Leg cramps

[Heydad!]

I use NUUN tablets in a water bottle, light, easy, and effective for cramps. Use them training for Ironman.

https://nuunlife.com/products/nuun-electrolytes/

[EllieG]

You can solve this problem by taking some supplements that will improve your health but obviously, there are many other options. I choose the variants with supplements because I have been consuming from this company https://www.healthcanal.com/suppleme...omplete-3.html for five years now and very rarely when I have health problems. Clearly, if I always give the body what it needs to function to the fullest, there are no problems.

[GilligansWorld]

You can solve this problem by taking some supplements that will improve your health.

Mine cramp up all the time too - basically it's a hydration issue is what my doctor has told me. But I wouldn't say it was a health-related issue I just don't drink enough water. Although he did recommend slow magnesium the easy fix is just to make sure you stay hydrated.

My issues typically are that I don't like to get up in the middle of the night and pee so I don't hydrate before bed which usually leads to cramps especially if you've been hiking.

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[Eclectic]

Thank you for that through explanation! So if I can get potassium from bananas, where or from what can I get a good dose of magnesium from? Do dehydrated banana chips have that same high dose of potassium as the fruit from the vine?

You may want to look into magnesium ‘oil.’ It is not technically an oil, but feels a lot like an oil when it is sprayed on the body. Magnesium is best absorbed via the skin rather than the digestive system. I keep a small spray bottle of it in my pack and then in my peak shelf. Spraying it on my calves reduces knee pain on the trail and restless legs in the hammock.

I like to prepare an herbal tea which is full of vitamins and minerals and take that on hikes. The vitamins and minerals require a much longer brew (8hrs is good). You can brew it hot and use it as a hot water bottle in your hammock at night. Or you can brew it with cold water when the weather is warm.

Beyond those, you may want to research switchel made with molasses and ACV. Also, coconut water has a lot of potassium.

[cougarmeat]

I’ve use Gookin-aid, rebranded to Vitalyte, during and since hiking the PCT in the mid 70’s. Most important is to drink along the trail and NOT wait until you are at camp. That is, it’s much better to keep those electrolytes up/even during the endeavor than to deplete them and try to catch up.

Gookin-aid was designed by a track coach before gator-aid and isn’t focused so much on sweet and artificial flavors (though it does come oriented towards orange/lemon/watermelon, etc.). One characteristic, because it’s designed to be absorbed, is when I drink it, it disappears passed my throat. Like when I drink water, I can hear/feel it sloshing around. When I drink Vitalyte, I ask myself, “Where did it go?”, because it seems to disappear.

I highly recommend a quart a day as you are hiking with your hammock to your hammock campsite to sleep in your hammock. Because this General forum is about Hammocks in general.

[kormi]

V8 juice has as much potassium as a banana.... one can of V8 and one bottled water before bed.....Good to go.

[OutdoorBoy]

I’ve use Gookin-aid, rebranded to Vitalyte, during and since hiking the PCT in the mid 70’s. Most important is to drink along the trail and NOT wait until you are at camp. That is, it’s much better to keep those electrolytes up/even during the endeavor than to deplete them and try to catch up.

Gookin-aid was designed by a track coach before gator-aid and isn’t focused so much on sweet and artificial flavors (though it does come oriented towards orange/lemon/watermelon, etc.). One characteristic, because it’s designed to be absorbed, is when I drink it, it disappears passed my throat. Like when I drink water, I can hear/feel it sloshing around. When I drink Vitalyte, I ask myself, “Where did it go?”, because it seems to disappear.

I highly recommend a quart a day as you are hiking with your hammock to your hammock campsite to sleep in your hammock. Because this General forum is about Hammocks in general.

Hey, I've never ever heard about Vitalyte in this way, need to research more. I mean that I'm satisfied with it

[cougarmeat]

OurdoorBoy, Welcome to the forum. Yeah - I drank a quart a day on the PCT - of course, “in my youth” I was invincible anyway I’ve used it on hikes and kayak paddles for about 45 years.

[LowTech]

OurdoorBoy, Welcome to the forum. Yeah - I drank a quart a day on the PCT - of course, “in my youth” I was invincible anyway I’m used on hikes and kayak paddles for about 45 years.

**** Cougarmeat, what do you get used for??

[cougarmeat]

LowTech, I really need a proofreader, or Grammerly, or ProWritingAid. I try to catch such errors within the edit window of the post. I do get “used” occasionally. But in a good way.