I recently saw some fascinating research on how male athletes in Spain were given 2 cups of watermelon puree or a placebo (watermelon drink).Those pre-loading with watermelon had significantly less pain after an intensive workout. (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/watermelon-for-sore-muscle-relief/).
It just so happened that on the weekend, I ended up running for 90 minutes instead of my typical distance of 25 minutes. So, I knew I was going to be sore. So I took to the watermelon throughout the day, and was stiffening up as the day progressed. Monday morning I woke up stiff, had some more watermelon and skipped out on my noon fitness class. But by 12:45pm, it had practically passed and felt no stiffness. For me, this did seem to be faster recovery than usual, but it is anecdotal, but I will continue to consume watermelon and cherries for muscle inflammation. They seem to work for me, and have no secondary effects as any medication (e.g NSAID) would have. Of course, I will continue to get massage to help with my recovery, even if the only person available is me. Self-massage is better than no massage!
