Cherry Gummies

Dear Performance Nutrition Leaders,

This week: a convenient new supplement format, the latest news, and an important read on evidence and adoption in performance nutrition.

A quick note — and as you'll see from 80 issues, we don't normally do this. But following James Gibson's recent work for us at PN—INSIDER we felt compelled to connect anyone in this community who needs accountancy support. Streets Group / Fitpro Financial - book a consult here.

Wait for the peer-reviewed study.

For most of this field's history, that was a usable decision rule. In a new article shared by Dr David Dunne at Hexis, the argument is that it has quietly stopped being one.

Dunne co-founded Hexis and holds a doctorate from Liverpool John Moores on how technology gets absorbed into applied nutrition — so the case comes from someone who has both built the tools and studied how they spread, not a founder reaching for a thesis to fit a product.

In the article David shares how adoption and evidence used to move. In a slow field, the two curves travel roughly in step. By the time the majority adopts, the literature has more or less caught up. The gap exists, but it's small and it closes.

That's not the field we operate in anymore.

Decouple the clocks — let adoption run at consumer-technology speed while evidence stays bound to the publication cycle — and the curves come apart. The majority has adopted, moved on, and adopted again before the first robust study lands. The shaded region is the gap practitioners now live in.

He's careful not to let this curdle into academia-bashing. The slowness that makes peer review lag is the same slowness that makes it count. The problem is two essential systems running on incompatible clocks — and telling practitioners to wait leaves them stranded, because the athlete is in front of them this morning.

So where does judgement come from when the literature can't arrive in time? Dunne offers a three-part test.

Direction: where are you trying to go, and does this tool take you there?

Evidence: is it built on seminal science, or a finding the next model can quietly date?

Trust: did the people behind it produce the science the field cites, or do they only cite it?

If that framing resonates, the full piece is worth your time — Dunne works through the argument properly, with the figures to show it.

Read the article →

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A convenient format for one of sport nutrition's recovery ingredients.

Cheribundi just released Pure Gummies — each serving delivers the equivalent of 25 tart cherries in a portable, ambient-stable chew.

NSF Certified for Sport.

According to Cheribundi, the brand is used across 475+ professional and collegiate teams. Watford, VfL Wolfsburg, and Bayer 04 Leverkusen are among the European football clubs using Cheribundi products.

The evidence on Montmorency tart cherry is growing, with research suggesting potential benefits for recovery, inflammation, and sleep.

Its anthocyanin content is thought to contribute significantly to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, although other polyphenols may also play a role.

While the sleep literature varies in methodology and findings, the overall body of evidence suggests that Montmorency tart cherry may support improvements in sleep quality and duration, including in athletic populations.

The gummy format is the story here. For tournament travel, congested schedules, or athletes who won't engage with drink protocols, it removes friction without changing the ingredient.

If you're working at a club and considering implementing tart cherry, speak to Jan Twete ([email protected]) at Cheribundi.

Check out Cheribundi →