Exercising in Thin Air: The Role of Tart Cherries on Post-Workout Blood Pressure

Ever thought about how cycling in low-oxygen conditions affects your blood pressure after a workout? Scientists decided to figure this out. They asked 12 young adults to cycle until they were worn out in three different scenarios: regular air without any supplements, low-oxygen air with a dummy pill, and low-oxygen air with tart cherry supplements taken for five days. Here's what they found: cycling in low-oxygen didn’t use as much energy as cycling in normal air.Blood pressure dropped after exercise in all cases, but there was no significant difference between the three conditions. Interestingly, the body's natural process for regulating blood pressure was more impaired in the low-oxygen groups. So, it seems that cycling in thin air with or without tart cherries didn’t make blood pressure drop more than usual after a workout.