Foods that help with muscle cramps that contains important nutrients are potassium, sodium, magnesium, B Vitamins and Vitamin D. Muscle cramps are an uncomfortable symptom caused by painful, involuntary muscle contractions. It can last a few seconds to tens of minutes at times. It can be caused by dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, intense exercise, medical conditions, or neuromuscular abnormalities.
Foods That Help With Muscle Cramps- Photo Credit: iStock- Mykola Sosiukin
Foods That Can Help With Muscle Cramps Are:
- Watermelon has high water content and approximately over 90% of water. It has the following minerals such as magnesium and potassium. And these minerals are great for helping with cramps.
- Another food that helps with muscle cramps is sweet potatoes. It is one of the healthiest vegetables and it is packed with potassium, calcium, and magnesium. These are important minerals that will help to reduce muscle cramps. Just one cup of potassium provides 20% of the recommended daily value.
- Greek Yogurt is another food that helps to relieve muscle cramps. It has phosphorus, calcium, and potassium. It has a good source of protein which is essential to building and maintaining muscle. Greek Yogurt is a great recovery snack after a workout to help with any potential muscle cramps you may obtain.
- Beet Greens contains phosphorus, calcium, B vitamins and is rich in potassium and magnesium. 1 cup of beet greens has about 20% of the daily recommended value of potassium and magnesium. These minerals are extremely helpful when curing muscle cramps.
- Salmon is high in iron, protein, B vitamins, potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus. It also has a reliable source of Vitamin D. And all these vitamins and minerals help with muscle spasms, muscle cramps and any muscle pain.
- Smoothies are great for anybody that has muscle cramps after a strenuous workout. It has enough vitamins and minerals that can help you recover from any muscle cramp.
- Small fish like sardines packs a lot of good vitamins and minerals such as potassium, magnesium, vitamin D, iron, etc. The nutrients in this small fish can help prevent muscle cramps from happening.
“Greek Yogurt is a great recovery snack after a workout to help with any potential muscle cramps you may obtain.” Celebrity Fitness & Nutrition Expert Obi Obadike
The Bottom Line is many people experience muscle cramps for a variety of distinct reasons. But if you eat enough nutrient dense foods that has a lot of vitamins and minerals you should be able to prevent it from happening.
If you have any interest in trying any of our Ethical Supplement products to help you heighten your immune system or assist you with your fitness or health goals.
You can get a discount below at this link.
https://offer.ethicalinc.com/suppressant-offer/ ?utm_source=blog
References
- Cai C. (2019). Treating Vitamin D Deficiency and Insufficiency in Chronic Neck and Back Pain and Muscle Spasm: A Case Series. The Permanente journal, 23, 18-241. https://doi.org/10.7812/TPP/18.241
- Abbaspour, N., Hurrell, R., & Kelishadi, R. (2014). Review on iron and its importance for human health. Journal of research in medical sciences : the official journal of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, 19(2), 164–174.
- Lidder, S., & Webb, A. J. (2013). Vascular effects of dietary nitrate (as found in green leafy vegetables and beetroot) via the nitrate-nitrite-nitric oxide pathway. British journal of clinical pharmacology, 75(3), 677–696. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2125.2012.04420.x
- Bridge A, Brown J, Snider H, Nasato M, Ward WE, Roy BD, Josse AR. Greek Yogurt and 12 Weeks of Exercise Training on Strength, Muscle Thickness and Body Composition in Lean, Untrained, University-Aged Males. Front Nutr. 2019 Apr 30;6:55. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2019.00055. PMID: 31114790; PMCID: PMC6503736.
- Uusi-Rasi, K., Kärkkäinen, M. U., & Lamberg-Allardt, C. J. (2013). Calcium intake in health maintenance – a systematic review. Food & nutrition research, 57, 10.3402/fnr.v57i0.21082. https://doi.org/10.3402/fnr.v57i0.21082
- Naz, A., Butt, M. S., Sultan, M. T., Qayyum, M. M., & Niaz, R. S. (2014). Watermelon lycopene and allied health claims. EXCLI journal, 13, 650–660.
- Lau, W. Y., Kato, H., & Nosaka, K. (2019). Water intake after dehydration makes muscles more susceptible to cramp but electrolytes reverse that effect. BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 5(1), e000478. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2018-000478
- Dreher ML, Davenport AJ. Hass avocado composition and potential health effects. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2013;53(7):738-50. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2011.556759. PMID: 23638933; PMCID: PMC3664913.
- Shrimanker I, Bhattarai S. Electrolytes. [Updated 2021 Jul 26]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541123/
