If you have a cramp - have a pickle!

[Alex Sniga]

Interesting article about pickle juice and cramping:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/0 ... ef=general

[cavebear2]

Ok so from now on I'll carry some vinegar in 1 of my biddons, say 1 part vinegar diluted with 20 parts water

[Chaderotti]

rather cramp up then eat pickles

[Redbull]

one of a thousand remedies for cramp.

I think there are as many remedies as people who suffer.

Use what works even if it is psychosomatic

[KenGS]

explains why elmo ("Mr Crampy") hangs out with cpical ("pickle")

[foo on patrol]

When I was racing, I suffered very badly with cramps. To the point I would be sitting at the table at night, eating dinner and both legs would cramp together so quickly that my father would have too lift me up off the chair,just so I could straighten my legs out. They knotted so bad you could see the knots in the middle of the hammy.

Went to the doctor and told him of the problem and that I thought it was from not enough salt in my diet, bad move. He politely told me what a load of crap and put me on calcium tablets and within a couple of days my cramps stopped! So I think it is best too seek medical advice on these issues sometimes as there can be underlying problems.

[Wayfarer]

When I was racing, I suffered very badly with cramps. To the point I would be sitting at the table at night, eating dinner and both legs would cramp together so quickly that my father would have too lift me up off the chair,just so I could straighten my legs out. They knotted so bad you could see the knots in the middle of the hammy.

Went to the doctor and told him of the problem and that I thought it was from not enough salt in my diet, bad move. He politely told me what a load of crap and put me on calcium tablets and within a couple of days my cramps stopped! So I think it is best too seek medical advice on these issues sometimes as there can be underlying problems.

haha, i actually think that when i eat an excess of salts, i get cramps. do you still take the tablets though?

[foo on patrol]

No I only took them while I was racing and then only for short periods, as the would give you kidney stones if taken for long periods, in our climate, so the doctor told me. But I do get cramps now at night when sleeping. It seems to get worse the more I ride!

Foo

[gcouyant]

put me on calcium tablets and within a couple of days my cramps stopped! So I think it is best too seek medical advice on these issues sometimes as there can be underlying problems.

Calcium? Are you sure it was calcium and not magnesium?

When I have overdone it my hammies give me the good news in no uncertain terms. I have been trying to build them up and it seems to be working. I can now flop down into the dirt at the end of a big ride and enjoy a beer without having others tell me to get a grip and stop crying.

[wombatK]

Calcium? Are you sure it was calcium and not magnesium?

Google calcium deficiency - there's a well known association. Both magnesium and calcium are things that are deficient in a lot of Aussies' diets.

A very reliable source of info on dietary requirements is Nutrient reference values for australia and new zealand.
For adult males, it recommends around 1,000 mg of Calcium intake per day (there's about 1,170 mg in a litre of full cream milk, one of the best sources of calcium). On the risk of having too much, it advises the following on upper levels of intake ...

UPPER LEVEL OF INTAKE - CALCIUM
Infants
0–12 months Not possible to establish
Children and adolescents
1–3 yr 2,500 mg/day
4–8 yr 2,500 mg/day
9–13 yr 2,500 mg/day
14–18 yr 2,500 mg/day
Adults 19+ yr
Men 2,500 mg/day
Women 2,500 mg/day
Pregnancy
14–18 yr 2,500 mg/day
19–50 yr 2,500 mg/day
Lactation
14–18 yr 2,500 mg/day
19–50 yr 2,500 mg/day
Rationale: Because of the inverse relationship between fractional calcium absorption and calcium
intake, an additional intake of 1,000 mg added to a typical western diet would only increase calcium
in urine by about 60 mg. Urinary calcium rises slowly with intake and risk of developing kidney
stones (nephrolithiasis) from calcium supplements is therefore negligible. Toxic effects of calcium
have only been seen when calcium is given in high doses as the carbonate as an antacid. The result is
hypercalcaemia with renal calcification and renal failure and is known as the milk alkali syndrome or
MAS (Burnett et al 1949).

The upper level considered safe for calcium intake is 2,500 mg. That is a lot of calcium - probably way more than foo on patrol was prescribed. While he was worried by the risk of kidney stones, the current guidelines suggest it's negligible. There might have been different advice at the time foo on patrol's doctor made him be wary of it. But of course, you should discuss such matters with a qualified doctor or dietitian if you have a concern with calcium intake - the NRG is just giving guidelines for "average" people and your personal circumstances may warrant different advice.

It's possible that foo on patrol's cramping was the result of the additional calcium lost in sweat, and isn't an issue for him when he's not sweating a lot. The significance of excretion in sweat is referred to in the NRG

Until recently, the amount of dietary calcium needed to replace losses through sweat had not been
included in estimates of calcium requirements.

If you suspect cramping due to calcium deficiency, the NRG above has very detailed information on the best dietary sources of calcium - most of which are much better absorbed than calcium supplements.

[foo on patrol]

Well done with all that info WombatK! The years I am talking is 1976-78 so long ago

Foo

[Richard.L]

They actually mentioned pregnant women between the age of 14-18

[wombatK]

They actually mentioned pregnant women between the age of 14-18

Very necessary - at that age, a girl's body is still growing - adding the nutritional needs of growing a baby raises the stakes quite a bit.

Still happens these days, although less than in the 60's and 70's.