What foods help with leg cramps

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night due to muscle cramps or spasms? Isn’t it gut-wrenchingly painful? Well, not just painful, it is also your body’s way to signal that your muscles are tired, and your body is deficient in some important minerals.

Table of Contents Show

2. Sweet Potatoes
4. Calcium-rich foods
6. Salt And Sodium-Rich Foods
7. Dark Chocolate
FOODS THAT PREVENT MUSCLE CRAMPS
4. Pickle Juice
5. Watermelon
6. Fortified Orange Juice
7. Sweet Potatoes

We usually suffer from muscle cramps due to overuse of muscles, especially while exercising or walking. Lack of calcium, sodium or potassium also causes muscle cramps. Low level of blood supply in body parts can cause muscle cramps, especially while performing a physical activity.

Sometimes, muscle injuries or spinal nerve compression can also cause muscle cramps, and dehydration and menstruation are also some common causes. Stretching and massaging your muscles gives you relief from muscle cramps.

Here’s how food can help with muscle cramps

“Water intake is very important to cure muscle cramps. Apart from this, eating nutrient-rich food is also crucial to combat such cramps. Foods rich in vitamins and minerals like potassium, calcium and magnesium prevent muscle cramping from occurring, as they act as electrolytes. This ensures proper muscle functioning and maintains muscle health,” explains nutritionist Manisha Chopra.

Does accidental muscle cramps often hinder your workout? It’s time to consider these seven foods. Image Courtesy : Shutterstock

Here’s a list of seven foods that will help you deal with muscle cramps

1. Bananas

Bananas are rich in minerals like calcium, potassium and magnesium that help to maintain electrolyte balance that is essential to prevent muscle cramps.

2. Sweet potatoes

They are rich in vitamin A and C, potassium, fibre, calcium, and magnesium. These nutrients are vital for proper muscle function. The high potassium content in sweet potatoes prevents muscle cramps.

3. Avocado

Rich in potassium and magnesium, avocados are beneficial for muscle health. Potassium and magnesium act as electrolytes, which prevents muscle cramps.

4. Watermelons

Watermelons prevent dehydration, which is one of the most common causes of muscle cramps. Healthy muscle function requires adequate water content in the body, and lack of water in the body causes muscle cramps.

The juicy goodness shall keep your hydration levels high. Image courtesy: Shutterstock

5. Milk

Milk is the best source of electrolytes such as calcium, potassium, and sodium. It is also rich in protein, which helps in muscle repair.

6. Coconut water

Coconut water helps in rehydrating the body and replenishes electrolytes naturally. It is rich in calcium, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium, and helps to reduce muscle cramps.

7. Papaya

Papaya is an excellent source of potassium and magnesium, and is known to ease muscle cramps.

If you are into fitness, then you must incorporate all these foods to protect yourself from injuries.

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There is nothing that can wake you up with a jolt as strong as the one you get when you suffer muscle cramps. They come unannounced and before you know it, you are screaming in pain. Alluded to low levels of calcium, potassium and sometimes because of dehydration, muscle cramps can strike you any time of the day or night.

Not just exercises but even poor nutrition can be a significant factor contributing to muscle cramps. If one has been suffering from painful muscles every so often, changing one’s diet makes a huge difference. In case you are suffering from a muscle cramp, you could do light stretching exercises. If available, an ice pack applied to the cramping muscle helps. Here are some foods that fight muscle cramps.

1. Melon

The humble watermelon has more to offer than just its water content. Melons are rich in potassium, the mineral needed for the efficient working of muscles. Having even a couple of slices of watermelon has shown tremendous improvements in healing muscle cramps.

2. Sweet Potatoes

Such is the abundance of potassium in sweet potatoes that having just one everyday caters to about 12 per cent of the daily requirement. Roasted, boiled, baked or mashed-have them whichever way you love.

3. Water

Not much of a food element, but water is essential for proper muscle function. Staying hydrated is the key to avoiding muscle cramps. A minimum of eight glasses daily is a must. If plain water seems too much for you to handle, you could try infused water or have lemon juice mixed in it. Increasing your fluid intake by having tomato juice, sweet lime or orange juice also helps.

4. Calcium-rich foods

Another mineral that is needed for muscle health is calcium. Dairy products, fish, leafy greens and nuts are all abundant in calcium and therefore work wonders when one is suffering from muscle cramps. Almonds, yoghurt and cheese have the highest concentration of calcium.

5. Banana

There is a reason why you see all the sportspeople chomping on bananas in between matches. Banana is rich in potassium and magnesium; both elements help with controlling muscular cramps. The effects can be felt almost immediately. Having a banana with your morning cereal is one of the healthiest breakfasts that cater to your daily intake of calcium, magnesium and potassium.

6. Salt And Sodium-Rich Foods

Sodium helps in regulating blood pressure and in maintaining fluid balance in the body. It works with other electrolytes like potassium for proper nerve and muscle function. To avoid the muscles cramping up, eat rock salt or sea salt and avoid processed foods that create an imbalance in electrolytes in the blood leading to fluid imbalance. Beetroots, carrots, celery, smoked fishes and meats and olives are naturally high in sodium.

7. Dark Chocolate

Here is one more reason to eat some dark chocolate. Rich in magnesium, dark chocolate helps in improving muscle function. Magnesium aids in the contraction and relaxation of muscles and in maintaining electrolytic balance. Read more about the health benefits of dark chocolate.

Also Read: 7 Health Benefits Of Exercise.

Disclaimer: The information included at this site is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment by a healthcare professional. Because of unique individual needs, the reader should consult their physician to determine the appropriateness of the information for the reader’s situation.

Don’t assume you’re safe from muscle cramps just because you don’t do strenuous exercises. You can suffer them even while sleeping.

Luckily, you don’t have to live in fear of muscle cramps all the time. Eating (and drinking) the right nutrients can prevent or reduce the occurrence of muscle cramps. The foods that prevent muscle cramps below are rich in these nutrients.

FOODS THAT PREVENT MUSCLE CRAMPS

Eat these foods to prevent muscle cramps. Note that you can also use these foods to prevent cramps during menstruation.

1. Bananas

Bananas are a good pre-workout snack to boost your energy and prevent cramps. They contain potassium, magnesium and calcium, all which help prevent cramps.

2. Water

You’re more likely to get muscle cramps if you do intense workouts without proper hydration. Drink water before and during your workouts. Aim for at least 1.5 to two liters of water a day, depending on how active you are.

Feel free to drink flavored water, since it contains electrolytes. Alternatively, you can drink water infused with fruits such as oranges, watermelon or strawberries.

3. Avocado

Avocado is one of those foods you should eat every day, due to its numerous health benefits. It’s perfect for preventing muscle cramps, since it contains a good amount of potassium.

Add it to your salads, smoothies, or eat it by itself. Remember to eat it in moderation since one large avocado can contain 400 calories.

4. Pickle Juice

Research shows that pickle juice can inhibit electrically-induced muscle cramps. The duration of the cramps was 49 seconds shorter when participants drank pickle juice instead of water.

Researchers don’t seem to agree on why pickle juice eases cramps. Some say it’s due to sodium, while others credit the benefits to the acetic acid in vinegar.

5. Watermelon

Eating watermelon will give you plenty of potassium and keep you hydrated. It may also interest you to know that watermelon is an excellent source of antioxidants that fight inflammation and oxidative stress.

Try this watermelon agua fresca to hydrate and load up on potassium before your next workout.

6. Fortified Orange Juice

Those looking to drop pounds know that juice is high in sugar and calories, but you don’t have to avoid it completely. In fact, drinking fortified orange juice occasionally can prevent cramps, since it contains magnesium and calcium.

7. Sweet Potatoes

There are many ways to cook sweet potatoes, but if you’re trying to lower your calorie intake stick to roasting and boiling. A medium-size sweet potato will give you 12 percent of the potassium you need in a day.

8. Beans

Beans are not exactly the kind of food you want to eat right before a workout, but eating them at any other time will prevent the occurrence of cramps, thanks to their potassium and magnesium content.

9. Spinach

Did you know that spinach is one of the best sources of magnesium? It’s also a good source of calcium. Other dark leafy greens, such as broccoli and kale, may also be beneficial foods for preventing cramps.

10. Celery

Your body needs sodium for the normal flow of fluids and muscle contraction. Not only will celery give you this nutrient, but it’ll also keep you feeling full.

SOURCE: https://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-foods-that-prevent-muscle-cramps.html