How to Help Muscle Cramps

If you ever had muscle cramps then you surely know that it's nothing you would even wish on your worst enemy. They are painful and uncontrollable spasms or tightening in a muscle that can last from a minute to an hour and sometimes even days. The muscle may become very hard and may twitch. Cramps most often occur in the calf, thigh or foot.

Who is most prone to get muscle cramps? The ones that occur at night are mostly seen in older adults. If you over exercise, do not drink enough water, are nutrient deficient or take certain medications then you can get cramps more often. And if you are a woman then the risk for muscle cramps goes up (wow, no breaks ladies.)

A tight or hard feeling in a muscle

Sudden pain in leg

Weakening and fatigue in muscle

Extreme soreness

Rather than ingest Vitamin E, eat foods that are good sources like wheat germ, vegetable oils and sunflower seeds.

Dehydration is a high cause of muscle cramps so always try to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily for an adult especially when very active.

Instead of taking Potassium tablets eat foods like beans, dates, nuts, whole grains, bananas, raisins, spinach and canned tomato products.

Ease the severity of cramps by getting ample calcium with low-fat dairy products, legumes and canned sardines.

Magnesium like calcium is important for good muscle health. Magnesium helps control how muscles bend, flex and relax. The foods that are high in magnesium are nuts, dark leafy greens and also whole grains.

If you are an older adult Vitamin C can help stop soreness in the muscles. What it actually does is help strengthens and repair the muscles by beefing up the immune system. Foods that will help are citrus fruits, sweet peppers, Brussels sprouts and broccoli.

Leucine is a protein building block or amino acid which repairs used and damaged muscles. Whether you are exercising at the gym, on the golf course or playing a couple of sets of tennis, after your done try a dose of leucine by snacking on lean turkey lunch meat or a low fat dairy cheese stick. Follow this with a drink high in carbohydrates, like a sports drink or fruit juice.

Note: Don't forget some simple stretching exercises to cool those muscles down too!!