Muscle Cramps and Brain Fog in Athletes
I was watching the Oregon Ducks play football Saturday night. They were playing quite well the first half. I noticed a phenomena with them that I wasn’t quite use to seeing last season in the second half of the game. They were mentally fatiguing and getting muscle cramps. I’m nutritionist and all I could think, “I can help them!”
I found myself thinking about this most of the day Sunday. It’s not as difficult as it seems. In a perfect world, I’d be able to address digestion, liver, and gallbladder but they need immediate help with this for peak performance now. This is symptom management, not a correction of the underlying conditions that could include, poor diet, poor digestion, toxins in the body, etc…
Lets take this from some different angles. Proper fuel that’s easily digestible 30 minutes before sporting event. This protein smoothie would include fruit for immediate energy, medium chain triglyceride fats which will slow down the sugars and be used for energy, protein and added amino acids to aid in recovery. Proper hydration before, during and after game. Here’s the missing components that I believe would have the greatest impact… Minerals and amino acids during the game. Both minerals and amino acids work best on empty stomach. They are needed in very small doses and will allow these athletes to perform at peak.
The easiest way to get these during a sporting event is through supplements. In small amounts, through the event, I’d be having them take a simple product that includes calcium, potassium and magnesium in small doses. Lets include a small amount of sea salt in their liquids. And finally, a complete amino acid capsule very hour. This is brain fuel and muscle recovery in a capsule.
What do you do for the immediate onset of cramps? I’d do the same thing that I do for myself or any other client. Take a larger dose of minerals, chew them and a good water chaser. I’ve never seen this not work to stop muscle cramping.
I would love the opportunity to work with my favorite college team for one week to show them how they could improve performance and stave off small injuries… Someday 🙂
In health,
Cara
Leave a Comment