Magnesium for Leg Cramps

Linda Bittle
Linda Bittle Posts: 1,518 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited October 2020 in General Health

I woke up this morning with horrible cramps in my foot, and I've been having some in my legs at night, too. I have on hand, and have forgotten to take, a fizzy magnesium drink called Calm. It always works, and I just made a before bed cup of warm, fizzy,not especially tasty drink. I'd rather it was hot chocolate on this cold night, but I don't want to ruin the cocoa.

Why do I forget that I have this on hand? I imagine I would be better off to take a little proactively rather than wait until I really need it. Does anyone else do this? I mean I can get more at the herb store down town. It's not like this is the last jar of it in existence.

Comments

  • ines871
    ines871 Posts: 1,283 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Mary Linda Bittle

    We searched until we found a Liposomal delivery system that ensures our body actually Absorbs the most bio-available around 14 Minerals thru our cell walls for healing, iow growing Younger 🙂 Then we Lab-tested self to make sure this is actually happening . - Obviously No more cramps either.

  • merlin44
    merlin44 Posts: 426 ✭✭✭✭

    Hi@Mary Linda Bittle I just don't like those fuzzy drinks like Calm so I use a topical Magnesium Gel. The one I use has a seaweed extract and l massage the calves with it before bedtime. One advantage to topical application is it helps to ease leg cramps during an episode.

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    Hi@Mary Linda Bittle

    Do you know about Tissue Salts? The information can be found at: http://schuesslertissuesalts.ca/ . I have used them with very good results.

  • ines871
    ines871 Posts: 1,283 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Mary Linda Bittle -

    The above mentioned "salts" are Ethanol (alcohol) based. ETHANOL is a central nervous system (CNS) depressant, indirectly affecting many neurotransmitter systems. - Why would you add yet another problem, to the one you are trying to resolve ?

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    Tissue salts are available in tablet form as well as topical creams so you can avoid the alcohol. The link I mentioned has educational resources to explain tissue salts.

  • bcabrobin
    bcabrobin Posts: 251 ✭✭✭

    Drink pickle juice! Dill or a kosher type is best but any will work. My dad used to go on hikes with the boy scouts. He was 80 yrs old for his last 50 mile hike. He took a small bottle of it with him and drink a little each mile. No cramps. You are probally low on magnesium or potasium. I use it if having cramps and within a minute or 2 it gone.

    Pickle juice has become a popular remedy for leg cramps over the years — specifically for the cramps runners and athletes get after a workout. ... One long-standing theory for how pickle juice works is its sodium content. The juice contains salt and vinegar, which may help replenish electrolytes.

    Pickle Juice for Cramps: Efficacy, Use, Risks, and More

    https://www.healthline.com › health › pickle-juice-for-cramps

  • Linda Bittle
    Linda Bittle Posts: 1,518 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I love dill pickles, but am not supposed to have them since my blood pressure is up☹️ Got to admit that my ankles don't swell when I stay off the salt, but I sure miss bacon. And I cheat sometimes...

  • Linda Bittle
    Linda Bittle Posts: 1,518 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I'll look into a gel form. Would be nice to have something on the bedside table to use in the moment!

  • greyfurball
    greyfurball Posts: 591 ✭✭✭✭

    Another thing you can easily add to your daily diet is english walnuts. Everyday just chew on about 6 english walnut halves or a handful of pieces and usually within days you will notice the severity of the cramps is reduced.

    If you keep doing it as a daily routine you will eventually reach a point where you have no more cramps. Obviously raw walnuts is best because you aren't adding trans fats or excess salt to your diet but since walnuts are high in magnesium you can take care of the muscle cramps problem very quickly by doing this simple thing everyday.

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    Another diet addition you could try is pumpkin seeds. They are very high in Magnesium.

    Nuts and seeds should be soaked for a few hours or overnight (depending on the seed or nut) and then dried before consumption to make the nutrients more bio-available. Nuts and seeds contain phytic acid or phytates which are not digestible.

    This includes legumes so when a recipe says to soak your dried beans before cooking and to discard the water, this is the reason.

  • greyfurball
    greyfurball Posts: 591 ✭✭✭✭

    I've also heard of the soaking raw nuts and seeds also as Torey says but I've never found raw english walnuts to have this problem.

    Some nuts such as almonds, cashews and brazil nuts are notorious for their phytic acid content but english walnuts (not black walnuts) don't seem to be such a problem for most people. But if you do notice trouble with digesting them you can easily soak them and then dry them either by the oven, fry pan or a dehydrator.

  • gardneto76
    gardneto76 Posts: 528 ✭✭✭✭

    I was reading an article on skinterupt.com yesterday talking about using magnesium oil for leg and foot cramps but it may give a burning sensation. They suggested epsom salt baths or soaks because epsom salt has magnesium you could soak through your skin. Wonder how beneficial it would be?

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    @greyfurball

    I knew different nuts & seeds had differing amounts of phytic acid but didn't know that English Black Walnuts were at the lower end. Thanks for posting this bit of info!

    I always thought we were too far north to grow them but two years ago I discovered that a neighbour had planted one from seed about 30 years ago and it produces every two or three years. So I am going to a nursery-purchased tree next spring.

  • blevinandwomba
    blevinandwomba Posts: 813 ✭✭✭✭

    @gardneto76 I use topical magnesium, and it can indeed burn. That is, give a burning sensation. The first time or two you use it you will notice it burning, but after that it will be much milder, unless you have broken or irritated skin. I used to be able to use it pretty freely, but now if my skin gets at all dry, it is uncomfortable. I still use, I just wash it off after 15-20 minutes to give it time to absorb.

    For the above reasons, I use it in conjunction with internal magnesium. Natural Calm is what I take.

    Yes, you can absorb magnesium from an epsom salt bath. I don't use my topical magnesium if I am going to take a bath, for that very reason.

  • greyfurball
    greyfurball Posts: 591 ✭✭✭✭

    @torey just as a clarification for you torey, since you are going tree shopping, an english walnut tree is lower in phytic acids but a black walnut tree is higher on the scale.

    But just remember, phytic acid is only under consideration as a nutrient diffuser when you eat it with your meal. WHEN YOU USE THE NUTS AS A SNACK ONLY there is no other nutrients which you are imbibing at that moment which it can be diffusing from your system . Phytic acid is not a tormentor if you eat them alone by themselves for most people.

    So eat a balanced diet (without the nuts) and you will not have the building up effect of nutrient loss on your system. If you live on junk food daily, forget adding raw nuts to your diet.

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    @greyfurball Thanks for clarifying. I know very little about walnuts. Its going to depend on which species will grow in my area. Not sure which one my neighbour has. I doubt if she knows. However, it will be several years before I have to worry about the phytic acid content.

  • ines871
    ines871 Posts: 1,283 ✭✭✭✭✭

    "Natural Calm"

    Ingredients: Aqua, magnesium chloride, isopropyl palmitate (palm oil–based emollient, moisturizer, thickening agent), cetearyl olivate (natural PEG-free emulsifier made from olive oil), sorbitan olivate (natural PEG-free emulsifier made from olive oil and is the alcohol form of sucrose), glycerine, emulsifying wax (from plant fats), cetyl alcohol, hydroxy starch phosphate (plant-based starch), Butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), benzyl alcohol, benzoic acid, sorbic acid."

    All those ? like 12 - just to get Magnesium...

  • maimover
    maimover Posts: 359 ✭✭✭

    @gardneto76 i have terrible cramps not just in my legs, but all over really. But I soak in Epson salts in the tub often and I do believe it helps to keep them away. I also have a blend of essential oils with a carrier oil that I rub into the muscle when they wake me up in the middle of the night.

  • gardneto76
    gardneto76 Posts: 528 ✭✭✭✭

    @maimover I have not been bothered for a bit, as my hubby makes me eat a banana a day. My mom on the other hand, nothing seems to help. Dr says she is very low on magnesium and has her on supplements but her numbers are not improved. I don’t think she is on the right kind to allow her body to absorb it. I forget how many mg/day she takes but it sounded super high when she told me. I told her about the epsom salt baths, but not she if she will do it. We are very strong willed women in my family. She was diagnosed 5+ years ago with restless leg syndrome.

  • shllnzl
    shllnzl Posts: 1,820 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @gardneto76 I know several elderly people who seem to have vitamin/mineral absorption problems. I would guess that is what your mom is experiencing. Epsom salts would certainly enter her system through a more direct path.

  • blevinandwomba
    blevinandwomba Posts: 813 ✭✭✭✭

    @rainbow The product you listed the ingredients for is the topical cream. I use the Natural Calm drink, which contains

    Ingredients: Ionic magnesium citrate (created from a highly absorbable proprietary blend of citric acid and magnesium carbonate).

    For topical application, I use magnesium chloride brine, from a different company.