Carnitine for Cramps?
 

A lot of use have experienced cramps from low carbing, judging from the number of threads on the subject. I've read a lot of good info as far as things to do to avoid cramps. In my own case, a potassium supplement (Lite salt) was effective at eliminating my cramps. However, there have been folks who seem to have cramps in spite of K and Mg supplementation.

I was reading some material today and came across the symptoms of carnitine deficiency. These include lack of energy and cramps, two common complaints. Since carnitine is involved in transporting fatty acids into mitochondria, it stands to reason that a person on a high fat diet might have increased carnitine needs. The other thing is that carnitine is water-soluble, and we might be getting into a deficiency when we first dump all that water at the beginning of our diet.

You get carnitine from meat, so I am not at all sure that a low carb diet could lead to a long-term deficiency. There was one website that mentioned carnitine deficiency in kids put on a ketogenic diet though. In any case, I know some performance atheltes have used carnitine as a supplement in the past. It appears to have few side effects, so I thought I'd suggest it for those who've had no luck curingtheir cramps. I might even look for some of this stuff myself, although I am not a supplement person.

Have a good day. Lennie

You can get a huge bottle of creatine from body building stores. It costs like $50, but there is several hundred doses in the bottle. The pill stuff is typically lower dose. There is some information on it in the body building forum.

For me pottasium and calcium work. Some find it's actually a sodium deficiency. If a dieter is staying away from almost all processed foods and is using a pottasium salt sub, they can actually experience a sodium deficency due to the duretic effect of the diet.

Further to Lady Belle's comment...
 

Any of you who have peeked at the "cramps--what to do" type threads on the various subforums over the past month or two may know me--I've suffered from them for the first time in my life since starting a LC WOE.

Long story short, after potassium supps (already was on cal/mag), then adding mag supps, and finally a pinch of salt to a diet that was salt-free (no processed foods, no salt added), I have been somewhat under control. But here's the kicker:

I was at the vet's yesterday (doggie has a UTI), and when I explained that I keep her well hydrated with the same Poland Springs steamed distilled water I drink, she tells me that distilled is not the best for her--or for me!--because the distilling takes out all the electrolytes, and drinking this kind of water can cause an imbalance.

Well. I just about fell over backward. I'd been buying distilled for a few years after reading about how so many "pure spring" water companies can be bogus, and that steamed distilled was actually the purest way to go. And here I'm being handed--by my vet!!--a possible reason for an electrolyte imbalance: the amount of distilled water I drink!

It may not come to mean anything, but it's an interesting thought. Maybe others on this forum drink distilled water (or not)--and maybe the idea that an electrolyte imbalance could develop from drinking this kind of water might be a factor in the cramps.

Just my two cents. :D

Best, Sona P.S. Oh--so it's back to Poland Springs spring water for me.

Yes, distilled actually sucks the electrolytes out of your system. At least drink drinking water, which has some small amount of salt added back. And old nasty tap water may be even better.

When I saw my doctor about the same problem the nurse told me to take Low calorie tonic water. I have a glass at night & cramps are much better.

Tonic water? What is it supposed to do? I take it the quinine has some effect? I never heard of that before, and didn't find anything on the net about it yet.

Now if you drink it with gin and a little lime, I could see where the cramps might be relaxed a bit.

I saw from another thread that Dr. Atkins recommended taking carnitine as a supplement for weight loss. That and CoQ-10.

The way I understand it, you'd have to drink about a tanker truck of tonic water every day to get a useful dose of quinine. I'd hoped gin and tonics would be the answer, but apparently not!