Michelle
Who said pimpin ain't easy?

Personally I don't agree with the 'You have to take more calcium or potasium etc' line of thinking. That stems from the fact that calcium is the chemical that makes muscles contract. Thus people go ahead thinking there's an imbalance of the nutrients and try to balance it out by supplementing. The main problem with this is that, even if it were the reason, we don't know how much is needed.

I believe it has more to do with a few other factors that we have much more control over. Dehydration, stress and over exercising without proper warm ups and stretching, and lastly the vitamin deficiency.

First, drink PLENTY of plain water every day. Water should be the bulk of our daily drinking. We are designed to ingest naturally occurring compounds and soda, alcohol etc are not but water is.

Stress and exercise... Stress is obvious but what about exercise? We need to do some kind right? Sure, but the important thing to remember is that exercise IS stress on the body. We may feel good afterwards because of the endorphins, but we're still stressing the body. Warmup, exercise and cool down and stretch. Stiff calf muscles will cramp easier than loose ones. (you'll need more water if you exercise alot *wink*)

Vitamins. Yep, they can be the cause but like I said it's very difficult to determine which mineral is deficient. Phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, sodium and potassium can all technically be culprits. Eating bananas can help. Taking Tums with calcium can help. Eating more dark green leafy veggies can help. Hard to say without a blood test.

I get them once in a while. I've noticed I'll get them when I drink heavily for more than a day or two. Super dehydrated. I tend to stick with eating as healthy as possible, drink about a gallon of water a day, exercise 'enough' but always warm up and cool down/stretch afterwards. I also have a cup of Sleepytime Extra tea every night before bed.

Other methods may help like taking an Aleve or two before bed. It's made of Naproxyn which is a muscle relaxant. Medical prescriptions are around 800-1000mg per tablet. Each Aleve is only 220mg. It is a NSAID so if you cannot take those then stay away. Also Tonic water might help. The quinine in tonic water is a natural muscle relaxant. Back in the day it was called Quinine Water.

I hope this helps you a little sweetie.
xo