Calf cramps

edlanglais5
edlanglais5 Posts: 172 Member
edited November 20 in Fitness and Exercise
I do very balanced cardio and weight training and getting excellent results. In the middle of the night, calf cramps wake me out of the blue. This isn't a regular occurrence but does happen from time to time, maybe every few months. My wife seems to think I don't get enough potassium. I do eat bananas and drink some milk regularly but I did notice it's a little lacking on the nutrients portion of this app.

I'm wondering if I need to get back on a good multi. I researched them and found good reviews for Adam Now. Now already has an excellent reputation as a brand. So I've already taken the initiative of adding it on my shopping cart for my next amazon order. 28.95 for 180 softgels (90 day supply) can't really be beat.

Suggestions?

Replies

  • misnomer1
    misnomer1 Posts: 646 Member
    i concur with the potassium suggestion. sorry, cant help with the rest of your question.
  • edlanglais5
    edlanglais5 Posts: 172 Member
    Thank you. I looked at that multi again. Surprisingly, no potassium, though I'm sure if wouldn't hurt to be on a good multi regardless. We already have a $2 bottle of potassium capsules in the cabinet I didn't know about. I'm sure I can use that to supplement the multi.
  • Senrak66
    Senrak66 Posts: 39 Member
    drink more water.
  • edlanglais5
    edlanglais5 Posts: 172 Member
    Man, if you only realized how much water I drink. Consume a lot during my morning workouts and it's really all I drink throughout the remainder of the day.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    i can't remember why i bought magnesium instead of potassium when i was on a mission with this . . . probably something as shallow as 'hell no, i'm not paying five times as much for this bottle instead of that one.'

    nevertheless, when that night-cramp happens to me i leap up and let my walk-it-off take me straight to the kitchen where the magnesium lives, and i've never not had one of those pills fix the problem for me.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    I have to take magnesium at night or else my legs spasm in my sleep. Eating potassium during the day doesn't seem to help, but if I forget the magnesium for a few days, they come back.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Potassium is not required on nutrition labels so the numbers on this app are not accurate of your potassium intake
  • edlanglais5
    edlanglais5 Posts: 172 Member
    I continue I see magnesium mentioned. I'll see how much magnesium is contained in the multi I'm considering.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    I take an extra magnesium at bedtime because it is also calming. It is sometimes recommended to take it separately from other supplements as it "competes" with other minerals for absorption. It is also not recommended to dramatically change your potassium levels while increasing magnesium. You can take it on an empty stomach to help with absorption.
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    edited July 2017
    edlanglais5 wrote: »
    We already have a $2 bottle of potassium capsules in the cabinet I didn't know about. I'm sure I can use that to supplement the multi.

    Your potassium capsules probably have very little potassium, due to legal requirements, since potassium overdoses can be fatal.

    If you eat a balanced diet and don't eat lots of sodium, i would first suspect tight calves. When muscles are tight, electrolytes (magnesium, potassium, etc) can't flow in & out as easily, which causes them to seize up. It happens at night because circulation is reduced then. Tight calves are pretty common due to the raised heel of most footwear. Try stretching your calves a few times a day for 30 seconds. :+1:
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    Magnesium deficiency is linked to muscle cramos
  • EricLFC1892
    EricLFC1892 Posts: 85 Member
    magnesium help a LOT and is cost effective, if money is not an issue ZMA before bedtime is perfect
  • pennygm72
    pennygm72 Posts: 179 Member
    Indian tonic water is great for symptomatic relief from cramps, its the quinine.
  • edlanglais5
    edlanglais5 Posts: 172 Member
    EricLFC1892 wrote: »
    magnesium help a LOT and is cost effective, if money is not an issue ZMA before bedtime is perfect

    I took the ZMA for awhile because it was recommended for bett rest. I stopped taking it because it wasn't really improving by my rest. But I'll probably start taking again for the mineral benefits.

  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    just going to throw in there that magnesium poisoning isn't pretty . . . at least by what i've read. so i take it when i think it'll be relevant but i'm pretty wary of making a daily-dose thing of it.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    canadianlbs wrote: »
    just going to throw in there that magnesium poisoning isn't pretty . . . at least by what i've read. so i take it when i think it'll be relevant but i'm pretty wary of making a daily-dose thing of it.

    easy-immune-health.com/magnesium-overdose.html

    "Magnesium Overdose is real, but is extremely rare - and for the vast majority of people, is never going to be an issue no matter how much magnesium you take.

    Magnesium is a water soluble mineral and the body readily excretes any excess in the urine, feces and sweat. And this is where the problem of magnesium toxicity lies....."
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    GaleHawkins wrote: »
    Magnesium is a water soluble mineral and the body readily excretes any excess in the urine, feces and sweat. And this is where the problem of magnesium toxicity lies....."

    fair enough. i think my little pills are 400mg, which is about the rda already and idek how much i'm ingesting by other means.

    so i guess i'm just a minimalist; if i don't have a clear and present need for the stuff, i don't see much reason to make my kidneys work harder than they need to.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    edited July 2017
    @canadianlbs being safe is important. I had checked out the relative risks of magnesium since I am taking 400 mg 3x daily to keep away the leg cramps and heart attacks. I was reading about low dosage lithium orotate supplement mentioned in some longevity research and on testing it my leg cramps came back hard and fast. I think there are other things that can lower one's magnesium levels as well.

    I like Doctor's Best High Absorption 100% Magnesium. Not all magnesium supplements make it into the places it needs to travel to work well.

    As you can read leg cramps are nothing compared to the other side effects of low magnesium.

    medicalnewstoday.com/articles/255783.php

    Low magnesium levels have been found to be the best predictor of heart disease, contrary to the traditional belief that cholesterol or saturated fat play the biggest roles.

    Research scientist Andrea Rosanoff, PhD., and her colleagues conducted a detailed review of cardiovascular disease research, using studies dating back to 1937. The current review is based upon work that was started by Midred Seelig, MD, who studied the link between magnesium and cardiovascular disease for more than 40 years.

    Previous research has revealed low magnesium to be linked with all known cardiovascular risk factors like:

    high blood pressure
    arterial plaque build-up
    calcification of soft tissues
    cholesterol
    hardening of the arteries

    This implies that the real culprit of cardiovascular disease has been low magnesium levels, while historically, experts have blamed a high-saturated fat diet and high cholesterol.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,615 Member
    Look up SaltStick electrolytes or HammerNutrition electrolytes or NutriBiotic electrolytes, and there may be others. Those are the three I know.

    Cramping can be caused by low electrolytes (not just potassium, although that's one of them) or dehydration.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,615 Member
    canadianlbs wrote: »
    just going to throw in there that magnesium poisoning isn't pretty . . . at least by what i've read. so i take it when i think it'll be relevant but i'm pretty wary of making a daily-dose thing of it.

    Yeah ... too much magnesium = massive diarrhea. From my experience.

    Once upon a time I thought if some magnesium was good, more must be better so I took about twice the recommended dose. Bad mistake!
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    canadianlbs wrote: »
    just going to throw in there that magnesium poisoning isn't pretty . . . at least by what i've read. so i take it when i think it'll be relevant but i'm pretty wary of making a daily-dose thing of it.

    Yeah ... too much magnesium = massive diarrhea. From my experience.

    Once upon a time I thought if some magnesium was good, more must be better so I took about twice the recommended dose. Bad mistake!

    I had that problem from some WalMart/Walgreens magnesium. Now using Doctor's Best 100% chelated magnesium at 1800 mg daily there has not even been a hint of diarrhea from any cause in over two years but I have been LCHF for nearly three years now and I think that was what that fixed my 40 years of IBS.

    Even at that rate if I take the smallest dosage (5 mg) of lithium orotate supplement for longevity the leg cramps are back the next morning.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited July 2017
    edlanglais5 wrote: »
    I do very balanced cardio and weight training and getting excellent results. In the middle of the night, calf cramps wake me out of the blue. This isn't a regular occurrence but does happen from time to time, maybe every few months. My wife seems to think I don't get enough potassium. I do eat bananas and drink some milk regularly but I did notice it's a little lacking on the nutrients portion of this app.

    I'm wondering if I need to get back on a good multi. I researched them and found good reviews for Adam Now. Now already has an excellent reputation as a brand. So I've already taken the initiative of adding it on my shopping cart for my next amazon order. 28.95 for 180 softgels (90 day supply) can't really be beat.

    Suggestions?

    Nocturnal muscle cramps are often a sign of dehydration. Make sure you are getting enough fluids during the day. Some also may need a bit more potassium and some need a bit more magnesium to prevent cramps.

    One note about the dehydration: do you drink alcohol? Do you get the cramps on nights that you did drink? Alcohol can dehydrate you too, even if you drank plenty of fluids the rest of the day.
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    GaleHawkins wrote: »
    Low magnesium levels have been found to be the best predictor of heart disease...
    The current review is based upon work that was started by Midred Seelig, MD, who studied the link between magnesium and cardiovascular disease for more than 40 years...
    This implies that the real culprit of cardiovascular disease has been low magnesium levels

    Correlation doesn't imply causation.. A magnesium-rich diet tends to be a balanced, healthy diet, so maybe it's the entire diet that contributes to reduced heart disease. Or maybe it's from not eating less-healthy foods. :+1:
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