Muscle cramps on Whole 30

[ClaireT]

My hubby is doing W30 with me and today is day 9. We are enjoying the food and have not felt too terrible during the detox phase of the program. My husband has an autoimmune condition and has found that since we began W30 he has had debilitating leg and hand cramps which are waking him up at night and generally making him miserable (and tired - he was up 4 times that I know of last night). We have upped his magnesium and potassium intake to no avail which leaves calcium. He was having a cup or two of milk a day and a serving of unsweetened yogurt prior to starting W30 and did not have this issue. Does anyone have any hints as to how we can boost his calcium intake without compromising his W30?

[MrsStick]

My first thought would actually be salt for your hubby. I don't know how active he is but given the weather in this part of the world (I'm in Seoul right now) I'm doing a lot of sweating and have had to up my salt use quite a bit to keep muscle cramps down. Sea salt is the best choice here but any high quality mineral-rich salt (Himalayan or something similar) or just salt in general will probably help. Processed foods (and especially Asian foods, like the ramen that is ubiquitous here or stir fries with soy sauce and fried rice with soy sauce) are very high in salt content and even if your husband only had those occasionally they would be considerably altering his electrolyte balance. On a Whole 30 he will be taking in a lot less salt just by the nature of the program, so this can have a huge impact on his electrolyte balances right now.

[jmcbn]

Broccoli, bok choy, kale, collards, almonds, figs, oranges, tinned fish like sardines & salmon (with bones) are all foods rich in calcium.

That said I'd agree with MrsStick that you should ensure he is getting enough salt, particularly if he was prone to eating a lot of processed foods pre Whole30.