Don't Let the Time Change Keep You Down!

This weekend marks the end of Daylight Saving Time as we "fall back" an hour on Sunday, November 3.   Research shows that sleep is just as important to good health as diet and exercise, and preparing for the time change will help you adjust your sleep patterns for the winter season.

·      More than 10 percent of Americans suffer from sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, insomnia and narcolepsy.  Nearly 30 percent of American adults sleep less than 7 hours per night. What can you do to get a better night's sleep?

According to published studies, regular consumption of tart cherry juice has been shown to increase natural levels of melatonin in the body.

Tart cherry juice may help regulate the body’s natural sleep cycle and increase sleep efficiency, including decreasing the time it takes to fall asleep.

And because tart cherries have so many other antioxidants, such as anthocyanins, you get important health benefits as a bonus. Try our Cheribundi RELAX every evening. You'll be in dreamland before you know it!

Here are more sleep facts and tips:

·      Some studies suggest women need up to an hour's extra sleep a night compared to men, and not getting it may be one reason women are much more susceptible to depression than men.  Also, women who sleep less than 5 hours a night gain significantly more weight over time than those who sleep 7 hours or more.

·      Sleep deprivation has been linked to health problems such as obesity and high blood pressure, negative mood and behavior, decreased productivity, and safety issues in the home, on the job and on the road.

·      Seventeen hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol-level of 0.05%, which is considered impaired in some states.

·      Caffeine has been called the most popular drug in the world. Everywhere, people consume caffeine on a daily basis in coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, soda and some OTC drugs.

·      Experts say one of the biggest sleep distractions is the 24-hour accessibility of the Internet.  Just a two-hour exposure to light from electronic displays suppresses melatonin by about 22%.

·      Even tiny luminous rays from a digital alarm clock can be enough to disrupt the sleep cycle even if you do not fully wake, causing levels of melatonin to decline within minutes.  Before electric light, adults slept nine to 10 hours a night with periods of rest changing with the seasons in line with sunrise and sunsets.

Sources: The National Sleep Foundation, The Better Sleep Council and The Cherry Marketing Institute

Give your Smoothie a KICK!!

Now your morning smoothies will have a tart cherry kick with our brand new organic smoothie packs available now at Whole Foods nationwide! 

Choose original Tart Cherry: 

Or Tart Cherry Mango:

Just blend your frozen Cheribundi tart cherry pack with your favorite smoothie ingredients like coconut water, chia seeds, bananas or whatever you like! Yummy!

Look for our new smoothie packs in the frozen foods section of your nearest Whole Foods. You should find them near the frozen fruit (or in this case, vegan pizza).

Send us your favorite smoothie recipe and you could win a prize! Post it here in the comments or on our Facebook page. We'll pick the best one and send you a special gift from Cheribundi HQ.

Cheribundi Athletes are up for the Challenge!

What is the secret weapon of more than 83 professional and college sports teams? It's Cheribundi Tart Cherry Juice! Read all about how athletes are reducing recovery time in between tough workouts by drinking 8 oz of tart cherry juice a day, here.

Why are athletes using Cheribundi? Well, not only is it great tasting, but Cheribundi contains the carbs that athletes need to replenish lost energy during tough training days or games. Plus, tart cherry juice contains important anthocyanins that help with sore muscles and inflammation.

Athletes often choose our original Tart Cherry Juice, but they also love Rebuild with 8 grams of whey protein and Restore with electrolytes and vitamins to help keep them hydrated.

Team supporters love Cheribundi too, including these students from Purdue University. Does your team drink Cheribundi? Check here and then show your spirit by sending us your Cheribundi fan photo!! Post it to our Facebook page.

Photo by Michael Takeda

Take the Cheribundi 7-Day Challenge and notice the difference!

Join the legions of athletes who drink Cheribundi daily for muscle recovery, inflammation and pain. Workout harder, sleep better, feel great! #CheribundiBuildsChampions

 

Click here and sign up. Get coupons you can print right away and get started today.

Visiting a Cherry Orchard in Upstate New York

Last week, the employees at our Geneva facility took a trip to see how the tart cherries are harvested, just in time for an outstanding yield of top quality fruit from the orchards. 

The cherries were bright red and ripe for the picking—er, shaking. Did you know that they shake the trees to get the cherries off?

Cherries, cherries, cherries!

The cherries on their way to cleaning and packing.

Following the tour, the team had a nice outdoor lunch at a nearby deli located on the shores of Lake Ontario.

Cheribundi Haiku

We asked our Facebook Fans to submit Cheribundi-themed Haiku, with "likes" to vote for the best ones. Here are the results of this challenge, with author's names attached.


Trees bow down bestow 

A gift that stains lips dark red
Prunus Avium
(Alison M.)

Sweet, tart: love itself
In a bottle full of life.
Liquid metaphor
(Kathryn D.)

Sweet and refreshing
with a tart and tasty twist.Cheribundi, yum! 
(Amy R.)

Cheribundi's fun
delicious cheery cherry
in your tum yum yum
(Chinyere A.)

Haven't tried it yet
So pick me to win please do
Shameless plug I know
(Anne C.)

tart cherry juices
bottled delicious goodness
my mouth is puckered
(Ben W.)

Health is a party
Never the pits when I sipMon cheri cherry 
(Sarah H.)

I love Tart Cherries 
And That Cheribundi juice 
Now I will make pie 
(Little Birdy) 

Cheribundi will
Fix your inflammation good
Drink cherries daily
(Garian)

It cures what ails you 

Just seven days you feel good
Bottoms up! Oh yea!

(Little Birdy)

Fresh-pressed cherry juice
Full of anthocyanins
I'll drink you later
(Gina A.)

And the WINNER:

Yes! Cheribundi!
Like sunshine in a bottle.
Sweet, tart, delicious.
(Sadie J.)

Keeping Our Kids Healthy Through Yoga in Schools

The Wellness Initiative’s 4^th Annual Yogathon

Cheribundi is pleased to sponsor The Wellness Initiative’s 4^th annual Yogathon Saturday, April 27 at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. It is the organization’s biggest fundraiser of the year and goes toward bringing yoga programs to kids in schools throughout Colorado. Mara Rose, Executive Director of The Wellness Initiative (TWI), provided us with some insight on the event and the organization that it supports.

The Wellness Initiative

TWI was founded in 2006 in order to provide low-income area youth with the opportunity to improve physical, social and emotional health, and increase overall academic performance. “TWI was founded to provide yoga to students in Colorado and address the growing concern that students of all ages suffer from increasingly stressful and unhealthy lives,” says Mara. “Because many of the students in our programs lack the opportunities and tools to relax, reflect, strengthen and focus, their self confidence,

physical health and academic performance suffer.”

During the 2012-2013 school year, TWI is providing almost 2,500 students in 37 schools throughout 6 counties with yoga-based wellness programs. The students are introduced to ways to relax, control their anger and gain awareness about their health. These programs helps to keep kids from developing mental health disorders, and off of psychotropic drugs for conditions such as anxiety, ADHD and depression. The program also keeps kids exercising and healthy, which is important considering that more than 9 million children in the US are overweight and will be at a higher risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

The Yogathon

This is the fourth year that the Yogathon has taken place. The event has been held at Naropa University in Boulder for three years. Mara describes the location as “warm and welcoming with values that align with our values, although the work we do is totally secular.”

Over the year, the event has grown to provide almost double in funding. TWI’s goal this year is $40,000, which will fund almost 600 yoga classes. The Yogathon expects 200 participants this year, and each pledged to raise at least $108. The event’s success is mostly because “awareness among yoga practitioners has grown, corporate sponsorship has increased, and the whole process is much easier now that it was a couple of years ago,” according to Mara. All of the proceeds raised will go towards paying for The Wellness Initiative’s programs.

The event features 108 sun salutations by 10 yoga instructors from around the area, live music, all-levels yoga classes, a silent auction

and food, drinks and other goodies (including Cheribundi!). Cheribundi is proud to be part of this event, and the movement of promoting yoga and wellness in schools. Good work, TWI!

New Cheribundi Flavors!

Our new Refresh juice and tea line is here! 

Cheribundi's new line of Refresh tea and juice blends are a delicious and thirst-quenching alternative to overly sweet sodas or artificially-flavored soft drinks. They're the perfect choice for a lunch on the go, with a convenient size and price to match.

This is not the artificial flavor-filled red sugar water labeled as "cherry juice" that you drank as a kid. It is made from orchard-fresh tart cherries, mixed with some delicious and healthy fruits, teas and juices. 

Together, they create a refreshing, thirst-quenching bounty. The kind of refreshment you'll want to have every day. Which is a good thing when you consider all the phytonutrients and anthocyanins you get from tart cherries. So drink up, and enjoy discovering how cherry juice should really taste.

Our juice blends come in FIVE delicious flavors: Tart Cherry Blueberry, Tart Cherry Pomegranate, Tart Cherry Cranberry, Tart Cherry Lemonade and Tart Cherry Raspberry.  They'll be available in stores starting this month!

The great taste of iced tea with just a hint of tart cherry juice! Our Refresh tea blends are available in FOUR thirst-quenching flavors: Tart Cherry Black Tea, Tart Cherry Green Tea, Tart Cherry Rooibos and Tart Cherry Jasmine. Find them at your local grocer or health food store! Or order them from Amazon.com or by calling us at 1-800-699-0460.