way the juice’s anthocyanins quiet signals that cause cells to hold on to fat. The proof: Subjects in a University of Michigan study on a cherry-rich diet shed 14 percent of their body weight in three months.

Lowers Blood Pressure

This tart tipple helps keep blood sugar in check. So says research in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which found that antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds in the juice act like prescription ACE inhibitors, relaxing arteries and lowering blood pressure by up to seven points.

Here are three delicious and refreshing cherry juice drinks that will do wonders for your health!

Lemon-Cherry Sipper

• 3⁄4 cup tart cherry juice
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 sprigs fresh mint

In cocktail shaker, muddle all ingredients. Strain into ice-filled glass. Garnish. Makes 1 serving.

Cherry-Vanilla Whirl

• 1⁄2 cup tart cherry juice
• 1⁄2 cup low-fat frozen vanilla yogurt
• 1⁄4 cup frozen tart cherries
• 1⁄4 cup almond milk
• 1⁄4 teaspoon coconut extract

In blender, puree all ingredients; pour into glass. If desired, garnish with mint and fresh cherries. Makes 1 serving.

Cherry-Citrus Crush

• 1⁄2 cup tart cherry juice
• 1⁄4 cup ruby red grapefruit juice
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 cup crushed ice
• Lemon-lime soda

In glass, stir together cherry, grapefruit and lime juices; add ice. Top with soda. If desired, garnish with lime wheels. Makes 1 serving.

This article originally appeared on our sister site, First For Women.