Potassium and cramps, HELP!

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  • jeanywren
    jeanywren Posts: 72 Member
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    In the past I have had serious problems with leg cramps. These were extremely severe and I tried all kinds of remedies, including eating a lot of potassium rich foods. Finally one Dr. put me on quinine, a seemingly innocent prescription drug. However, now I found that it is not so innocent and after having to go on blood thinners, could not have the quinine. That caused me to panic a bit. I have found that it seems it is the muscles way of letting you know they need hydration. I have read this before and now I know that drinking a lot of water is the answer for me. If I even get a few cramps in my toes or feet at night, I can pin it down to not having had enough water during the day.
  • rachelwarner32
    rachelwarner32 Posts: 96 Member
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    I went to one of those holistic eye readers a couple months ago. She knew all my health problems. One of the things she told me is that I'm tired all the time from a potassium deficiency. Her suggestion was to get more greens. Kale, spinach, carrots, broccoli etc. I also take a Mega-Chel supplement and I feel 100% better. While bananas are full of potassium they're also high in sugar and I think that's why she suggested greens. I hope you get to feeling better :-)
  • jillianlamb
    jillianlamb Posts: 29
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    I tend to not get enough potassium either, so that's something I've been tracking too. Personally, spinach is one of my favourite foods and it's really quite high in potassium, about 840mg per cup cooked.

    Here's a super quick recipe to try with cooked spinach I use all the time (curtesy of Ina): http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/garlic-sauteed-spinach-recipe/index.html
    It's 109 calories per serving and really flexible with what you add/take away from it (personally I don't add butter or extra salt). It's great if you're short on time and potassium!
  • PriceK01
    PriceK01 Posts: 834 Member
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    Because potassium information is not required on food labels, we can't accurately track it on MFP :(

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