Cure for Leg Cramps
For several years I have suffered from frequent cramping of my leg and foot muscles. Only very rarely did I have a full-blown ‘charlie horse’ where the big thigh muscle cramps, but almost every night I’d get cramps in the calf muscles or in my feet — either just before I fell asleep, or (much worse) waking me up from a sound sleep. I tried to solve this problem by drinking lots of water, and that was semi-successful — I had about half as many leg cramps as previously.
Since beginning this intermittent fasting regime, the leg cramps have disappeared completely. I haven’t had one in weeks. Not expecting this benefit, I didn’t notice when they stopped — it is only in hind-sight that I noticed. Am I drinking more water? Probably, since that is all I can ingest for about half of each day. Or is the fasting contributing to the cessation of cramps? That may be a factor too. Fasting clears out toxins and accumulated waste products, making the biological functions more efficient. Cramps are usually attributed to a deficiency in specific minerals (magnesium, potassium, calcium, or sodium). Since I am not eating any differently than before beginning the intermittent fasting regime, I’m certainly not ingesting any more of those minerals. But it may be that my body is more efficient at absorbing and using the needed minerals. I really don’t know.
All I’m sure of is that it works. The cramps are gone. I’m getting the same exercise, the same diet, and everything else in my life seems about the same. Only the timing of WHEN we eat has changed. We fast 23 hours out of every 48. We are also still losing weight — but I’ll leave that discussion for a future post.
