Runners benefit from juice

Q. I once thought I would get ahead of the “pain game” before I ran a marathon. I took about 1,200 mg of Advil before the race. Big, big mistake!

I made it through the race, but the finish was horrible. As I tried to recover, I felt like I wanted to die. My whole body was in great distress.

Fifteen minutes after I finished, I threw up everything I had eaten or drunk for the last 10 miles of the race – and then came the shaking. For 30 minutes I shivered, shook and rattled. Then it stopped, and I felt human again.

My peers told me later that they sometimes take about 600 mg after mile 20, then as they finish, it kicks in and helps with muscle discomfort.

A. Many athletes rely on ibuprofen (Advil or Motrin IB) or naproxen (Aleve) before or after intense exercise. But such drugs may actually have little benefit and might even be counterproductive (British Journal of Sports Medicine, August 2007).

British investigators found that if marathon runners drank tart cherry juice every day for five days before a race, on the day of the race and two days afterward, they had less inflammation than runners drinking placebo juice (Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, May 11, 2015). Cherry-juice drinkers were less likely to suffer post-race sniffles; presumably they also experienced less pain.

Q. I’m a fairly high-strung person, more prone to anxiety than many people, though it’s really not bad enough to warrant me using a prescription drug. I recently discovered that St. John’s wort works just right for me. I’m much more calm and cheerful now!

I also do many outside activities; I’m in the sun all summer. So you can imagine how concerned I am to read that St. John’s wort in bright sunlight can cause cataracts. Even with sunglasses? Please say it isn’t so.

A. No one knows quite how St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) works to alleviate anxiety and depression, but there is evidence that it can be helpful (Phytotherapy Research, May 2014).

St. John’s wort does have a few drawbacks. It can interact with many other medications.

Of more concern to you, the compound hypericin found in St. John’s wort and often included in the extract can damage cell membranes when exposed to light (Photochemistry and Photobiology, May-June 2007). This may increase the risk for macular degeneration.

It also can damage crystalline structures in the lens, possibly promoting the formation of cataracts (Photochemistry and Photobiology, August 2000).

An epidemiological study found that people who reported having cataracts were more likely than others to say they had used St. John’s wort (Current Eye Research, October 2009).

The scientists who examined the action of hypericin stressed that the eyes must be protected from intense sunlight while a person is taking St. John’s wort. One of them, Joan Roberts, Ph.D., told us that sunglasses encourage the pupils to open wider so that more visible light can get into the eye.

In the presence of hypericin, that could pose a problem.

You may need to limit your outdoor activities to times when the sun is not bright or find another approach for calming anxiety.

2015 King Features Syndicate Inc.