Leg Cramps Cramping Your Style?

Legs, Cramps, Twitches

Best Single Herb: Dulse

Best Combinations: Kelp, dulse, watercress, wild cabbage, horseradish, horsetail

Other Helpful Supplements: Magnesium; trace mineral supplement; calcium

Possible Cause: Mineral imbalance

Complementary Help: Stretch daily, exercise lightly

Leg cramps can be caused by overexertion of the muscles. Sometimes I will get a cramp in my foot or leg when I am wearing a heeled shoe all day; when I get to bed, my foot or leg will begin to cramp (to get me back I suppose). But some folks who don’t wear high heels are still affected by this condition.

Sometimes a cramp or twitch is due to a muscle that has been overworked or stretched improperly. This can happen by any of the following:

• Utilizing free weights or exercise equipment incorrectly
• Overexertion in any activity
• Sitting incorrectly at a desk all day while working
• Repetitive movements over long periods of time
• Spinal misalignment while doing any activity

Other than overexertion and occasional cramping, ongoing problems with leg cramps or twitches can indicate a mineral imbalance, usually due to a deficiency of at least one mineral. All minerals work to keep each other in balance and need to be in proper quantities to function correctly. For instance, iron is a mineral that is antagonistic to calcium, which means that calcium can inhibit or suppress the complete absorption of iron in the body. Therefore, taking a calcium supplement and an iron supplement at different times of the day is best. (That’s another reason to rely on herbs to give you the right balance of these minerals.) Leg cramps commonly occur during pregnancy, when the fetus is utilizing many nutrients, so Mom should take more, too.

Warnings about the use of herbs

Pay attention to recurring muscle pains, cramps, or spasms because this could be your body’s way of warning you that you are overworking your muscles. It could also indicate a mineral imbalance, which can be corrected nutritionally.

Do They Call You Thumper?

Leg or other muscle twitches are caused by involuntary spasms. These can happen anywhere in the body, including the hands and shoulders, or under your eyes. My husband thinks that when I say something important and my eye twitches, that means I am thinking more than what I’m saying. Some superstitious folks believe that a twitch in your eye is a sure sign that you’re lying — I think it’s a sign of mineral imbalance or nervous system depletion.

I once had a client who asked for some help for his twitching leg. His e-mail explained that as soon as he was getting ready to fall asleep each night, his leg would begin twitching uncontrollably! This twitching would aggravate him and keep him awake.

I was amused at his symptom because I couldn’t help getting the visual image of a dog shaking its leg when it’s tickled. When I realized that this person had a sense of humor, I also couldn’t refrain from addressing him as “Thumper.” Thumper went along with this name game while he began to take an herbal trace mineral supplement along with an herbal combination that would soothe his nervous system to help him relax.

Thumper says he put some of the liquid supplements in his bowl, lapped ‘em right up, and slept like a baby that very first night! He told me that he didn’t know anything about herbs and that he might have been “barking up the wrong tree” by consulting me, but so far he has seen results. All kidding aside, since he has taken his herbs, he has not reported any more thumpin’.

Terms related to herbs or holistic health

In the body, some minerals are antagonistic to each other, which means that they are not compatible taken together. This also means that one mineral will suppress the absorption of the other.

Loosening Up with Dulse

I chose the seaweed dulse as the best single herb in this case because we already talked about alfalfa, which is one of the most mineral-rich land plants. Dulse is a sea plant that may be as rich in minerals from the sea as alfalfa is from the soil.

Dulse is very similar to kelp, another sea “weed” used for its rich iodine content. Both of these herbs are also rich in potassium, which works with sodium to keep the acid/alkaline balance in the body, to strengthen the heart and other muscles, and to keep the body healthy. Just a little of this herb goes a long way. It usually comes in a liquid form, and you can add a few drops daily in your water to obtain all that dulse has to offer. Otherwise, an encapsulated combination made from kelp, dulse, watercress, wild cabbage horseradish, and horsetail will supply you with a great array of minerals rich in potassium, among other minerals. Supplementing with extra calcium and magnesium will round out your program and feed your nervous and structural systems to keep you from twitching and cramping.

About overcoming an ailment with herbs

Dulse is a rich source of iodine and makes an excellent remedy to feed an underactive thyroid.

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