KARINA’S REMEDIES: PREVENT CRAMPING

In today’s article, you’ll learn some of the secrets of G4’s Karina who is a naturopath and an inexhaustible source of information on good health. We’ll be regularly sharing some of these 100% natural remedies and advice with you on our G4 blog. We’re going to start with an article devoted to cramping, an issue for everyone who does sport!

Whether you’re an elite athlete, or just a week-end warrior, you probably won’t avoid cramping. It may come on suddenly, causing a disruptive and disabling pain, during or after training. Unfortunately, it generally comes on without any warning and results in the involuntary and uncontrollable painful contraction of a muscle or a group of muscles leading to temporary functional impairment of the affected muscles.

How does cramping happen?

The factors which cause cramping are complex and numerous: vascular, metabolic, dehydration, loss of sodium through sweating, mineral deficiency, age, etc. Inadequate hydration, poor preparation for exercise, excessive effort, cold weather or the abuse of coffee, alcohol and tobacco are other potential risk factors.

Prevention is better than cure

Dehydration is often the main cause of cramping when undertaking a sporting activity. The recommended consumption of water during a physical exercise is about half a litre to two litres of water per hour. If the weather is hot, the effort is prolonged, and the athlete sweats a lot, cramping is almost inevitable.

In order to prevent cramping, drinking water is paramount but not enough. It’s also necessary to warm up your muscles before undertaking any sustained effort. Adequate clothing is needed, especially when it’s cold. In winter, wear arm and leg warmers, or full-length tights made from a support fabric. In summer, choose compression fabrics that allow better blood flow and muscle support. In the G4 clothing range you’ll find compression socks and our shorts are made from compression fabric. Thanks to the technical features of our products, you can remain well-ventilated in ultralight and UV50 + protection, exclusive clothing. Say goodbye to hot, sweaty shorts!

When we sweat, our body loses minerals which can lead to fatigue and cramping and maybe even injury. Now, drinking water alone will not recharge our body with minerals. While spring water contains these minerals they are not readily assimilated by the body.

One solution is marine plasma which provides the essential minerals and trace elements for optimal functioning of the body in both quantity and highly biological quality. The body benefits from 100% of its capabilities in addition to promoting an alkaline environment that’s not conducive to the development of disease, keeping your cells well-nourished, helping you to better eliminate waste and toxins, meaning you tire less during exercise.

100% natural, marine plasma contains on average 78 electrolytes, indispensable to the athlete to improve recovery and hydration for optimal performance. It’s advisable to take a capsule (20 ml) of Quinton hypertonic marine plasma before and after each sport session.

It is also recommended to monitor the intake of minerals in our diet. Eat plenty of fresh organic fruits and vegetables including, bananas, Omega-3 seeds, nuts, and sprouted beans and seeds. In each of your meals, eat a portion of fresh, raw vegetables.

To avoid muscle cramps, essential oils are also formidably effective. Penetration into the various layers of the skin is rapid before diffusion into the bloodstream and muscles. Their analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic actions are a valuable aid to avoiding muscle cramps.

Here’s a small recipe for preparing a massage oil:

• 1 ml of lavandin super essential oil
• 1 ml of tarragon essential oil
• 1 ml rosemary oil camphor
• 1 ml of wintergreen essential oil
• 3 ml of St. John’s Wort oil
• 3 ml of Arnica

With this helpful advice, we hope that cramping will become ancient history.

Look out for Karina’s 100% natural tips and remedies on the G4 blog.