Diet For Muscle Cramping
If you look at the information presented in most exercise physiology and sports nutrition books, you will notice an obvious omission of discussions of muscle cramps. This is probably because little is known about muscle cramps. Nonetheless,I am a true believer that imbalances of fluid or the mineral electrolytes—sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium—in the diet should be ruled out as contributors to all nocturnal and exercise-associated cramps.
Fluid Imbalances and Dehydration
Whether fluid imbalances and mild dehydration can trigger muscle cramping is open to debate. Although we know that muscle cramps can and do occur with severe dehydration and heat injury, there is no conclusive evidence that consuming adequate fluid with or without electrolytes will prevent typical nocturnal or exercise-associated cramping. In fact, studies have found that runners, cyclists,and triathletes who develop cramps during an endurance event are no more likely to be dehydrated or to have lost greater amounts of bodily water than are those who do not develop cramps during the same race.
In my practice, however,I have noted anecdotally that maintaining a proper fluid balance indeed helps many endurance and team athletes avoid cramps, particularly those that occur after exercise or when sleeping at night. In one case, I worked with a male tennis player from Switzerland who had a history of severe cramping and fatigue after practice that was relieved by a regular and diligent fluid-consumption schedule.In her book, well-known sport nutritionist Nancy Clark tells an amusing story about a runner who eliminated his painful muscle cramps by following the simple postexercise advice to first drink water for fluid replacement and then have abeer for social fun.
Composition of Sweat
Sweat is about 99 percent water but does contain several major electrolytes and other nutrients. The major electrolytes found in sweat are sodium and chloride. Although it varies, an average of about 2.6 grams of salt, or 1.01 grams of sodium, are lost with each liter of sweat produced during exercise. A typical sweat rate is between 800 and 1,500 milliliters per hour and may be even higher during exercise in hot and humid environments, including the outdoors and non-air-conditioned gymnasiums. Other minerals lost in small amounts include potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper,and zinc. Certain athletes—particularly those who lose large amounts of sweat—may need to increase their dietary intake of these nutrients to replace the loss.
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