Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More - View Single Post

07-08-2004, 07:12 AM

> For prevention: those cramps are usually a sign of oxygen and nutrient
> depletion. I've always read that the potassium in bananas helps. You
> might try eating a banana in the evening after a long ride or taking a
> potassium supplement.

I've heard the same thing about bananas. Another poster mentioned
celery juice, which I assume to be made by putting celery sticks
through a juicer (rather than something purchased at the store with
added salt, sugars and whatnot). There's a good website with nutrient
information on all these foods: http://www.nutritiondata.com/. There
you'll find that celery does indeed contain more sodium than, say,
bananas, while bananas contain more potassium. While I rarely suffer
from cramping, I may try adding more celery to my diet anyway - can't
hurt.

For any ride longer than about 20 miles, I use bananas and a
gatorade-like drink which I mix from powder. There are a number of
recipes on the 'net (no need to spend $$ on commercial products), but
you'll have to try them to see what works for you. During a quick
perusal I found a recipe at
http://www.dissidents.com/articles/sportsdrink.htm which appears to be
similar to what I use.

There's also a good article on muscle cramps at
http://www.medicinenet.com/Muscle_Cramps/page1.htm.

07-08-2004, 07:12 AM	#41 (permalink)
Palookabutt Posts: n/a	Re: Calf Cramps > For prevention: those cramps are usually a sign of oxygen and nutrient > depletion. I've always read that the potassium in bananas helps. You > might try eating a banana in the evening after a long ride or taking a > potassium supplement. I've heard the same thing about bananas. Another poster mentioned celery juice, which I assume to be made by putting celery sticks through a juicer (rather than something purchased at the store with added salt, sugars and whatnot). There's a good website with nutrient information on all these foods: http://www.nutritiondata.com/. There you'll find that celery does indeed contain more sodium than, say, bananas, while bananas contain more potassium. While I rarely suffer from cramping, I may try adding more celery to my diet anyway - can't hurt. For any ride longer than about 20 miles, I use bananas and a gatorade-like drink which I mix from powder. There are a number of recipes on the 'net (no need to spend $$ on commercial products), but you'll have to try them to see what works for you. During a quick perusal I found a recipe at http://www.dissidents.com/articles/sportsdrink.htm which appears to be similar to what I use. There's also a good article on muscle cramps at http://www.medicinenet.com/Muscle_Cramps/page1.htm.