I am a 24-year old masters swimmer. I have been getting cramps - calf and toe- a lot recently. On advice of the coach and teammates I am taking a potassium supplement and eating a lot of bananas. However, this hasn't really solved my problem. I think now that it may be a dietary problem. What are the possible causes of these cramps and what if any foods should I eat more of. Thank you in advance for your response.
– Simon
If you’ve ruled out muscle damage or injury, then cramps can usually be corrected easily with a change of diet. The first thing to consider would be your hydration levels, are you drinking enough water? I have a checklist I go through to figure out the cause of muscle cramps.
Number one - rule out muscle injury.
Number two - rule out dehydration.
Number three – increase calcium and magnesium in correct ratios.
Number four – you should be able to get adequate potassium from your diet.
So try this Simon, take a good quality multivitamin and add a calcium and magnesium supplement daily. This should fix the problem for you short term. Meanwhile, I recommend a sports nutritionist, you really should have someone look over your diet to make sure you are eating correctly to replace essential nutrients. Good nutrition is the key to athletic performance and if you are experiencing muscle cramps your diet is probably short changing your recovery.
- Jacquie