A muscle spasm is a sudden involuntary tightening of your muscles. There are numerous reasons why this happens.
Some of them include; overworked tired muscles, starting a new exercise program, not warming up before you work out. A lot of autoimmune diseases cause this to occur.
Sometimes it’s our body’s way of letting us know we are lacking essential vitamins and minerals.
If this is the reason, restoring their depleted levels should stop your muscles from cramping. In the following paragraph, I’ll explain what foods will stop your muscles from hurting.
The Electrolytes
Excessive sweating, vomiting, and diarrhea can easily deplete our electrolytes to a dangerously low level.
If these minerals aren’t quickly replaced, we’ll have an electrolyte imbalance. This can cause numerous health issues, including muscle spasm. So what are the electrolytes and what are some foods we can eat to replace them?
Sodium
Sodium is one of these electrolytes. It helps keep your body fluid, balanced and helps maintain blood pressure. Sodium helps with the nerve signals and the contraction of your muscles.
Your body’s hormone aldosterone and ADH help regulate the sodium in the blood. If there is a drop of this level, these hormones will tell the kidney’s to store up the sodium.
If the level’s high, then the hormones will tell it to get rid of the excessive amounts of sodium. When you exercise you’ll have an abundance of these hormones.
This will help store extra sodium and water. The recommended dose is 2.3 grams a day. This amount should increase with athletes.
You can find sodium in a lot of the foods you eat because it’s often used as a preventive. Table salt has high amounts of sodium as well.
Potassium
Potassium is another electrolyte that’s often depleted due to dehydration. You can also have a low level if you are fasting and if you’re taking diuretics.
Potassium works with sodium to help with the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system nerve impulses. It helps muscles form and helps with your energy levels.
Potassium is very important in heart health. If you have low potassium levels, you’ll have a condition known as hypokalemia.
Besides muscle cramps, this condition can cause a person to have a heart attack or stroke. High amounts of potassium can be just as fatal.
Hyperkalemia can also cause heart problems. This is often seen in people who take a supplement.
Potassium can be found in a large variety of foods. You can find considerable amounts in the following; potatoes, sweet potatoes, greens, yogurt, chicken, milk, fresh vegetables, and fish.
Sizable amounts of potassium are in most of the fruits. The ones with the greatest amounts are; citrus, melons, berries, and bananas.
Like sodium, the potassium level’s controlled by the hormone aldosterone, which tells the body to store or secrete potassium. It’s suggested to have 4,700 mg of this electrolyte a day.
Magnesium
Magnesium is also considered an electrolyte. It helps with muscles contracting and relaxing. In addition, it helps with bone health, Magnesium regulates ATP, which is needed for muscle movement.
It’s suggested that women have 320 mg a day, while men 420 mg, Pregnant women should have 400 mg of magnesium a day.
The best source of magnesium is; dark leafy vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, legumes, and meats contain magnesium.
Pregnant ladies who suffer muscle cramps are given magnesium twice a day, this quickly improves their symptoms. People who eat a lot of processed foods, or have a calorie reduction may have low magnesium levels.
Calcium
Calcium isn’t an electrolyte but a decreased level will cause muscle spasm. Calcium is needed for strong bones and teeth.
It’s also responsible for contraction of various muscles, some of them include, smooth muscles, skeletal muscles, and heart muscles. It helps with the nerve impulses. It too is regulated by hormones and vitamin D.
It’s suggested that an adult have 1,200 mg of calcium a day. Some foods high in calcium include; Dairy products, turnip greens, sardines, kale, and tofu. Of course, you can buy foods that are calcium-fortified like orange juice and many cereals.
Water
Lack of essential body fluids can cause your muscle to cramps. Water’s a very good source to replenish these fluids. Our body utilizes water for numerous reasons. Water lubricates our joints.
It helps take nutrition to the cells and it removes harmful waste. It assists our body in maintaining an adequate fluid balance, this helps reduce constipation issues.
It’s what gives our muscle energy. Water helps support skin health and kidney health. It’s suggested that we drink 2.8 to 3.9 quarts of water a day.
This amount can include water from the food we eat. Fruits have the largest amount of water in them.
Carbohydrates
If you don’t have enough carbohydrates to fuel your body’s movement, then your muscle will begin to cramp up. In addition, your body will start breaking down stored fat for energy.
Over time this can cause serious health issues. This is why it’s always suggested for athletes to eat enough essential carbohydrates before, during and after their workout.
Helpful Tips
There are things you can do to reduce your chances of having muscle spasms. I’ve given you a few ideas in the following paragraphs.
Always make sure to warm up your muscles, before you exercise. Be sure to wear the proper footwear.
When you exercise, make sure you don’t push yourself to do more than your body can handle. Overworked muscles can quickly become sore.
If you have to sit for long periods of time, get up, stretch. Even stretching and reposting yourself in the chair will help relieve some of the tension placed on your muscles.
When you sit, be sure to use correct posture. This includes sitting all the way back to where your back’s touching the chair. Your feet should be planted on the floor. If you can’t sit back, use pillows to give you support.