Is there anything more painful than a muscle cramp in the middle of the night? Leg cramps, often called Charlie horses, seem to strike when you are most relaxed and your body is healing. Find out here, how you can prevent night-time leg cramps with a simple juice combo.
If you can get your leg to stretch out and relax, you can get a cramp to pass quickly. However, you may find it less painful to simply prevent leg cramps in the first place by making sure that you get sufficient potassium and magnesium from your diet.
CAUSES OF NIGHT-TIME LEG CRAMPS
Muscle cramps are an area of great mystery in sports medicine. Although more is discovered about them every day, it can be difficult for researchers to figure out why some people suffer cramps every day, while others never do.
Dehydration is one of the causes of muscle cramps. If you do not get enough water during the day, your muscles cannot have the water they need to heal and rebuild. With dehydration often comes an electrolyte imbalance, which means that your body doesn’t get the potassium, sodium, and magnesium it needs.
Muscle fatigue is another cause of cramps. If you exercise heavily or often, your muscles may hit their fatigue point, causing cramps throughout the next 24 hours.
BOOSTING YOUR POTASSIUM-MAGNESIUM LEVELS
Keeping your potassium and magnesium level stable is one of the best things you can do to avoid muscle cramps. Potassium and magnesium are the most prominent electrolyte found in your body, especially in muscle cells. Like sodium, it maintains homeostasis within the body.
When your potassium levels get too low, you may suffer low blood—potassium concentration. This often leads to weakness and muscle cramps. Your potassium levels may crash if you sweat a lot or drink insufficient amount of water.
PREVENT NIGHT-TIME LEG CRAMPS WITH THIS HIGH POTASSIUM-MAGNESIUM JUICE RECIPE
Clearly, keeping your potassium and magnesium levels up is the key to avoiding muscle cramps. Drinking fresh juices high in potassium can naturally boost your levels.
Juice Recipe:
To make this recipe, simply put the following items through your juicer:
- ½ bunch of spinach or kale
- A handful of beet greens (beetroot works too!)
- 1 fennel
- 1 green apple
- 2 carrots
- 1 lime
This juice combo is naturally rich in both potassium and magnesium, and the added green apple makes this juice delicious. If you know that you’ll be having a physically demanding day, start your morning with this juice for a healthy minerals level.
This juice recipe helps your body maintain its electrolyte balance even through intense exercise or heat. Once your potassium and magnesium levels are stable, you may enjoy a full night sleep without muscle cramps.