One thing I learned is don't expect a medical doctor to know anything about electrolytes. I was bounced around to 3 doctors and prescribed various meds for nighttime leg cramps. Not one mentioned a nutritional issue as a possible cause.
I have nutritional issues. Just transitioning to carnivore. I have been battling cramps. Legs and arm. It sucks. Trying to heal my gut and malabsorption from a vegetarian/vegan diet of 23 years.
I had nighttime leg cramps for years. They were very painful and intense. I tried supplementing minerals and added a lot of magnesium, which helped a little. I finally decided to drink more water. I started drinking at least 32 oz a day and sometimes more. All my muscle cramps went away. I seldom get them and if I do I know it's from dehydration and that I need more water.
@@anthonychaffeemd hi. could you point me in the direction of potassium on the carnivore? somebody told me that we need to eat veg to get potassium... since we need quite a lot of that per day... have got msybe any links? or could you tell me your suggestions? 🙏 thank you 👍
I started drinking exclusively distilled water, and I drink almost a gallon a day I get all of my minerals from my food I do not solely my water. I want my pure water to do it’s job.
Thank you. This was so helpful. I'm 68 yr old female, get cramps now and then at night. Finally connected the dots. Been carnivore 3 yrs now but still struggle with coffee (oh ok I love my coffee) The nights I get cramps are when I've had too much coffee and not enough water. This might help me in my battle with the bean.
I had cramps too. On carnivore you need coffee because no energy. Stimulant dependency. High carb low fat vegan, zero cramps even if I go to the gym, cycling etc. This is a secret they are hiding from us.
@@magdalasandia3177 that will take care of the leg cramps but what do you do when the honeymoon is over and your body comes calling for all the nutrients you didn’t get because you don’t get those nutrients from plants because all locked by indigestible plant fiber and essential fatty acids (essential) and cholesterol for your brain and hormones on a plant based diet?
Thank you for this comment. I drank 3 cups of coffee, half decaf last night, then a little water. Horrible cramps last night. I drank 1 cup already tonight, then I read this comment. Now working on another 32oz. of water.
Since starting the carnivore diet about 6 weeks ago, I was having occasional nighttime leg and foot cramps. I tried drinking half a glass of water immediately when it happened, and the cramping stopped! Thank you!!!
I've done a full three days so far and I'm getting leg and arm cramps. I think it was my electrolytes because I just took something called snake oil which is an electrolyte mix and I think it's better. Are arm cramps also normal?
After watching Dr Chaffee videos I started a carnivore diet and I can’t describe the health benefits. But, I would like to say that if you drink too much water it will also cause cramps. You need to find a balance. Too little is no good and too much is worse. There was a summer when I spend the day outside and I drank a lot of water. That night I got cramps everywhere. From my head to my toes. Even opening my mouth was a challenge because I got cramps below my jaw. No able to move a single muscle. My wife was goin to call 911. But I asked her for some salt with water and after drinking it my cramps went away like 70%. And after a few days no cramps at all. Now I now that my diet was horrible. I had a high carb and sugar diet, low protein, low sodium, low fat. I believe carnivore diet is what we are made for and also don’t go to crazy drinking a lot of water or too little. Every person needs to find what works the best.
The natural water consumption pattern for any animal is to develop a good thirst, then locate a water source and drink a relatively large volume all at once. Most likely on an empty stomach. This idea of preemptive hydration and neurotically sipping on water all day is a product of gatorade marketing and fake studies starting 50 years ago. Prior to the 1970's nobody drank water during marathons and they never had the health issues during races that are considered routine now. Remember to invert literally all health guidelines.
I literally just had one of those 'screaming cramps' I was kneeling on my bed trying to put up some strip led lights and my hamstring started cramping, I moved to try and relieve the pain then my abs went!! I was crippled for about 8 seconds on the bed (I could feel my muscle clumped together) but I sort of stretched out it soon resolved. I put it down to being dehydrated. I'd also eaten some carbs last night but follow a pretty strict carnivore diet during the week. I've had this happen previously on the day after ingesting carbs too. Thanks for the vid.
@@Suzanne2909 yes thanks for reminding me of this comment. I'm much more strict with my carnivore diet these days and cramps almost never happen anymore. I think it's something that can happen when carbs are reintroduced
I always had frequent leg cramps, and for about a year high (sometimes very high) blood pressure. I did "keto" (and two meals a day, some times "OMAD", sometimes fasting from three to seven days) for about two years. I eat a lot of broccoli sprouts, and took electrolytes (not sweetened) , I "sinned" with creme Chantilly, sweetened with inulin and stevia. My blood pressure (very high) got normal to low after the first month, weight fell from 120 kg to 69 kg (at 185 cm) in about 7-8 months, but, all this time I suffered because of leg cramps (as before). About a month ago I started to be carnivore. No more sinning, no more sprouts, no more electrolytes. I am surprised to notice that, from the second, maybe third day I hadn't cramps any more. Thank you Dr. Chaffee.
@@comancatalin7644 actually I’ve been on strict carnivore since 4.9.24. about two months in the nightly lower leg charlie horse fiasco started. It’s been nearly every night since. I drink nearly a gallon of water a day and take electrolytes. Take in quite a bit of salt as well as only seasoning.
I have been Carnivore for 28 months. For the first 18 months I was pure Carnivore and I dealt not just with leg and calf cramping (which I'm used to having body-built for 39 years) but I was getting cramps in places I'd NEVER cramped before, like chest, lats, and lower abdomen, as well as heart palpitations. I seriously wanted Carnivore to work. I waited a year for things to straighten out. After a year I added electrolytes and I still waited another six months before modifying the WOE to add fruit. I was definitely hydrating enough so I know it wasn't that. Within a week of adding a moderate amount of carbs, in the way of 3-4+ servings of fruit, all my issues disappeared and have not returned. All the benefits of Carnivore remain. I am very active. Throughout my cramping I workout 4-5 times a week at high intensity. I have a theory of why I was suffering and why a moderate amount of carbs fixed it. It has to do with muscle glycogen. When I workout I am depleting all my muscle glycogen. When there are no carbs to reload that muscle glycogen then I become electrolyte depleted because the electrolytes use the carbs as a carrier into the muscle. Paul went crazy on the fruit and honey (and all power to him for trying new things) but my issues resolved with a lot less. I hoped this video would offer an insight I didn't try but it didn't. I feel so much better with a little fruit. I'm glad I was able to overcome Carnivore dogma to try new things.
Thank you so much for your comment. I've been resting with the same thing. Not sure what the fruit and honey thing is about, I'll look it up. (It sounds like Dr. Kempner's The Rice Diet; rice, fruit, sugar, fruit juice - designed to reverse kidney disease, which it did, and it healed everything else fast too,including obesity. I thought maybe the pain in my body was from oxalate dumping. And eating a few carbs, will slow down The dumping of oscillates into the bloodstream which is causing so much pain in people's bodies. Look up Dr Barry on oxylates. There's a woman, Sally Norton, who has written a book on this, and she's incredibly interesting. This might be part of what's been happening to you too. See her in Chaffee's podcasts, and all other carnivore gurus. 😊
Thank you for sharing! I'm just starting out on carnivore and in my experience so far, I think a fat-heavy beef diet and drinking only water no coffee, plus when I feel like I'm missing something including either eggs or fruit depending on which my body craves, has seemed to work well. Fortunately, I'm not starting from a position of severe medical condition like some, so I'm not as driven to try pure lion diet for maximum elimination/experimentation purposes. I'm more concerned about what helps my health continue to feel optimal on the daily (and continue to see improvement on the measures I care about). I'm not incentivized to "push through" bad headaches or muscle cramps for ideological reasons when just eating some banana or an egg resolves that in-the-moment felt-issue. And I'm happy there seem to be plenty of people in this space of fat/meat-based diets that also include some fruit, etc. I could never be ideologically against those things anyway, at least in the "That's not what humans evolved for!" camp... I'm Christian and the book of Genesis starts off with God giving humans seeded fruits and green plants for food, then later giving humans "every moving thing that lives" for food. I can believe that environmental conditions (e.g. pesticides, GMOs, processed preparation methods, and who knows maybe evolution of plants towards more potent defence mechanisms, or special genetic vulnerability of humans today based on living in an atmosphere tainted by nuclear fallout... I'm just spitballing to illustrate the point of how wide the bucket of "who knows" may be) may have created a situation where at this point it's wisest to eat in a meat-dominant way. But I'll always choose to receive the Eucharist under the form of wine and bread, and I'll never categorically say that humans aren't supposed to eat ANY plants, any more than I'll ever categorically say that humans aren't supposed to eat any animals, when I believe the Word of God has modelled for us that humans were given both to eat.
@@caterinadc5567 Thanks for the reply. I'm a Christian too. I believe plants changed after the fall but since plants want their fruit eaten, to spread their seeds, that some fruit is okay. Seeds are a definite no. Same with leaves. Anyway, do what works for you. N=1.
This has very little to do with electrolytes but with hydration on cellular level. Salt and other elements need to be in water. Removing carbs from diet causes not only loss of fat but also water from cells. Fat contains water and fat is the only thing that freely enters cells. When fat is used for energy water is released! When you have cramps there is too much salt and not enough water in cells. Once you increase intake of fat cramps are gone. Eat chunks of cold butter. Drinking tons of water and electrolytes is not a solution!
@@jpsittt Unfortunately most of the information is scattered and for some reason people have difficulty making connections between various points. I watched countless videos of doctors and testimonials. I recommend watching videos with Dr. Ben Bikman, Dr Cywes, Prof. Bart Kay, channel Nutrition With Judy. To the point. Human body is trying to maintain level of balance (homeostasis) of all elements. Therefore everything that is in excess is removed. This applies to things like water, salt & sugar. If there’s too much of it it is being expelled as urine. Hence, water that we drink is partially absorbed into blood but the rest is send to kidneys and it is removed. We do not swell when we drink water. The only situation when it happens is when there’s a malfunction of kidneys. It manifests itself as swollen ankles, legs and condition is called edema. For electrolytes to work they must be present in water. That combination carries electrical signals within muscles. Since water on it’s own cannot enter cells there must be different mechanism that ensures sufficient level of water within cells. Fat contains molecules of water. There are animals like Camels that store fat. It serves two purposes. It’s source of energy and source of water. When fat is broken down water is released. It’s interesting that if there’s too much water inside cells it’s quickly removed. Also, when we urinate rapidly because we had too much sugar or salt, water is pulled from blood and from cells. One of the visible signs are thirst and dry skin. Especially on top of our hands. Most people heard about statins and what they do. They role is to lower lever of cholesterol LDL in blood stream. One of the major side effects are muscle pains/cramps. LDL is not only form of energy transport as fat molecules but also it regulates water levels on cellular level. Problem with electrolytes occurs mostly after certain period of being on Keto or Carnivore when level of stored fat is reduced significantly. Some people claim that eating more meat helped, others say that eating more butter solved their problem. Either way notice that meat contains fat and water too.
@@talktomenowxbmc thank you! But as you lose water. Is it not true that with that water also go some elektrolytes? So adding those or eating extra salt is not a bad idea right. To only eat fat might solve the water issue but still those elektrolytes are missing
@@jpsittt it is true that you loose electrolytes . It’s because they are dissolved in water. However, human body regulates both sugar and salt levels and secretes any excess with urine. It means it can be counterproductive to eat all these electrolytes as they maybe flushed out from the body. Don’t get me wrong, we need electrolytes but how much of it is effective it’s hard to say and measure.
interesting....I am fully carnivore and was foot soaking with epsom salts nightly for magnesium intake and adding sea salt to my drinking water and meals. Cramps grew progressively worse so I stopped magnesium, and noticed some improvement. About a month later I stopped salt intake and since then I have no more cramps.
A quick trick to alleviate a leg/foot cramp....use your index & 2nd fingers & press down on the area just above your top lip....do this until the cramp stops....usually takes less approx a minute. These are accupressure points above the lip. Also I just discovered Bob & Brads vid on leg cramps. Had a pharmacist on who said use 1-Tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar in 4ozs of water & drink. It works immediately. I'm going to start doing this & will take the drink a few hrs before bedtime & see if it works. I want to know if it will act as a preventative?
I just went full on carnivore 2 weeks ago and am in horrible pain every day! I think I'm oxalate dumping big time and so AM doing Keto Chow electrolyte drops. I test with my pendulum using kinesiology to see how many I need and when. I hope I start feeling better soon...pain, especially in my legs, ankles, and feet actually makes me sob (not a crier). Dr. Chaffee, don't call SAD eating NORMAL. Carnivore is NORMAL!
Are the Keto Chow electrolyte drops the citrate form of minerals or are they the chloride form? If you are dumping oxalates you need the citrate form for sure. They really help! See Sally Norton or Elliot Overton for more information of what you can do if you are still having problems. Oxalate dumping is pretty miserable! Hope you are feeling better.😊
In the beginning of my carnivore diet I started getting leg cramps, extremely painful. I took mineral drops and cramps stopped. After about 2 weeks I stopped taking the mineral drops and now close to 2 years carnivore I no longer get leg cramps.
@@Nima-bm3yr I'm in my 4th month and still cramping. Not horribly, but it is good to know that they'll eventually go away. One video said to take Boron. I got some drops and used it as directed. Made a huge difference. My water intake is insane compared to before. I have to drink a half gallon of water from the end of my work day to the time I eat. I drink until I'm not thirsty anymore and then wait to eat I put sea salt in almost all the water I drink now because of body aches my whole 3rd month. I read it cleanses the blood and then the cells due to osmotic pressure. I have a lot of cleanup to do. 60 years of crap diet. Haha.
Exactly in the same boat.. working toward full carnivore for two weeks... still not there as I still eat some home grown fruit. It's really hard to eat enough fat+meat to not be hungry. But getting better every day.. and with coocking too.. at least meat is not burned now. 😄
@@ThOperator really? For a while there I would eat a pound of 80/20 ground beef and add Tallow or ghee to it and that carried me at least 24 hours. It’s actually the sugars you’re eating that are making you feel hungry. If you get hungry after eating meats and fats eat more meats and fats, don’t eat sugars. Fruits are sugar plain and simple. Sure there’s some fiber, but that’s not needed. I went with bacon for any cravings. Just some advice no judgement. It is truly you game to play your own way, but you can’t truly say you’re carnivore if you’re consuming fruits, maybe keto yeah, but not carnivore. But hey who am I to say? I can only say what carnivore has done for me. Did I have cravings? Yep. Did I eat meats eggs and fats almost 3 times a day for a while? Yep. Did I eat bacon up and above 3 meals? Yep. Did I wake up feeling hungry? Yep. For a little while at least, but as I hit my 30 days of strict carnivore, it seemed to get easier. Do I struggle now? Day 147? Naw, not with what to eat. I’m mostly lion diet and it’s mostly ground beef. Do I think about eating carbs, cookies, or ice cream? Hell naw! I’m no longer diabetic and I just know that if I eat the trash I will be diabetic or fat again and I never want that suffering anymore. Is my weight where I want it? No, but like I said I’m only day 147 and it took me so long to get sick. So I have time, I’ve dropped 65 pounds and I’m bouncing around with 5-10 pounds up and down. It’ll do what it’s supposed to do. I eat 2 pound of beef and add fat a day, whether it’s in one meal or split within 4 hour window and all I’ve ever drank/drunk was water really, so I’m good. I promise you this, I’ve yet to see anyone give it a real 60-90 day honest strict carnivore and it not do good for them and usually it’s an amazing transformation they see. Stay safe
I did know a young lady, maybe 30 years ago, that thought as long as she felt full she didn't need to eat. She was diagnosed with anorexia. She drank so much water that she was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with water intoxication (toxemia). It takes quite a bit to get there but I've seen that it can be done. I believe she drank between 8 or 9 gallons of water in a 12 hour window.
When I am severely low in potassium I do have muscle cramps, but not your normal kind and not in my legs. I get burning cramps either over a rib cage, or one side of my neck, and these cramps don't respond to stretching or using the muscle. When they start they're just there until they stop. I would have to sit up out of bed with the neck ones (I seemed to get the neck ones while in bed and the rib ones wile up moving around) and just wait for it to pass. For a long time I didn't know that's what was causing it, and I didn't have a doctor so I wasn't having labs done. Then my appendix ruptured, and while I was still in the ER they got my labs back, brought me two huge potassium pills, and the entire week and three days I was in the hospital (more about that below) they had me on IV potassium, and then they sent me home with a prescription. And that's how I figured out it was low potassium causing it. A few times I have tried to stop supplementing potassium and the cramps always come back. Now if you're asking why I was in the hospital for a week and 3 days for my appendix, that would be because they admitted me around midnight, and the doctor decided to wait until morning to do the operation. Sometime during the night (and I suspect while I was still in the ER) it ruptured, and by the time they opened me up I had gangrene in my colon, so they had to remove a fourth of it and resection it. I was borderline septic and plus they had to keep a tube down my throat to keep my stomach empathy while the resection healed, and it was a week before they let me go, then three days after I was home I got an abscess at the injection site and was admitted for an additional three days. Sorry for sharing my life story. lol
You need to try vitamin B1 Thiamine. Can you get access to this? You are describing low b1. Take supplement for 3 or 4 days then eat b1 food. b1 HCL or b1 Nitrate.
@@multitablez It only went away when I was given potassium and it only comes back when I quit taking potassium, so I don't see how it would be a B1 deficiency. I do take B1 now because it keeps mosquitoes from biting me, but I only started taking it a year ago, and it was 6 years ago that my cramps went away after starting potassium. So yeah, in my case I don't think it was a vitamin B1 deficiency. In fact, I've been taking B1 for a year, and about 6 months ago I tried cutting out my potassium supplementation, while still taking B1 daily, 500 mg, and the cramps came back. Definitely potassium related for me.
@@HappilyCarnivore oh yep then not low b1. may of been the low potassium. Also could be somthing depleting potassium - seed oils or even coffee. Also be carefull not to take b vitamins for too long, they can put others out of wack. ALSO, if you take b6, that can cause very serious problems like you describe.
@@multitablez I've never taken b6 on its own. I do occasionally take a B complex, but the only ones I take regularly are B3 and B1. As to depleting potassium, up until the time I had my appendix out and found out about the potassium I was a very heavy coffee drinker. I would drink it from the time I woke until I went to bed, literally. I was also a heavy smoker, and that week in the hospital not being able to drink anything (at the time my hypothyroidism made me VERY thirsty) I was so miserable that I forgot to miss smoking, didn't even think about it until the last couple of days, so I decided to try and just quit, and I quit coffee at the same time because the two go together. I'm sure the coffee contributed, but the problem persisted even after quitting coffee. I've now been without seed oils for two years, and still I feel like I need the potassium. When I try and reduce it I still start to get mild cramps like before. I've been carnivore for a year, so I'm hoping it's just something to do with absorption and hopefully carnivore will eventually cure whatever is causing it.
@@HappilyCarnivore dont take the b complex, i know you dont take it often. it will have a toxic form of b6 that is best to aviod all together. i understand it may as well be to do with potassium, but dont forget those are all linked to other electrolytes and also b1. if you can, i would try a mega dose of B1 HCL. or mega dose of B1 nitrate. the mega dose might fix the issue. Further, sometimes people can tolerate avocado, and eat with salt for the potassium, but you should get enough potassium from meat alone. Unless something else is causing potassium to be out of wack. highly suggest mega dose b1, taking 5x dose in one go for 4 days or so. make sure it has nothing else in it. you might see benefits from that then not need excess potassium in future
It's, most of the time (if not electrolytes), low b1 causing cramps. Please, look into b1 thiamine. This is common. Everyone can benefit from taking b1 for a few days, you will notice no cramps and major mental health improvement.
I just spent three months trying to work out the whole leg cramp issues. I very, very rarely EVER got leg cramps before going carnivore, and it was from dehydration, for sure. However, while I've been working this out the past three months, I've experimented with electrolytes, raising and lowering levels, and changing my water levels. Then I just quit all the electrolytes, and still taking the same amount of water as I always have. I started the keto chow electrolyte drops because I didn't want to deal with the cramps, and after about two days, the cramps got less and less and after 10 days, the cramps are mostly gone. But, then, the question - water or the drops? Well, my bottle of drops is about to run out, so I'll just try without, but drinking the same amount of water and see what happens.
Yeah that will be good to find out! Usually later on it's the water, as electrolyte issues mostly resolve really on, but see how you go and let me know!
You should try b1 thamine on top with the drops for a few days. Most of the time it is low b1 causing cramps. Try b1 HCL or b1 nitrate. You will notice no cramps and better mental health.
@@anthonychaffeemd Dr. Chaffee, I said I would tell you, so here is the result of my N=1 experiment. First - full disclosure, I was drinking coffee with cream (1 cup) throughout because I didn't want to stop suddenly. For some kind of control, I kept my water intake the same and ate the same foods and kept my activity level the same. Also, the leg cramps I suffer from are not the full on, wake you up screaming kind of cramps, but more just what I consider tension and "threats" of cramping, mostly along the lower half of my outer calf. Another factor was that I was suffering from a neck issue of tightness and tension during the experiment. Anyway, the experiment basically went like this. I was taking Keto Chow electrolyte drops. I stopped taking them. After six days, I began to feel tension in my legs. I started taking them again and the tension went away. After another week, I stopped taking them. Again, at exactly six days, the tension appeared again. So I started taking them again. After another week, I was going to stop taking them again, but my neck tension got so bad, I had to abandon the experiment and start my NSAID again. So, it's really not a very conclusive experiment, and I can't rule out Placebo effect, even though I would rather not take the electrolytes. After I abandoned the experiment, I got covid, too, and so the electrolytes did become a necessity because of that. Since I'm now 7 months carnivore, I do feel like electrolytes should only be an occasional, as needed, thing and don't plan to take them every day, but this minor leg tension is a little annoying and definitely gets worse if I don't get my usual amount of water. I also plan to quit coffee again, although not soon. I never had any issues with cramping or tension in my legs before going carnivore, and I probably drank more coffee and less water back then. So, I'm baffled about it, for sure.
@@gailivey2015 I've experienced intense nightly leg/foot cramping on keto/carnivore. I was drinking lots of water (min 80 oz daily) and one cup of a.m. coffee. Quit coffee but cramping continued to intensify. Added LMNT with no improvement. I happened to read several references about drinking whole milk to solve the issue. I am not a milk drinker but gave it a try. Amazingly, it worked for me. One glass first thing a.m. and one glass at night. I quit it about a month ago and cramps are coming back. It seems to be hydrating for me. Even though I drink lots of water, it does not hydrate me. My doctor tells me to drink more water but when I was drinking the milk, I urinated less at night and that was an added benefit.
I started getting these crazy foot cramps where my foot would just slowly arch and my toes would start pointing up... very painful! Now I make sure I drink enough water and I take redmond relyte caps before bed
Likewise. I sweat buckets from the intense pain. I’ve been eating carnivore for 2 weeks and drink about 4 litres of water per day & no intense leg cramps so far. Too early to say it’s permanently gone though.
This is me EXACTLY! FYI, the absolute best quick fix for cramping that I've found is about 1/2 cup of Claussen Pickle juice (but the last 6 months of Carnivore/Lion, I've been refraining). Cramps completely gone in 2-3 minutes.
If you think you have electrolyte issues, these issues should be solved almost right away after taking electrolytes. I had heart palpatations from low potassium and was gone like 15-30 minutes after taking an electrolyte mix. If it is more like "I'm taking electrolytes now and it got better after 20 days" you can be almost sure that electrolytes were not the real problem.
Experiment with electrolytes. My leg cramps go away when I supplement magnesium, then come back and I supplement magnesium again and they go away once more. I'm also pretty new to carnivore (but I used to get these cramps earlier too), so maybe it's a thing for the first few months.
Dr Chaffee, you say drinking enough water... so how often is ok to need to get up at night for the bathroom? I tried everything, electrolytes, salt, little water before sleep, plenty-plenty water before sleep. No difference with cramps. But with lot of water I have to go up three times at night and become a wreck in no time, not enough sleep, stressed and afraid of going to sleep because of the very painful cramps that ruined every ketogenic diet for me sooner or later. More water is not the solution, for me. When I sleep sitting on the sofa (out of desperiation when the cramps won't cease) I don't get cramps. Only when sleeping laying down. So WHY is that? I need desperately to stay on keto, for health and also for a lifestyle, but my body won't let me. Help?
This makes more sense. I just saw part of Paul Salidino's video saying that we need carbs to create an insulin spike so the kidneys get going and we can absorb electrolytes. That was his solution to cramping. I usually avoid his videos. Your simple advice is appreciated. 😊
Actually, it is known that sugar or dextrose helps hydrate much faster..This is why so many hydrating solutions contain it..There's research to prove this. We're not meant to eliminate an entire macronutrient group, just balance it correctly..
@@souldesire5932 I feel 100% better eliminating it. Especially because drug like effect sugar has makes moderation very hard. It's easier to avoid it than moderate. Avoiding it has allowed me to reverse my diabetes, get rid of inflammation, gum disease and lose weight. I spent 40 years trying to moderate eating it and I got sicker. You are going to have a hard time convincing me that there are any benefits to having it that are worth it.
@ezranavarro8720 Different sources of fuel are used by different organ systems at the same time. You're misinterpreting what that is, it doesn't automatically cause glycation, this isn't accurate. Just grilling or cooking meat produces AGE's also and red meat is up on the list for producing AGE's when grilled and cooked at normal to high temperatures. I mean, I love and eat some red meat, but this community is being brainwashed by lies and biased thinking.. It also creates carcinogens.. In addition, low-carb and ketogenic diets are associated with HIGHER all cause mortality in good research. There are issues that occur with low-carb and keto diets that are overlooked, serious issues and I've seen too many problems in research with it. There's no need for this diet, it's silly and unnecessary honestly. It's extremism and fear-based. The whole plants are trying to kill you and this community thinking each compound produced by a plant is toxic is so incredibly categorically incorrect. It's been proven so many times in so many ways, yet this community buys into it because sometimes people have some issues or aversions they need to understand. This is not the answer and in fact it's a problem..
@@souldesire5932 The only one brainwashed here might be you. You did not address the Randle cycle, and you are ranting bs; you have no evidence to back up any of your claims, and a lot of evidence to completely disprove your claims. Go ahead and eat a crap diet.
@@souldesire5932 there is a need for this diet. How dare you propose such. It is a fact that the vast swathe of " good research " you fail to divulge in support of your cursed argument is of tainted origins and paid for by the very industry in opposition to this nutritional way of life. People like you are the problem and are ignorant to the answer that evolution has provided.
Every SAD dieter has damaged/glycated their kidneys to varying degrees. This is why a standard approach does not work for everyone. YOUR kidneys are individual and only you can work it out. The book " the salt fix" has a guide to help you do this. Well worth the read!
I've been getting insanely intense cramps (mostly leg) since around 1983. Some people in the southern U.S. call them "Charlie Horse", a buddy of mine said he just let his cramps go until they stopped. These people DO NOT get what I get. A cramp in my thigh feels like it's going to break my femur or rip the muscle from the bone. Prior to Carnivore, I had a pretty good handle on cramps. Drink plenty of water every day,. On racquetball days, don't drink coffee after 9am, and drink two 20 oz bottles of water with 1 1/2 tsp of Maldon Sea Salt in between games. Had my 6 month carniversary on Friday 4-26-2024. First 42 days were Carnivore, then switched to Lion, Ribeye, Maldon Sea Salt and well water. After switching to Lion, I've been getting horrible leg cramps. I've tried increasing my salt, no help, I started drinking more water, but then read that if you drink too much water, you'll loose electrolytes due to excessive urination, also no help. Lately I've been reading and hearing that you may be getting enough electrolytes, but you may not be absorbing them very well..This is beginning to sound like it may be my issue.. FYI, the absolute best fix to stop cramping that I've found is 1/3 - 1/2 cup of Claussen Pickle juice (but I've been refraining while on Carnivore/Lion). Cramps completely gone in 2-3 minutes.
@@DebbieAT yes, I was. About 1 1/2 months ago my wife and I went to Key West. I got really bad leg and ab cramps on the beach. My wife had some sugar free Liquid IV packets. I mixed one with water and the cramps went away. I've been mixing 1 sugar free liquid IV packet and 1 Tbs of maldon sea salt in 40 oz of water on racquetball days. After DECADES of trying everything under the sun, knock on wood, I haven't had a bad cramp since Key west!!
@@LilyWillow22 I use Himalayan pink salt so add a few grains to my water. I had stopped salt because a couple of carnivores said they didn't add it. I ended up with cramps, dry mouth, constipation, dizziness on standing and too much weight loss. All those vanished when I added back in salt. The salt when added to water becomes electrically charged. That's why it's called an electrolyte. There's a few good books on salt. Table salt is bad but Redmond's Real salt or pink Himalayan salt is good.
Having nothing to do with carnivore I used to get very painful leg cramps pretty regularly and of course thought mag would help but any benefit was slight. To my surprise, it was the addition of potassium that yielded consistent relief that I can count on. I still take mag but now start every day with just 1,000 mg of potassium. I don't know what my issue is but I never needed any supplements in my 20s and 30s.
I have legs cramp for some times. when listening one of Harry Serpanos live stream, calcium could be one of the problem. I add cheese in my meal, et Voilà.. problem solved!
I got bad leg cramps - I was overdoing at the gym as I was struggling to tire my legs, I found beef tea - Bovril (I’m from U.K.) with a bit a salt really sorted it AND stretch my legs after a workout.
Perfect timing for me to see this video! Thank you Dr. Chafee. I have been struggling lately to figure out what to do next with a return of night time muscle cramps because I knew my electrolyte levels were good. So glad the solution is so simple. Thanks again for all your helpful content.
After 10 months of totally strict carnivore and feeling amazing, I suddenly developed night time leg cramps. I tried everything that was suggested here and elsewhere. The treatment that finally helped me, was eating 3 or 4 stalks of boiled or in butter sautéed celery every day. I've taken as little as two stalks and it still works for a few days but ultimately the dose for me is 4 stalks. Works 100% of the time.
I’m a old guy carnivore was having leg cramps for the last few years even before carnivore got very little help from supplements even on carnivore when I cut out coffee and tea, they miraculously went away. I’ll take no supplements. Now I only drink water which has electrolyte, of course.
I've had a very tight calf muscle that started in December 2023. It doesn't want to unlock. It's not a cramp, just tight. I can't walk properly. ☹️ 16 days ago I increased the amount of protein I'm eating. But how long will it take for the protein to kick in? Have tried magnesium, potassium & salt.
I was getting foot cramps and increasing bad migraines. What stopped it was adding Himalayan salt to my meat. I had stopped salt. I also add a pinch of salt to water. My cramps, migraines, dry lips and mouth have vanished.
I never get leg cramps on ketogenic diet. Now I am on carnivore and I had my first cramp 2 nights ago. I drink coffee and I feel I am not getting enough water.
I have been on the Carnivore diet for 5 months with noticeable weight loss and body adjustments. I primarily consume beef, Butter, Ghee, bacon, eggs, chicken, sour cream, cheese. My starting weight was 328lbs and has moved to 311lbs. Many nagging aches and pains have vanished, I breath easier, and my mind is clearing up. I'm still sedentary for the most part but soon will be going for walks. Four years ago, I almost broke my left leg shinbone but tore loose the tendons and cartilage in the left knee and the ankle. Over the past few weeks I have been experiencing cramps in my calf muscles and my feet tendons that dissipated but the last two days the ankle & tendons ( left side of Achilles Tendon) on that left foot is being real mean to me forcing me to limp some to avoid pain. Btw, I had some gout issues but a sometime back and a Holistic practitioner advised me to use celery seed and Tart cherry extract capsules and it was gone in under 48 hrs. After all this above, any opinions or recommended additions or changes you may have please. Thank you.
@@zympf that's great. I was meaning that the calcium in the butter was probably helping. My husband is cramping really badly after 4 weeks of carnivore, but he isn't drinking coffee and he's taking all the electrolytes.
@@brittneyrussell1766 sorry to hear .. nothing worse the being woken by a cramping calf muscle! .. have you eliminated tea as well? any other caffeine drinks eg cola? when I was still drinking coffee, calf and leg stretching, especially before bed, helped significantly (I only stretch now as part of fitness routine). Mikaila P said that for her the cramping resolved itself eventually.
@@zympf no, he's not drinking anything with caffeine. He's only eating steaks, tallow, and drinking water. I'll tell him to stretch before bed to see if that helps.
I am on 3 weeks on the carnivore diet and I use the X3 to workout. Today doing curls both arms cramped up so bad to where I couldnt lift my arms up without cramping.... Had to massage them out under scolding hot water.... Never had cramps until I started carnivore.
I don't take electrolytes. I used to get leg cramps from eating too many carbs. My doc said they were hormonally induced and metformin did take care of them.
I have been on Carnivore for 2 weeks wo one leg cramp. I went off Carnivore for Thanksgiving and by 7:00 pm I started getting intense leg, feet, etc cramps all night.
I couldn't figure out my legs cramps and feeling a lack of energy. Added potassium and felt the difference in 1 day. Night and day. I noticed my potassium was twice the level it was on a mixed diet compared to my meat only diet - i supplemented back to this level and all good. Kept the same level of water. Was around 5g on mixed, only about 2.5g on meat diet...upped it to 5g and so much better. Easy to try and costs virtually nothing. I'd say the cramps/tightness feeling has gone from a 8/10 to 3/10...still not perfect. Energy level has gone from 3/10, to 9/10. Quite amazing. Not perfect - i might look at decreasing water or dramatically increasing to see if there is an affect
Ok, so there was a lady in the USA that took part in a contest a while ago, years. It was for an X-Box game system. The contest was who can drink the most water. She wanted the x-box for her son and she drank so much water that it killed her!! So the story goes, it was some radio station that put it on. Can you imagine? That poor kid. For the rest of his life when he drinks water or plays a video game? Just something that has been passed on through the years and the rabbit thing made me think of it. Day 128 as an obligate carnivore and I feel fantastic! Stay safe
You're not an obligate carnivore, cats are obligate carnivores. Please use the correct terminology. Also why the hell would anyone stick a hose down a rabbit's throat and force water into it until it dies? That's not science that's abuse. I am carnivore also. I eat a 99% carnivore diet, primarily beef. But I would never put a hose down a living creature's throat and fill it with water until it died. That's horrific. Saying that's in the name of science makes me so very angry.
@@Kyarrix ummm, yes I am. If I try to eat the other poisons I will be sick and can not thrive. I am an obligate carnivore. You may not be but I truly am. If someone locks me up and tries to feed me something else I will die!
@@Obligate.Carnivore what are you referring to kids for? You lost me. I know Dr Chaffee said it, I was just remarking on how horrible it was that anyone would do that. With regard to your comment I just said that you aren't an obligate carnivore, you are a carnivore, there's a difference. Obligate carnivores must eat meat, cats are obligate carnivores. We can eat other foods even if they aren't great for us.
@@KyarrixI bet you are angry! You damn sure sound angry! So go tell it to the man that said it! I never even mentioned the word HOSE!! Why TF are you telling me about your crap? Oh because I said I was an obligate carnivore. I get it you got triggered by the hose idea and came to me cause I dared use the word rabbit! Triggered often are we? I wonder what other words might trigger you? I bid you good day!
Talking iron helped getting rid of leg/foot cramps that surprised me. I started iron because I’m marginal on my blood work. I suffer from weak stomach acid causing malabsorption so I’ve been supplementing for many years yet still suffered minor yet nagging leg/foot cramps.
I originally started taking Mg for sleep and it helps a lot. In the past I would eat K rich foods if I was getting cramps and that helps a lot. When I found fasting and Carnivore it seemed to increase cramps but I also started using more D3/K2 which uses up a lot of Mg. Recently my cramps were getting bad and i drink a lot of water. I suddenly got the idea of stopping my D3/K2 to see if my cramps improved and it worked immediately so I haven't taken any for about 2 weeks now and over the summer I think I will stay off it until winter.
Interesting. I'm mostly carnivore, and I supplement potassium and magnesium daily. I can skip a day, but if I skip more than that I end up with early morning foot cramps in bed. Guess I'm going to have to try giving up coffee, because I drink a lot of that (half caf but it's still a possible culprit). Because I've had numerous kidney stones in the past, I stay well hydrated (very pale straw colored to colorless urine), so I may also be flushing out electrolytes from overhydration.
Coffee is my kryptonite too. I am trying to wean myself down to two or less cups. Sigh… eventually I will eliminate but going slowly has made the transition from SAD to Carnivore more bearable. Just starting and can feel the sluggishness as I adjust to a more ketotic or neoketogenesis? Ketoneogenesis?
@@diananore1368 I quit coffee 8 days ago, there is another layer of mental clarity, lowered impulsivity and calmness that happens. To quit, I would suggest half a cup in the morning and another say around 1pm for a couple of days and then quit, drink more water. I can't go back now, I'm done with coffee. What I quickly realized is that I just like something hot to drink in the morning, it doesn't matter what.
@@GangdamStyle20 Yes, carnivore 3.5mths now. Quitting coffee days 1 and 2, I switched to green tea lattes. Stay hydrated with water, and allow for extra sleep. Days 3-4 I had a quick craving for a coffee, thought decaf, but realized I would then always want to have an actual coffee at some point, so I didn't have decaf. Nights 3-4-5 I slept 10 hrs each night. I really like the calmness/less impulsiveness I feel now.
I'm having this problem myself and I'm in about the end of month 3 of carnivore. That being said I've always had bad leg cramps since I was a kid, so bad in fact you talked about getting up and screaming....This one time in particular was so bad in my right groin pulling from my hip to my knee the muscle suddenly popped right in the middle of the muscle and within hours my entire inner thigh was black and blue for over a week. That one hurt beyond belief.
Carnivore for 3 years and I drank half a gallon of water a day with electrolytes added to the water and I still got excruciating leg cramps each morning I wake up after stretching. I then added magnesium supplements and the leg cramps simply went away.
I drink plenty of water. I switched yo carnivore a month sgo, and tie cramps started a couple weeks ago, but last night it was my entire right calf. This can't be normal. Im going to go back to keto, because theres no way I can have my sleep destroyed with cramps.
I actually drink less water on the carnivore diet, has anyone noticed this? I rarely get very thirsty anymore, I think I drink about 1L per day. Probably the meat is keeping me hydrated.
I drink a ton of water every and still get cramps. The cramps have severely worsened since I started on a carnivore diet. I also don't drink coffee or alcohol. The only liquid I drink is water and I drink until my thirst is quenched.
@brittneyrussell1766 Yes, I'm still doing lion diet (I was able to get a grass-fed and grass finished cow processed. It was also unaged). The cramps have improved significantly. I still drink only water and still don't use any supplements. I checked my electrolytes a couple of month or so ago, and they were all normal, so my cramps were not due to having low electrolytes in the first place.
I drank between 64-96 oz of water with mineral salts while on the carnivore and by the six week mark of being on the diet I was getting intense calf cramps at night. I would like to do the carnivore diet again but need to figure this calf cramping issue before I attempt it. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
@@paulphillipsmt sometimes adding in too many salts and electrolytes can actually make you need more water as a result. It also depends on how warm it is outside, have the exercise, etc. If you get that again try just increasing the water without added electrolytes and see if that works. If it doesn't, you can try specific electrolytes in balance, as they all need to be elevated proportionately. A friend of mine Richard Smith has a electrolyte supplement without any artificial flavorings or sweeteners with his brand Keto Pro, and he has made a ratio of electrolytes that is all in proportion and should hopefully help if the increased water alone doesn't.
I’m not having leg cramps but restless leg…only in my right leg. I’ve found that a massage vibrator and stretching helps but I have no idea what’s causing it.
I tried dropping potassium supplementation the last few days and just salting to taste. My heart rate started going up and more heart palps. I take 420mg magnesium with my last meal every day. Hopefully as I adapt more and rebuild my glycogen I won't need to buy for now electrolytes seem to need to be supplemented. Carnivore for nearly 2 months.
I've always had pretty bad cramps at night - back of thighs & feet - so started to put salt in water and it helped. The game changer was dropping coffee, or having decaf. I struggled with stopping my espresso (aside from coffee, I've been strict carnivore now since Aug/Sep 2023) as I love the ritual but I would slip into 3 or 4 per day soon after suffering for a few days of going cold turkey. Weaned myself off though with decaf, found I didn't miss the caffeine at all, and no more cramps!
The problem with figuring out what causes cramps is that it is different for everyone. I have had leg cramps for years and have tried everything - iodine, water, salt, magnesium, potassium- nothing got rid of them. I also have breathing problems and heart palpitations as a result of having covid 2 years ago. I heard about glycine for other problems and decided to try it about 2 months ago. I no longer am so tired from the long covid and the breathing is better. The heart palpitations are gone and I haven't had a leg cramp since taking glycine. I have never gone this long without a leg cramp. I take a spoonful of glycine in warm water or herbal tea 2 to 3 times a day.
if its different for everyone then how comes so many people get leg cramps after switching from omnivore to carnivore. There has to be some common root cause here
Dr. Chaffee, could cramps or twitches be connected with weight loss? I just noticed that I'd get those while I was consistently dropping weight. But when I didn't lose weight anymore, they just went away.
I would guess that with the weight loss, you lose water so you might also lose electrolytes, hence the cramping. We store water along with carbs. Weight is lost through excretion of water (urine and sweat) and CO2 (expiration).
More water did not solve my cramps nor did more salt/electrolytes. Got a feeling it is low fat intake as a commenter states below. I also noticed a real high (cheat meal) carb intake while very low carb can cause me horrible cramps and muscle pain completely unconnected to water and electrolytes intake.
unfortunately I tried not to take any kind of supplements not even electrolytes, but I think I don't reach the minimum range of electrolytes because I don't eat 3-4 lbs but at most 2lb-2lb 1/2 a day of meat and after a few months and especially in summer i started to feel tired ,cramps heart palpitations, and even trying to increase the salt i just got diarrhea, i had to lower the salt and use 200mg of magnesium and 1000mg of potassium, I don't drink anything but water salt and meat I don't drink any other liquid than water...... great video and greetings from Italy 🇮🇹
I came off a three day fast last week and had a cup of coffee with cream. Just an hour or two later I started having pain and stiffness in my left knee and then little cramps all over my body. During the night I had horrible large muscle cramps in my legs, I could barely stand up. I managed to drag myself to the kitchen to take potassium, salt and magnesium, and the cramps dispersed within a few minutes. So, what's the conclusion? I had had two black coffees during my fast and had no problem, but with the cream added I had a problem. Am I lactose intolerant? Should I give up dairy and coffee? Will experiment and discover...! Thanks for this helpful content.
I've never had cramps as a carnivore. Maybe people aren't digesting their food properly as they do have not acidic enough stomach acid and or not properly emulsifying fatty acids through their Liver and Gallbladder. I just do water and some sea salt, without any of the fancy electrolyte products. Sometimes I'll forget to add salt for a week and still have no problems. Meat has enough Potassium its just the matter if a person is doing some else extra which antagonizes K+ like excessive stress or junk food keto products and perhaps extra help with digestion coming from a detrimental Western Diet.
I used to get severe cramps down the outside of my calf when I started carnivore, but now get them rarely. I can feel my foot starting to twist, so I mentally keep repeating “my leg is completely relaxed” and it subsides in a few seconds. I don’t actually drink water - I hate the stuff. Several milky coffees, mostly decaf; the occasional glass of wine, and I’m fine. My scales give body fat %, (currently 20%) water content (58%) and BMI 20.2. If “normal” water content is 70%, then I am dehydrated, but it has been 58% for years. I take magnesium glycinate, boron, vit B12, just in case I am not eating enough (I’m rarely hungry)
In my experience it seems like oxalate dumping on this diet is what causes cramps because the body attaches magnesium/calcium to oxalate to get rid of them. Supplementing with magnesium/calcium/vitamin D helped me dramatically and I think won't be necessary once my body has had enough time to rid enough oxalates
I have low blood pressure and I have been drinking electrolytes for a few years.. It seems to help sometimes I forget to take it within a few days my BP will drop and then I remember I need to take some electrolytes. I drink enough water. I rarely have any cramping. Back when I used to drink alcohol I cramped sometimes and I would just drink water for it. Alcohol does dehydrate .
I’ve had severe hypokalemia which caused way more than heart palps. It caused muscle cramping, shakes, twitches, etc. I currently drink mineral water and supplement high doses magnesium, salted water, prescription megadoses of potassium, topical magnesium on my legs every night, and I track my water intake, at least 88-96oz water daily and I weigh 125 lbs. I drink minimal coffee in the mornings - with butter, salt & protein powder then blended. I still get leg cramps occasionally, far less often since I started using topical magnesium.. But then I’ll get severe leg cramps that wake me up screaming usually in the wee hours of the morning. Since being hospitalized with severe rhabdomyolysis, my body seems to be constantly dehydrated. I get a liter of lactated ringers (electrolytes IV) weekly for the last 3 years but my body constantly shows signs of chronic severe dehydration. I just don’t understand and neither do any of my Drs. I’ve dealt with toxic mold poisoning and tick diseases (borellia, babesia, Ehrlichia, Bartonella) that just about killed me several times since 2016. Even when I was drinking over 100oz water daily I was getting leg cramps and symptoms of dehydration. For me I think it relates to severe potassium deficiency as potassium controls the fluid balance in & out of the cells. I wish I could fix the dehydration issue but I’ve been scouring medical literature trying to see what I’m missing… can’t figure it out. And I had a pretty amazing Dr for a few years who wasn’t able to figure it out either. He retired sadly. Water is pretty much the only thing I drink besides my 20oz or less of blended organic coffee. I also drink 1/3 can full fat coconut milk with 3 raw eggs 5-7 days each week. I quit eating most veggies & fruit 3 years ago and quit the last bits over a month ago. I pretty much eat wild venison, elk, pastured beef & pork, organic chicken & duck, eggs.
@@naturaloptions1407 thanks I have already- watched quite a few hours of Elliot Overton and Chandler Marrs talk about b1 and I figure I do have b1 deficiency as well as other b’s. I started megadosing b1 per Elliot’s recommendations and have noticed improvement in many symptoms
Be aware that raw egg whites have an enzyme in them which blocks the bodies ability to assimilate and utilize biotin And btw I feel ya on the mold toxicity thing, I've gotten sick from mold as well and may or may not have Lyme... still trying ti really figure that out. Or I did and it's gone now etc
@@TrialByFire14 yeah I know that about egg white but I figure the egg yolk & white comes together so I’ll consume it together. Don’t seem to have any issues and I wouldn’t think it would block all the biotin probably just so one doesn’t get too much? At any rate it seems to be right for me to take the whole egg and I just crave them every day. Sometimes just 4, other days I’ve consumed a dozen bcs that’s what my body seems to want
YUP I think to many just think they need all these things that are pushed on them :) I do think they can help some get over deficiency and balanced BUT once they get going correct you can drop them and yes a very few might need them but not the majority as is happening
Small amount of carbs from raw dairy and / or honey (tablespoon before bed) works for me, still in ketosis in the morning; this is a simple hack so I can still enjoy my morning coffee. There is no need to take fancy electrolytes.
0.3 - 0.9 depending on how much exercise we did the day before. The only time I'm ever 1.0+ is when fasting (usually more than a day). Whenever you exercise your glucose will spike and your ketones will go down, then they will reverse after you rest a bit. All that glucose gets used up. You are always burning some fat. When you are burning more fat than you need, then ketones build up until they are needed. The body just works... until you really try to break it!!!
I hope you are right. I drink at least 2-3 liters per day and take electrolytes and try to go by how I am feeling, my food intake etc. Cramps always get worse when I fast even when I am well hydrated. Most effective thing for me has been homeopathic Leg Cramp Ointment and topical magnesium before bedtime. If I am on a longer fast like 42 hrs or more I take salt and water before bed and keep it handy in case I feel the start of cramping in the middle of the night which is often when they strike
I did suffer from these cramps, but I cannot remember when it was on pure Carnivore Diet or with Coffee and stuff... I'll try again and probably update as to what's going to happen... I'm currently 2 weeks pure Carnivore but with Coffee, so far no cramps.
This is in line with “my blood sugar is a little low”. Well, not really, because, you know, the liver and gluconeogenesis…. Drives me nuts when people say they have hypoglycemia. And before the flaming starts, I’m referring to normal healthy folks who maybe feel a little fatigued or dizzy or whatever, and that is their default response
I DO drink a lot of water. I have “farmer’s bladder” as we call it (a leak every half hour when you hop off the tractor to refill the combine, or get out of the ute to open a gate), and always have to get up during the night. Had cramps since my teen years, regardless of diet (been carnivore for three years) , regardless of salt/electrolyte intake or whether I drink coffee. Always had dense bones, so it’s not a calcium issue. It’s a puzzle.
Ive had 2 leg cramps in the last couple of months, Ive never had that before. Ive been drinking too much coffee lately. It causes dehydration, and depletes nutrients.
My legs don’t cramp, but they feel weak/feel like they are floating? Is this normal? How can I fixed this. I’ve been drinking salt water and adding more on my meet. (Day 7 carnivore)
I've been carnivore for 3+ months. I have always had problems with cramps all over my body. I've tried everything. I'm 62 and I sit quite a bit hauling crude oil. The only thing I can surmise is too much sitting. I was hoping carnivore would help but no luck so far.
I definitely had cramping and pain especially at night if I don't take extra magnesium and potassium along with electrolytes, but I do drink coffee so I guess I will have to try that to see it makes a difference.
I am carnivore, but how can I get rid of being anemic. When the temperature goes below 75 ° F, my hands, feet and nose goes cold as ice and below 60 °F, my body starts to shiver and if I drink water it gets worse.
@@shahyar234 No problem. It's cheap to buy. Could also be an eletrolyte problem. Or thyroid problem.. But id highly suspect it is caused from low B1. The b1 supplement will also help your thyriod and the aneimic issues. Try Vitamin B1 HCL, or B1 Nitrate. whatever the dose says to take on bottle, take 2 or 3 x that for a couple of days. You should feel the impact from b1 immediately. If it helps, add b1 foods to diet.
@@multitablez I used to weigh 310 pounds, then did Atkins diet now this was in 1997, lost weight, my weight came down to 170 pounds. Unfortunately had problems with doing (#2), had to have a surgery, then doctors told me to stop eating meat and eat vegetables and fruits. So switched to vegan, from that time my health got worse, but still kept being vegan, my weight was around 78 pounds. Finally being vegan for 23 years, after watching Dr. ken berry next day switched to carnivore. I am very disciplined, with food control, never had any bread, potatoes, rice and other starchy vegetables Since 1997. Now my weight is up to 130 pounds, but still can't get rid of feeling cold, living in Maryland winters are tough. Even when AC is running in a room my body starts to shiver. ( I am Sorry for such a long distribution).
The actor Anthony Andrews survived a case of water intoxication in 2003. The condition, also known as hyponatraemia ("low blood sodium"), occurs when sodium ions in the body are diluted so far that nerves are unable to function properly. The condition has symptoms similar to those of dehydration, such as headaches, nausea and cramps. While performing as Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, Andrews consumed up to eight litres of water a day. He lost consciousness and spent three days in intensive care.
I'm getting leg cramps and if I use an electrolyte solution (like Re-lyte or LMNT) or salt my food I start getting anxiety heart palpitations exhausted and can't sleep. I thought it was the salt but maybe its water? I already drink around a gallon per day. I stopped salting my food some time ago and that definitely helps but the cramps still occur.
I just replied to someone else re: the supplement that I read about in a FB carnivore group and it has been 100% effective for me in completely stopping cramps. It is Solgar Calcium and Magnesium Citrate. I tried several forms of Magnesium with limited success before coming across this recommended formula. For some reason it is highly effective re: cramping. I really detested cramping and so it was a huge relief to finally find something that actually worked immediately. I hope others read this and try it and have the same success. If you remember, please let me know how it goes for you if you decide to get some and test it out. I wouldn't be without these tabs in the cupboard now and my stepdaughter swears by them since I introduced her to them one day when getting cramps.
Dr Chaffee, the RDA for carb eaters is 1,000mg calcium, 400mg Mag, 4,700mg potassium, and 2400mg salt. Do carnivores need the same amounts, and if so how without supplementing?
I haven't even gotten to full Carnivore yet, just eating much more meat and much less other stuff but it gives me cramps. I drink more water but that also means I have to get up a lot during night, I then also drink water. . . It does not seem to help.
Exercise cured my leg cramps not crazy working out just walking 4-5 miles a day.., I do however keep water by the bed and drink a little everytime I get up.
I used to frequently have very bad leg and foot cramps at night after I would eat a high sodium processed food meal. I made the connection between the type of food and the cramps, but it never occurred to me to just drink more water. 😓 Since starting carnivore though I don't think I've had any cramps at all except on a day where I fell off the wagon. I wasn't taking any electrolytes besides salting my meat.
The more water I drink the more I urinate, every hour daytime every 2 hours nighttime. I feel dehydrated. I drink 60 to 120 oz. A day. And I still get screaming cramping in legs. I have gastritis it seems like the more acidic my stomach the more I urinate.
I have been becoming dehydrated after my doctor put me on Glyxambi. I have had to stop taking Chlorthalidone and Spironolactone because I am so dry. I drink lots of water but I have to really supplement my electrolytes because I am diluted. I still get legs cramps. I can’t get my doctor to understand the dose of Glyxambi is too much. Medications are the culprit for me.
One thing I learned is don't expect a medical doctor to know anything about electrolytes. I was bounced around to 3 doctors and prescribed various meds for nighttime leg cramps. Not one mentioned a nutritional issue as a possible cause.
We're just not trained that way. We are trained for "here's a problem, here's a pill."
Midnight leg cramp gone after i eat buffet continuously for a month. I think the body are telling you ate not enough protein
That's why you gotta find yourself a holistic doctor.
I have nutritional issues. Just transitioning to carnivore. I have been battling cramps. Legs and arm. It sucks. Trying to heal my gut and malabsorption from a vegetarian/vegan diet of 23 years.
wow that's quite a transition! Do a blood test, find out where you're deficient on meat diet. Hint: organs help a lot!@@AngelaDaley-dc7mx
I had nighttime leg cramps for years. They were very painful and intense. I tried supplementing minerals and added a lot of magnesium, which helped a little. I finally decided to drink more water. I started drinking at least 32 oz a day and sometimes more. All my muscle cramps went away. I seldom get them and if I do I know it's from dehydration and that I need more water.
32 oz a day is like really low! Even on a normal diet human should drink at least 64 oz
Yeah a lot of the time cramps are dehydration as opposed to electrolyte issues
Wow, I think I drink more than 32oz of tea and coffee, nevermind water. There's also water in the food, too.
@@anthonychaffeemd hi. could you point me in the direction of potassium on the carnivore? somebody told me that we need to eat veg to get potassium... since we need quite a lot of that per day...
have got msybe any links? or could you tell me your suggestions? 🙏 thank you 👍
I started drinking exclusively distilled water, and I drink almost a gallon a day I get all of my minerals from my food I do not solely my water. I want my pure water to do it’s job.
Thank you. This was so helpful. I'm 68 yr old female, get cramps now and then at night. Finally connected the dots. Been carnivore 3 yrs now but still struggle with coffee (oh ok I love my coffee) The nights I get cramps are when I've had too much coffee and not enough water. This might help me in my battle with the bean.
Hi. I’m 73 and have to push myself to drink more water during the day to prevent leg cramps.
I had cramps too. On carnivore you need coffee because no energy. Stimulant dependency.
High carb low fat vegan, zero cramps even if I go to the gym, cycling etc. This is a secret they are hiding from us.
@@magdalasandia3177 that will take care of the leg cramps but what do you do when the honeymoon is over and your body comes calling for all the nutrients you didn’t get because you don’t get those nutrients from plants because all locked by indigestible plant fiber and essential fatty acids (essential) and cholesterol for your brain and hormones on a plant based diet?
@@magdalasandia3177 that’s a secret not hidden from us but right in the medical literature
Thank you for this comment. I drank 3 cups of coffee, half decaf last night, then a little water. Horrible cramps last night. I drank 1 cup already tonight, then I read this comment. Now working on another 32oz. of water.
Wow .. I just drank 2 bottle waters roughly 32 oz. Cramps disappeared in 10 minutes. The whole time I thought it was electrolyte issues.
Since starting the carnivore diet about 6 weeks ago, I was having occasional nighttime leg and foot cramps. I tried drinking half a glass of water immediately when it happened, and the cramping stopped! Thank you!!!
No problem!
I'm going to do this, thanks both of you.
I've done a full three days so far and I'm getting leg and arm cramps. I think it was my electrolytes because I just took something called snake oil which is an electrolyte mix and I think it's better. Are arm cramps also normal?
After watching Dr Chaffee videos I started a carnivore diet and I can’t describe the health benefits. But, I would like to say that if you drink too much water it will also cause cramps. You need to find a balance. Too little is no good and too much is worse. There was a summer when I spend the day outside and I drank a lot of water. That night I got cramps everywhere. From my head to my toes. Even opening my mouth was a challenge because I got cramps below my jaw. No able to move a single muscle. My wife was goin to call 911. But I asked her for some salt with water and after drinking it my cramps went away like 70%. And after a few days no cramps at all. Now I now that my diet was horrible. I had a high carb and sugar diet, low protein, low sodium, low fat. I believe carnivore diet is what we are made for and also don’t go to crazy drinking a lot of water or too little. Every person needs to find what works the best.
The natural water consumption pattern for any animal is to develop a good thirst, then locate a water source and drink a relatively large volume all at once. Most likely on an empty stomach. This idea of preemptive hydration and neurotically sipping on water all day is a product of gatorade marketing and fake studies starting 50 years ago. Prior to the 1970's nobody drank water during marathons and they never had the health issues during races that are considered routine now. Remember to invert literally all health guidelines.
I literally just had one of those 'screaming cramps' I was kneeling on my bed trying to put up some strip led lights and my hamstring started cramping, I moved to try and relieve the pain then my abs went!! I was crippled for about 8 seconds on the bed (I could feel my muscle clumped together) but I sort of stretched out it soon resolved. I put it down to being dehydrated. I'd also eaten some carbs last night but follow a pretty strict carnivore diet during the week. I've had this happen previously on the day after ingesting carbs too. Thanks for the vid.
I am carnivore strictly, whenever I have sugar the cramping started. I tested this 3 times and low and behold its all due to sugar.
@@Suzanne2909 yes thanks for reminding me of this comment. I'm much more strict with my carnivore diet these days and cramps almost never happen anymore. I think it's something that can happen when carbs are reintroduced
carbs are not the problem that is delusional
I always had frequent leg cramps, and for about a year high (sometimes very high) blood pressure. I did "keto" (and two meals a day, some times "OMAD", sometimes fasting from three to seven days) for about two years. I eat a lot of broccoli sprouts, and took electrolytes (not sweetened) , I "sinned" with creme Chantilly, sweetened with inulin and stevia. My blood pressure (very high) got normal to low after the first month, weight fell from 120 kg to 69 kg (at 185 cm) in about 7-8 months, but, all this time I suffered because of leg cramps (as before). About a month ago I started to be carnivore. No more sinning, no more sprouts, no more electrolytes. I am surprised to notice that, from the second, maybe third day I hadn't cramps any more. Thank you Dr. Chaffee.
@@comancatalin7644 actually I’ve been on strict carnivore since 4.9.24. about two months in the nightly lower leg charlie horse fiasco started. It’s been nearly every night since. I drink nearly a gallon of water a day and take electrolytes. Take in quite a bit of salt as well as only seasoning.
@@comancatalin7644 perhaps I should stop with the Redmonds electrolytes, but I only have it maybe every other day in my water
I have been Carnivore for 28 months. For the first 18 months I was pure Carnivore and I dealt not just with leg and calf cramping (which I'm used to having body-built for 39 years) but I was getting cramps in places I'd NEVER cramped before, like chest, lats, and lower abdomen, as well as heart palpitations.
I seriously wanted Carnivore to work. I waited a year for things to straighten out. After a year I added electrolytes and I still waited another six months before modifying the WOE to add fruit.
I was definitely hydrating enough so I know it wasn't that.
Within a week of adding a moderate amount of carbs, in the way of 3-4+ servings of fruit, all my issues disappeared and have not returned. All the benefits of Carnivore remain.
I am very active. Throughout my cramping I workout 4-5 times a week at high intensity.
I have a theory of why I was suffering and why a moderate amount of carbs fixed it.
It has to do with muscle glycogen. When I workout I am depleting all my muscle glycogen. When there are no carbs to reload that muscle glycogen then I become electrolyte depleted because the electrolytes use the carbs as a carrier into the muscle.
Paul went crazy on the fruit and honey (and all power to him for trying new things) but my issues resolved with a lot less.
I hoped this video would offer an insight I didn't try but it didn't.
I feel so much better with a little fruit. I'm glad I was able to overcome Carnivore dogma to try new things.
Thank you so much for your
comment. I've been resting with the same thing. Not sure what the fruit and honey thing is about, I'll look it up. (It sounds like Dr. Kempner's The Rice Diet; rice, fruit, sugar, fruit juice - designed to reverse kidney disease, which it did, and it healed everything else fast too,including obesity. I thought maybe the pain in my body was from oxalate dumping. And eating a few carbs, will slow down The dumping of oscillates into the bloodstream which is causing so much pain in people's bodies. Look up Dr Barry on oxylates. There's a woman, Sally Norton, who has written a book on this, and she's incredibly interesting. This might be part of what's been happening to you too. See her in Chaffee's podcasts, and all other carnivore gurus. 😊
Paul Saladino. Yes, I'm trying his diet this week.
Well said 😊
Thank you for sharing! I'm just starting out on carnivore and in my experience so far, I think a fat-heavy beef diet and drinking only water no coffee, plus when I feel like I'm missing something including either eggs or fruit depending on which my body craves, has seemed to work well.
Fortunately, I'm not starting from a position of severe medical condition like some, so I'm not as driven to try pure lion diet for maximum elimination/experimentation purposes. I'm more concerned about what helps my health continue to feel optimal on the daily (and continue to see improvement on the measures I care about).
I'm not incentivized to "push through" bad headaches or muscle cramps for ideological reasons when just eating some banana or an egg resolves that in-the-moment felt-issue. And I'm happy there seem to be plenty of people in this space of fat/meat-based diets that also include some fruit, etc.
I could never be ideologically against those things anyway, at least in the "That's not what humans evolved for!" camp... I'm Christian and the book of Genesis starts off with God giving humans seeded fruits and green plants for food, then later giving humans "every moving thing that lives" for food. I can believe that environmental conditions (e.g. pesticides, GMOs, processed preparation methods, and who knows maybe evolution of plants towards more potent defence mechanisms, or special genetic vulnerability of humans today based on living in an atmosphere tainted by nuclear fallout... I'm just spitballing to illustrate the point of how wide the bucket of "who knows" may be) may have created a situation where at this point it's wisest to eat in a meat-dominant way. But I'll always choose to receive the Eucharist under the form of wine and bread, and I'll never categorically say that humans aren't supposed to eat ANY plants, any more than I'll ever categorically say that humans aren't supposed to eat any animals, when I believe the Word of God has modelled for us that humans were given both to eat.
@@caterinadc5567 Thanks for the reply. I'm a Christian too. I believe plants changed after the fall but since plants want their fruit eaten, to spread their seeds, that some fruit is okay. Seeds are a definite no. Same with leaves.
Anyway, do what works for you. N=1.
This has very little to do with electrolytes but with hydration on cellular level. Salt and other elements need to be in water. Removing carbs from diet causes not only loss of fat but also water from cells. Fat contains water and fat is the only thing that freely enters cells. When fat is used for energy water is released! When you have cramps there is too much salt and not enough water in cells. Once you increase intake of fat cramps are gone. Eat chunks of cold butter. Drinking tons of water and electrolytes is not a solution!
This is very well explained. Where did you get this info from?🙂
So water alone can not enter the cell freely? Bc if it could then drinking water would be the solution to this right?
@@jpsittt
Unfortunately most of the information is scattered and for some reason people have difficulty making connections between various points. I watched countless videos of doctors and testimonials. I recommend watching videos with Dr. Ben Bikman, Dr Cywes, Prof. Bart Kay, channel Nutrition With Judy. To the point. Human body is trying to maintain level of balance (homeostasis) of all elements. Therefore everything that is in excess is removed. This applies to things like water, salt & sugar. If there’s too much of it it is being expelled as urine. Hence, water that we drink is partially absorbed into blood but the rest is send to kidneys and it is removed. We do not swell when we drink water. The only situation when it happens is when there’s a malfunction of kidneys. It manifests itself as swollen ankles, legs and condition is called edema. For electrolytes to work they must be present in water. That combination carries electrical signals within muscles. Since water on it’s own cannot enter cells there must be different mechanism that ensures sufficient level of water within cells. Fat contains molecules of water. There are animals like Camels that store fat. It serves two purposes. It’s source of energy and source of water. When fat is broken down water is released. It’s interesting that if there’s too much water inside cells it’s quickly removed. Also, when we urinate rapidly because we had too much sugar or salt, water is pulled from blood and from cells. One of the visible signs are thirst and dry skin. Especially on top of our hands. Most people heard about statins and what they do. They role is to lower lever of cholesterol LDL in blood stream. One of the major side effects are muscle pains/cramps. LDL is not only form of energy transport as fat molecules but also it regulates water levels on cellular level. Problem with electrolytes occurs mostly after certain period of being on Keto or Carnivore when level of stored fat is reduced significantly. Some people claim that eating more meat helped, others say that eating more butter solved their problem. Either way notice that meat contains fat and water too.
@@talktomenowxbmc thank you! But as you lose water. Is it not true that with that water also go some elektrolytes? So adding those or eating extra salt is not a bad idea right. To only eat fat might solve the water issue but still those elektrolytes are missing
@@jpsittt it is true that you loose electrolytes . It’s because they are dissolved in water. However, human body regulates both sugar and salt levels and secretes any excess with urine. It means it can be counterproductive to eat all these electrolytes as they maybe flushed out from the body. Don’t get me wrong, we need electrolytes but how much of it is effective it’s hard to say and measure.
5 weeks into carnivore, with some dairy and coffee, was having terrible cramps on occasion....magnesian completely stopped it immediately.
interesting....I am fully carnivore and was foot soaking with epsom salts nightly for magnesium intake and adding sea salt to my drinking water and meals. Cramps grew progressively worse so I stopped magnesium, and noticed some improvement. About a month later I stopped salt intake and since then I have no more cramps.
Wow. This is interesting - thanks for sharing the salt info.❤
A quick trick to alleviate a leg/foot cramp....use your index & 2nd fingers & press down on the area just above your top lip....do this until the cramp stops....usually takes less approx a minute. These are accupressure points above the lip. Also I just discovered Bob & Brads vid on leg cramps. Had a pharmacist on who said use 1-Tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar in 4ozs of water & drink. It works immediately. I'm going to start doing this & will take the drink a few hrs before bedtime & see if it works. I want to know if it will act as a preventative?
I tried it and it does work.
I just went full on carnivore 2 weeks ago and am in horrible pain every day! I think I'm oxalate dumping big time and so AM doing Keto Chow electrolyte drops. I test with my pendulum using kinesiology to see how many I need and when. I hope I start feeling better soon...pain, especially in my legs, ankles, and feet actually makes me sob (not a crier). Dr. Chaffee, don't call SAD eating NORMAL. Carnivore is NORMAL!
Are the Keto Chow electrolyte drops the citrate form of minerals or are they the chloride form? If you are dumping oxalates you need the citrate form for sure. They really help! See Sally Norton or Elliot Overton for more information of what you can do if you are still having problems. Oxalate dumping is pretty miserable! Hope you are feeling better.😊
In the beginning of my carnivore diet I started getting leg cramps, extremely painful. I took mineral drops and cramps stopped. After about 2 weeks I stopped taking the mineral drops and now close to 2 years carnivore I no longer get leg cramps.
That’s pretty much how it goes for most people who go carnivore. I am glad you got over them. They suck!!
Im having them now as we speak watching this video. Started carnivore a week ago, good to read it settles after a while!
@@Nima-bm3yr I'm in my 4th month and still cramping. Not horribly, but it is good to know that they'll eventually go away. One video said to take Boron. I got some drops and used it as directed. Made a huge difference. My water intake is insane compared to before. I have to drink a half gallon of water from the end of my work day to the time I eat. I drink until I'm not thirsty anymore and then wait to eat I put sea salt in almost all the water I drink now because of body aches my whole 3rd month. I read it cleanses the blood and then the cells due to osmotic pressure. I have a lot of cleanup to do. 60 years of crap diet. Haha.
Exactly in the same boat.. working toward full carnivore for two weeks... still not there as I still eat some home grown fruit. It's really hard to eat enough fat+meat to not be hungry. But getting better every day.. and with coocking too.. at least meat is not burned now. 😄
@@ThOperator really? For a while there I would eat a pound of 80/20 ground beef and add Tallow or ghee to it and that carried me at least 24 hours. It’s actually the sugars you’re eating that are making you feel hungry. If you get hungry after eating meats and fats eat more meats and fats, don’t eat sugars. Fruits are sugar plain and simple. Sure there’s some fiber, but that’s not needed. I went with bacon for any cravings. Just some advice no judgement. It is truly you game to play your own way, but you can’t truly say you’re carnivore if you’re consuming fruits, maybe keto yeah, but not carnivore. But hey who am I to say? I can only say what carnivore has done for me. Did I have cravings? Yep. Did I eat meats eggs and fats almost 3 times a day for a while? Yep. Did I eat bacon up and above 3 meals? Yep. Did I wake up feeling hungry? Yep. For a little while at least, but as I hit my 30 days of strict carnivore, it seemed to get easier. Do I struggle now? Day 147? Naw, not with what to eat. I’m mostly lion diet and it’s mostly ground beef. Do I think about eating carbs, cookies, or ice cream? Hell naw! I’m no longer diabetic and I just know that if I eat the trash I will be diabetic or fat again and I never want that suffering anymore. Is my weight where I want it? No, but like I said I’m only day 147 and it took me so long to get sick. So I have time, I’ve dropped 65 pounds and I’m bouncing around with 5-10 pounds up and down. It’ll do what it’s supposed to do. I eat 2 pound of beef and add fat a day, whether it’s in one meal or split within 4 hour window and all I’ve ever drank/drunk was water really, so I’m good. I promise you this, I’ve yet to see anyone give it a real 60-90 day honest strict carnivore and it not do good for them and usually it’s an amazing transformation they see.
Stay safe
I did know a young lady, maybe 30 years ago, that thought as long as she felt full she didn't need to eat. She was diagnosed with anorexia. She drank so much water that she was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with water intoxication (toxemia). It takes quite a bit to get there but I've seen that it can be done. I believe she drank between 8 or 9 gallons of water in a 12 hour window.
Yes it messes with the electrolytes in the body.
When I am severely low in potassium I do have muscle cramps, but not your normal kind and not in my legs. I get burning cramps either over a rib cage, or one side of my neck, and these cramps don't respond to stretching or using the muscle. When they start they're just there until they stop. I would have to sit up out of bed with the neck ones (I seemed to get the neck ones while in bed and the rib ones wile up moving around) and just wait for it to pass. For a long time I didn't know that's what was causing it, and I didn't have a doctor so I wasn't having labs done. Then my appendix ruptured, and while I was still in the ER they got my labs back, brought me two huge potassium pills, and the entire week and three days I was in the hospital (more about that below) they had me on IV potassium, and then they sent me home with a prescription. And that's how I figured out it was low potassium causing it. A few times I have tried to stop supplementing potassium and the cramps always come back. Now if you're asking why I was in the hospital for a week and 3 days for my appendix, that would be because they admitted me around midnight, and the doctor decided to wait until morning to do the operation. Sometime during the night (and I suspect while I was still in the ER) it ruptured, and by the time they opened me up I had gangrene in my colon, so they had to remove a fourth of it and resection it. I was borderline septic and plus they had to keep a tube down my throat to keep my stomach empathy while the resection healed, and it was a week before they let me go, then three days after I was home I got an abscess at the injection site and was admitted for an additional three days. Sorry for sharing my life story. lol
You need to try vitamin B1 Thiamine. Can you get access to this? You are describing low b1. Take supplement for 3 or 4 days then eat b1 food. b1 HCL or b1 Nitrate.
@@multitablez It only went away when I was given potassium and it only comes back when I quit taking potassium, so I don't see how it would be a B1 deficiency. I do take B1 now because it keeps mosquitoes from biting me, but I only started taking it a year ago, and it was 6 years ago that my cramps went away after starting potassium. So yeah, in my case I don't think it was a vitamin B1 deficiency. In fact, I've been taking B1 for a year, and about 6 months ago I tried cutting out my potassium supplementation, while still taking B1 daily, 500 mg, and the cramps came back. Definitely potassium related for me.
@@HappilyCarnivore oh yep then not low b1. may of been the low potassium. Also could be somthing depleting potassium - seed oils or even coffee. Also be carefull not to take b vitamins for too long, they can put others out of wack. ALSO, if you take b6, that can cause very serious problems like you describe.
@@multitablez I've never taken b6 on its own. I do occasionally take a B complex, but the only ones I take regularly are B3 and B1.
As to depleting potassium, up until the time I had my appendix out and found out about the potassium I was a very heavy coffee drinker. I would drink it from the time I woke until I went to bed, literally. I was also a heavy smoker, and that week in the hospital not being able to drink anything (at the time my hypothyroidism made me VERY thirsty) I was so miserable that I forgot to miss smoking, didn't even think about it until the last couple of days, so I decided to try and just quit, and I quit coffee at the same time because the two go together. I'm sure the coffee contributed, but the problem persisted even after quitting coffee.
I've now been without seed oils for two years, and still I feel like I need the potassium. When I try and reduce it I still start to get mild cramps like before. I've been carnivore for a year, so I'm hoping it's just something to do with absorption and hopefully carnivore will eventually cure whatever is causing it.
@@HappilyCarnivore dont take the b complex, i know you dont take it often. it will have a toxic form of b6 that is best to aviod all together.
i understand it may as well be to do with potassium, but dont forget those are all linked to other electrolytes and also b1.
if you can, i would try a mega dose of B1 HCL. or mega dose of B1 nitrate. the mega dose might fix the issue.
Further, sometimes people can tolerate avocado, and eat with salt for the potassium, but you should get enough potassium from meat alone. Unless something else is causing potassium to be out of wack.
highly suggest mega dose b1, taking 5x dose in one go for 4 days or so. make sure it has nothing else in it. you might see benefits from that then not need excess potassium in future
It's, most of the time (if not electrolytes), low b1 causing cramps. Please, look into b1 thiamine. This is common. Everyone can benefit from taking b1 for a few days, you will notice no cramps and major mental health improvement.
That’s what I’ve heard too but it’s ok to take B1 if it’s in carnivore diet? Also b1 can found in pork
I just spent three months trying to work out the whole leg cramp issues. I very, very rarely EVER got leg cramps before going carnivore, and it was from dehydration, for sure. However, while I've been working this out the past three months, I've experimented with electrolytes, raising and lowering levels, and changing my water levels. Then I just quit all the electrolytes, and still taking the same amount of water as I always have. I started the keto chow electrolyte drops because I didn't want to deal with the cramps, and after about two days, the cramps got less and less and after 10 days, the cramps are mostly gone. But, then, the question - water or the drops? Well, my bottle of drops is about to run out, so I'll just try without, but drinking the same amount of water and see what happens.
Yeah that will be good to find out! Usually later on it's the water, as electrolyte issues mostly resolve really on, but see how you go and let me know!
@@anthonychaffeemd I will!
You should try b1 thamine on top with the drops for a few days. Most of the time it is low b1 causing cramps. Try b1 HCL or b1 nitrate. You will notice no cramps and better mental health.
@@anthonychaffeemd Dr. Chaffee, I said I would tell you, so here is the result of my N=1 experiment. First - full disclosure, I was drinking coffee with cream (1 cup) throughout because I didn't want to stop suddenly. For some kind of control, I kept my water intake the same and ate the same foods and kept my activity level the same. Also, the leg cramps I suffer from are not the full on, wake you up screaming kind of cramps, but more just what I consider tension and "threats" of cramping, mostly along the lower half of my outer calf. Another factor was that I was suffering from a neck issue of tightness and tension during the experiment.
Anyway, the experiment basically went like this. I was taking Keto Chow electrolyte drops. I stopped taking them. After six days, I began to feel tension in my legs. I started taking them again and the tension went away. After another week, I stopped taking them. Again, at exactly six days, the tension appeared again. So I started taking them again. After another week, I was going to stop taking them again, but my neck tension got so bad, I had to abandon the experiment and start my NSAID again. So, it's really not a very conclusive experiment, and I can't rule out Placebo effect, even though I would rather not take the electrolytes. After I abandoned the experiment, I got covid, too, and so the electrolytes did become a necessity because of that. Since I'm now 7 months carnivore, I do feel like electrolytes should only be an occasional, as needed, thing and don't plan to take them every day, but this minor leg tension is a little annoying and definitely gets worse if I don't get my usual amount of water. I also plan to quit coffee again, although not soon. I never had any issues with cramping or tension in my legs before going carnivore, and I probably drank more coffee and less water back then. So, I'm baffled about it, for sure.
@@gailivey2015 I've experienced intense nightly leg/foot cramping on keto/carnivore. I was drinking lots of water (min 80 oz daily) and one cup of a.m. coffee. Quit coffee but cramping continued to intensify. Added LMNT with no improvement. I happened to read several references about drinking whole milk to solve the issue. I am not a milk drinker but gave it a try. Amazingly, it worked for me. One glass first thing a.m. and one glass at night. I quit it about a month ago and cramps are coming back. It seems to be hydrating for me. Even though I drink lots of water, it does not hydrate me. My doctor tells me to drink more water but when I was drinking the milk, I urinated less at night and that was an added benefit.
I was about to quit, but decided to add electrolytes and it made all the difference. Now I actually feel good and have energy!
What I get can't even be defined as a cramp. It's like muscle being ripped away from bone.
Did it go away? If so, how?
I started getting these crazy foot cramps where my foot would just slowly arch and my toes would start pointing up... very painful! Now I make sure I drink enough water and I take redmond relyte caps before bed
Likewise. I sweat buckets from the intense pain.
I’ve been eating carnivore for 2 weeks and drink about 4 litres of water per day & no intense leg cramps so far.
Too early to say it’s permanently gone though.
This is me EXACTLY!
FYI, the absolute best quick fix for cramping that I've found is about 1/2 cup of Claussen Pickle juice (but the last 6 months of Carnivore/Lion, I've been refraining). Cramps completely gone in 2-3 minutes.
Yeah like intense leg pain.
Did you find a cure please share any tips would help.
Thank you so much for answering my questions about muscle cramp since I am currently working on staying in carnivore diet
If you think you have electrolyte issues, these issues should be solved almost right away after taking electrolytes. I had heart palpatations from low potassium and was gone like 15-30 minutes after taking an electrolyte mix. If it is more like "I'm taking electrolytes now and it got better after 20 days" you can be almost sure that electrolytes were not the real problem.
I drink a LOT but I still get woken up by leg cramps at 6am regularly 👀 Only started after going carnivore
Experiment with electrolytes. My leg cramps go away when I supplement magnesium, then come back and I supplement magnesium again and they go away once more. I'm also pretty new to carnivore (but I used to get these cramps earlier too), so maybe it's a thing for the first few months.
@@Promet17 Thank you
@@codinginflow ur welcome
boron
Dr Chaffee, you say drinking enough water... so how often is ok to need to get up at night for the bathroom? I tried everything, electrolytes, salt, little water before sleep, plenty-plenty water before sleep. No difference with cramps. But with lot of water I have to go up three times at night and become a wreck in no time, not enough sleep, stressed and afraid of going to sleep because of the very painful cramps that ruined every ketogenic diet for me sooner or later. More water is not the solution, for me. When I sleep sitting on the sofa (out of desperiation when the cramps won't cease) I don't get cramps. Only when sleeping laying down. So WHY is that? I need desperately to stay on keto, for health and also for a lifestyle, but my body won't let me. Help?
This makes more sense. I just saw part of Paul Salidino's video saying that we need carbs to create an insulin spike so the kidneys get going and we can absorb electrolytes. That was his solution to cramping. I usually avoid his videos.
Your simple advice is appreciated. 😊
Actually, it is known that sugar or dextrose helps hydrate much faster..This is why so many hydrating solutions contain it..There's research to prove this. We're not meant to eliminate an entire macronutrient group, just balance it correctly..
@@souldesire5932 I feel 100% better eliminating it. Especially because drug like effect sugar has makes moderation very hard. It's easier to avoid it than moderate. Avoiding it has allowed me to reverse my diabetes, get rid of inflammation, gum disease and lose weight. I spent 40 years trying to moderate eating it and I got sicker. You are going to have a hard time convincing me that there are any benefits to having it that are worth it.
@ezranavarro8720 Different sources of fuel are used by different organ systems at the same time. You're misinterpreting what that is, it doesn't automatically cause glycation, this isn't accurate. Just grilling or cooking meat produces AGE's also and red meat is up on the list for producing AGE's when grilled and cooked at normal to high temperatures. I mean, I love and eat some red meat, but this community is being brainwashed by lies and biased thinking.. It also creates carcinogens.. In addition, low-carb and ketogenic diets are associated with HIGHER all cause mortality in good research. There are issues that occur with low-carb and keto diets that are overlooked, serious issues and I've seen too many problems in research with it. There's no need for this diet, it's silly and unnecessary honestly. It's extremism and fear-based. The whole plants are trying to kill you and this community thinking each compound produced by a plant is toxic is so incredibly categorically incorrect. It's been proven so many times in so many ways, yet this community buys into it because sometimes people have some issues or aversions they need to understand. This is not the answer and in fact it's a problem..
@@souldesire5932 The only one brainwashed here might be you. You did not address the Randle cycle, and you are ranting bs; you have no evidence to back up any of your claims, and a lot of evidence to completely disprove your claims. Go ahead and eat a crap diet.
@@souldesire5932 there is a need for this diet. How dare you propose such. It is a fact that the vast swathe of " good research " you fail to divulge in support of your cursed argument is of tainted origins and paid for by the very industry in opposition to this nutritional way of life.
People like you are the problem and are ignorant to the answer that evolution has provided.
Every SAD dieter has damaged/glycated their kidneys to varying degrees. This is why a standard approach does not work for everyone. YOUR kidneys are individual and only you can work it out. The book " the salt fix" has a guide to help you do this. Well worth the read!
I've been getting insanely intense cramps (mostly leg) since around 1983. Some people in the southern U.S. call them "Charlie Horse", a buddy of mine said he just let his cramps go until they stopped. These people DO NOT get what I get. A cramp in my thigh feels like it's going to break my femur or rip the muscle from the bone.
Prior to Carnivore, I had a pretty good handle on cramps. Drink plenty of water every day,. On racquetball days, don't drink coffee after 9am, and drink two 20 oz bottles of water with 1 1/2 tsp of Maldon Sea Salt in between games.
Had my 6 month carniversary on Friday 4-26-2024. First 42 days were Carnivore, then switched to Lion, Ribeye, Maldon Sea Salt and well water. After switching to Lion, I've been getting horrible leg cramps. I've tried increasing my salt, no help, I started drinking more water, but then read that if you drink too much water, you'll loose electrolytes due to excessive urination, also no help. Lately I've been reading and hearing that you may be getting enough electrolytes, but you may not be absorbing them very well..This is beginning to sound like it may be my issue..
FYI, the absolute best fix to stop cramping that I've found is 1/3 - 1/2 cup of Claussen Pickle juice (but I've been refraining while on Carnivore/Lion).
Cramps completely gone in 2-3 minutes.
SAME!!!
Are you adding salt to water?
@@DebbieAT how much salt to water ratio?
@@DebbieAT yes, I was.
About 1 1/2 months ago my wife and I went to Key West. I got really bad leg and ab cramps on the beach. My wife had some sugar free Liquid IV packets. I mixed one with water and the cramps went away. I've been mixing 1 sugar free liquid IV packet and 1 Tbs of maldon sea salt in 40 oz of water on racquetball days.
After DECADES of trying everything under the sun, knock on wood, I haven't had a bad cramp since Key west!!
@@LilyWillow22 I use Himalayan pink salt so add a few grains to my water. I had stopped salt because a couple of carnivores said they didn't add it. I ended up with cramps, dry mouth, constipation, dizziness on standing and too much weight loss. All those vanished when I added back in salt. The salt when added to water becomes electrically charged. That's why it's called an electrolyte. There's a few good books on salt. Table salt is bad but Redmond's Real salt or pink Himalayan salt is good.
Having nothing to do with carnivore I used to get very painful leg cramps pretty regularly and of course thought mag would help but any benefit was slight. To my surprise, it was the addition of potassium that yielded consistent relief that I can count on. I still take mag but now start every day with just 1,000 mg of potassium. I don't know what my issue is but I never needed any supplements in my 20s and 30s.
I have legs cramp for some times. when listening one of Harry Serpanos live stream, calcium could be one of the problem. I add cheese in my meal, et Voilà.. problem solved!
Cheese has magnesium too.
I got bad leg cramps - I was overdoing at the gym as I was struggling to tire my legs, I found beef tea - Bovril (I’m from U.K.) with a bit a salt really sorted it AND stretch my legs after a workout.
Perfect timing for me to see this video! Thank you Dr. Chafee. I have been struggling lately to figure out what to do next with a return of night time muscle cramps because I knew my electrolyte levels were good. So glad the solution is so simple. Thanks again for all your helpful content.
After 10 months of totally strict carnivore and feeling amazing, I suddenly developed night time leg cramps. I tried everything that was suggested here and elsewhere. The treatment that finally helped me, was eating 3 or 4 stalks of boiled or in butter sautéed celery every day. I've taken as little as two stalks and it still works for a few days but ultimately the dose for me is 4 stalks. Works 100% of the time.
I’m a old guy carnivore was having leg cramps for the last few years even before carnivore got very little help from supplements even on carnivore when I cut out coffee and tea, they miraculously went away. I’ll take no supplements. Now I only drink water which has electrolyte, of course.
Thank you for this. Big time coffee drinker. I have cramps even when hydrated. I'll see how this works ☺
Thanks doctor. Good guidance. This is exactly the situation I was in.
I've had a very tight calf muscle that started in December 2023. It doesn't want to unlock. It's not a cramp, just tight. I can't walk properly. ☹️
16 days ago I increased the amount of protein I'm eating. But how long will it take for the protein to kick in? Have tried magnesium, potassium & salt.
@AtoZandba thank you for the suggestion, much appreciated 🙏
Boron helps me quite a bit. And sometimes I rub magnesium oil into my legs.
Thanks Dr Chaffee for all your great work
Fatty organic milk hydrates and satisfied me the most . Also best electrolyte you can imagine .
Ah yes, milk!
Milk spikes my blood sugar so I'm avoiding it at least until I become insulin sensitive again.
Why best electrolyte? It lacks sodium an magnesium tho
@@jpsittt It does contain both of those.
When I get leg cramps at night, I get up and drink a very large glass of water, and that works within minutes. It is amazing how well it works for me.
I will try that
I was getting foot cramps and increasing bad migraines. What stopped it was adding Himalayan salt to my meat. I had stopped salt. I also add a pinch of salt to water. My cramps, migraines, dry lips and mouth have vanished.
Anyone gettting Nocturia? Six months in and I can't stop peeing at night. I honestly don't know how much electrolytes to take in.
Maybe they D-mannose
I never get leg cramps on ketogenic diet. Now I am on carnivore and I had my first cramp 2 nights ago. I drink coffee and I feel I am not getting enough water.
I have been on the Carnivore diet for 5 months with noticeable weight loss and body adjustments.
I primarily consume beef, Butter, Ghee, bacon, eggs, chicken, sour cream, cheese. My starting weight was 328lbs and has moved to 311lbs.
Many nagging aches and pains have vanished, I breath easier, and my mind is clearing up. I'm still sedentary for the most part but soon will be going for walks. Four years ago, I almost broke my left leg shinbone but tore loose the tendons and cartilage in the left knee and the ankle.
Over the past few weeks I have been experiencing cramps in my calf muscles and my feet tendons that dissipated but the last two days the ankle & tendons ( left side of Achilles Tendon) on that left foot is being real mean to me forcing me to limp some to avoid pain. Btw, I had some gout issues but a sometime back and a Holistic practitioner advised me to use celery seed and Tart cherry extract capsules and it was gone in under 48 hrs.
After all this above, any opinions or recommended additions or changes you may have please.
Thank you.
I got rid of cramps (and repetitive thoughts) by getting rid of minerals and salt.
tried more water, more salt, still cramps .. more *butter* cramps gone, I do not understand this .. worth a try :)
Probably the calcium
@@brittneyrussell1766 actually the cramps stopped when I gave up coffee!
@@zympf that's great. I was meaning that the calcium in the butter was probably helping. My husband is cramping really badly after 4 weeks of carnivore, but he isn't drinking coffee and he's taking all the electrolytes.
@@brittneyrussell1766 sorry to hear .. nothing worse the being woken by a cramping calf muscle! .. have you eliminated tea as well? any other caffeine drinks eg cola? when I was still drinking coffee, calf and leg stretching, especially before bed, helped significantly (I only stretch now as part of fitness routine). Mikaila P said that for her the cramping resolved itself eventually.
@@zympf no, he's not drinking anything with caffeine. He's only eating steaks, tallow, and drinking water. I'll tell him to stretch before bed to see if that helps.
I am on 3 weeks on the carnivore diet and I use the X3 to workout. Today doing curls both arms cramped up so bad to where I couldnt lift my arms up without cramping.... Had to massage them out under scolding hot water.... Never had cramps until I started carnivore.
How much salt are you having? If the sodium intake is too high it can cause a deficiency of potassium because they balance each other
Same. 🙁 Never had cramps untill im now 3 months carnivore.
I don't take electrolytes. I used to get leg cramps from eating too many carbs. My doc said they were hormonally induced and metformin did take care of them.
I have been on Carnivore for 2 weeks wo one leg cramp. I went off Carnivore for Thanksgiving and by 7:00 pm I started getting intense leg, feet, etc cramps all night.
How is the Carnivore going now? Noticed benefits?
I couldn't figure out my legs cramps and feeling a lack of energy. Added potassium and felt the difference in 1 day. Night and day. I noticed my potassium was twice the level it was on a mixed diet compared to my meat only diet - i supplemented back to this level and all good. Kept the same level of water. Was around 5g on mixed, only about 2.5g on meat diet...upped it to 5g and so much better. Easy to try and costs virtually nothing. I'd say the cramps/tightness feeling has gone from a 8/10 to 3/10...still not perfect. Energy level has gone from 3/10, to 9/10. Quite amazing. Not perfect - i might look at decreasing water or dramatically increasing to see if there is an affect
Effect
sounds like me, but where do you source cheap potassium?
Try NOW potassium chloride powder. Works for my calf cramps.
Ok, so there was a lady in the USA that took part in a contest a while ago, years. It was for an X-Box game system. The contest was who can drink the most water. She wanted the x-box for her son and she drank so much water that it killed her!! So the story goes, it was some radio station that put it on. Can you imagine? That poor kid. For the rest of his life when he drinks water or plays a video game? Just something that has been passed on through the years and the rabbit thing made me think of it. Day 128 as an obligate carnivore and I feel fantastic!
Stay safe
You're not an obligate carnivore, cats are obligate carnivores. Please use the correct terminology. Also why the hell would anyone stick a hose down a rabbit's throat and force water into it until it dies? That's not science that's abuse. I am carnivore also. I eat a 99% carnivore diet, primarily beef. But I would never put a hose down a living creature's throat and fill it with water until it died. That's horrific. Saying that's in the name of science makes me so very angry.
@@Kyarrix ummm, yes I am. If I try to eat the other poisons I will be sick and can not thrive. I am an obligate carnivore. You may not be but I truly am. If someone locks me up and tries to feed me something else I will die!
@@Kyarrix oh BTW I wouldn’t and I never said I would. That was Dr. Chaffee that said that , not me. Why would you treat you kids like that?
@@Obligate.Carnivore what are you referring to kids for? You lost me. I know Dr Chaffee said it, I was just remarking on how horrible it was that anyone would do that.
With regard to your comment I just said that you aren't an obligate carnivore, you are a carnivore, there's a difference. Obligate carnivores must eat meat, cats are obligate carnivores. We can eat other foods even if they aren't great for us.
@@KyarrixI bet you are angry! You damn sure sound angry! So go tell it to the man that said it! I never even mentioned the word HOSE!! Why TF are you telling me about your crap? Oh because I said I was an obligate carnivore. I get it you got triggered by the hose idea and came to me cause I dared use the word rabbit! Triggered often are we? I wonder what other words might trigger you? I bid you good day!
Thanks Anthony. Just the video I needed. Will up the water intake and see. Will also pause on the magnesium supplementation.
Talking iron helped getting rid of leg/foot cramps that surprised me.
I started iron because I’m marginal on my blood work. I suffer from weak stomach acid causing malabsorption so I’ve been supplementing for many years yet still suffered minor yet nagging leg/foot cramps.
I originally started taking Mg for sleep and it helps a lot. In the past I would eat K rich foods if I was getting cramps and that helps a lot. When I found fasting and Carnivore it seemed to increase cramps but I also started using more D3/K2 which uses up a lot of Mg. Recently my cramps were getting bad and i drink a lot of water. I suddenly got the idea of stopping my D3/K2 to see if my cramps improved and it worked immediately so I haven't taken any for about 2 weeks now and over the summer I think I will stay off it until winter.
Interesting. I'm mostly carnivore, and I supplement potassium and magnesium daily. I can skip a day, but if I skip more than that I end up with early morning foot cramps in bed. Guess I'm going to have to try giving up coffee, because I drink a lot of that (half caf but it's still a possible culprit). Because I've had numerous kidney stones in the past, I stay well hydrated (very pale straw colored to colorless urine), so I may also be flushing out electrolytes from overhydration.
Coffee is my kryptonite too. I am trying to wean myself down to two or less cups. Sigh… eventually I will eliminate but going slowly has made the transition from SAD to Carnivore more bearable. Just starting and can feel the sluggishness as I adjust to a more ketotic or neoketogenesis? Ketoneogenesis?
@@diananore1368 I quit coffee 8 days ago, there is another layer of mental clarity, lowered impulsivity and calmness that happens. To quit, I would suggest half a cup in the morning and another say around 1pm for a couple of days and then quit, drink more water. I can't go back now, I'm done with coffee. What I quickly realized is that I just like something hot to drink in the morning, it doesn't matter what.
@@TruthMattersMan How about withdrawl? 8 days is usually not enough to compleately transition... Are you canivore?
Yeah coffee coffee be your issue here for sure
@@GangdamStyle20 Yes, carnivore 3.5mths now. Quitting coffee days 1 and 2, I switched to green tea lattes. Stay hydrated with water, and allow for extra sleep. Days 3-4 I had a quick craving for a coffee, thought decaf, but realized I would then always want to have an actual coffee at some point, so I didn't have decaf. Nights 3-4-5 I slept 10 hrs each night. I really like the calmness/less impulsiveness I feel now.
I'm having this problem myself and I'm in about the end of month 3 of carnivore. That being said I've always had bad leg cramps since I was a kid, so bad in fact you talked about getting up and screaming....This one time in particular was so bad in my right groin pulling from my hip to my knee the muscle suddenly popped right in the middle of the muscle and within hours my entire inner thigh was black and blue for over a week. That one hurt beyond belief.
Carnivore for 3 years and I drank half a gallon of water a day with electrolytes added to the water and I still got excruciating leg cramps each morning I wake up after stretching. I then added magnesium supplements and the leg cramps simply went away.
How much Magnesium and what kind are you taking? Thank you.
I drink plenty of water. I switched yo carnivore a month sgo, and tie cramps started a couple weeks ago, but last night it was my entire right calf. This can't be normal. Im going to go back to keto, because theres no way I can have my sleep destroyed with cramps.
Thanks for the advice. I find I have the opposite, I drink a lot of water and I need to up my salt intake. Once I did that, I felt much better.
I actually drink less water on the carnivore diet, has anyone noticed this? I rarely get very thirsty anymore, I think I drink about 1L per day. Probably the meat is keeping me hydrated.
Carnivore for 6 weeks. Drinking lots of water but still having leg cramps. What else should I do?
Same here. Drinking lots of water and still have night cramps.
I drink a ton of water every and still get cramps. The cramps have severely worsened since I started on a carnivore diet.
I also don't drink coffee or alcohol. The only liquid I drink is water and I drink until my thirst is quenched.
Have the leg cramps gotten any better? Are you still doing carnivore?
@brittneyrussell1766 Yes, I'm still doing lion diet (I was able to get a grass-fed and grass finished cow processed. It was also unaged).
The cramps have improved significantly. I still drink only water and still don't use any supplements. I checked my electrolytes a couple of month or so ago, and they were all normal, so my cramps were not due to having low electrolytes in the first place.
I drank between 64-96 oz of water with mineral salts while on the carnivore and by the six week mark of being on the diet I was getting intense calf cramps at night. I would like to do the carnivore diet again but need to figure this calf cramping issue before I attempt it. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
@@paulphillipsmt sometimes adding in too many salts and electrolytes can actually make you need more water as a result. It also depends on how warm it is outside, have the exercise, etc. If you get that again try just increasing the water without added electrolytes and see if that works. If it doesn't, you can try specific electrolytes in balance, as they all need to be elevated proportionately. A friend of mine Richard Smith has a electrolyte supplement without any artificial flavorings or sweeteners with his brand Keto Pro, and he has made a ratio of electrolytes that is all in proportion and should hopefully help if the increased water alone doesn't.
I’m not having leg cramps but restless leg…only in my right leg. I’ve found that a massage vibrator and stretching helps but I have no idea what’s causing it.
I think mine is restless leg - so frustrating and I need to add calf pain going up home stairs. Anyone know if I should exercise more or less?
I tried dropping potassium supplementation the last few days and just salting to taste. My heart rate started going up and more heart palps. I take 420mg magnesium with my last meal every day. Hopefully as I adapt more and rebuild my glycogen I won't need to buy for now electrolytes seem to need to be supplemented. Carnivore for nearly 2 months.
Same
@jennybarnsley8338 I'm still carnivore. I found taking magnesium was actually making my calves feel crampy at this point.
I've always had pretty bad cramps at night - back of thighs & feet - so started to put salt in water and it helped. The game changer was dropping coffee, or having decaf. I struggled with stopping my espresso (aside from coffee, I've been strict carnivore now since Aug/Sep 2023) as I love the ritual but I would slip into 3 or 4 per day soon after suffering for a few days of going cold turkey. Weaned myself off though with decaf, found I didn't miss the caffeine at all, and no more cramps!
I only had leg cramps after eating too much cheese or too much sugar. Usuelly taking one magnesium pill is enough to stop the cramps.
The problem with figuring out what causes cramps is that it is different for everyone. I have had leg cramps for years and have tried everything - iodine, water, salt, magnesium, potassium- nothing got rid of them. I also have breathing problems and heart palpitations as a result of having covid 2 years ago. I heard about glycine for other problems and decided to try it about 2 months ago. I no longer am so tired from the long covid and the breathing is better. The heart palpitations are gone and I haven't had a leg cramp since taking glycine. I have never gone this long without a leg cramp. I take a spoonful of glycine in warm water or herbal tea 2 to 3 times a day.
So is it a powder your taking that you add to the water? Would you mind sharing the product that you use? Thx!
if its different for everyone then how comes so many people get leg cramps after switching from omnivore to carnivore. There has to be some common root cause here
I just had terrible cramps in my legs, mostly my left and 2 days finally went to doctors and it was a bakers cyst that burst! Terribly painful!
Dr. Chaffee, could cramps or twitches be connected with weight loss? I just noticed that I'd get those while I was consistently dropping weight. But when I didn't lose weight anymore, they just went away.
I would guess that with the weight loss, you lose water so you might also lose electrolytes, hence the cramping. We store water along with carbs.
Weight is lost through excretion of water (urine and sweat) and CO2 (expiration).
More water did not solve my cramps nor did more salt/electrolytes. Got a feeling it is low fat intake as a commenter states below. I also noticed a real high (cheat meal) carb intake while very low carb can cause me horrible cramps and muscle pain completely unconnected to water and electrolytes intake.
unfortunately I tried not to take any kind of supplements not even electrolytes, but I think I don't reach the minimum range of electrolytes because I don't eat 3-4 lbs but at most 2lb-2lb 1/2 a day of meat and after a few months and especially in summer i started to feel tired ,cramps heart palpitations, and even trying to increase the salt i just got diarrhea, i had to lower the salt and use 200mg of magnesium and 1000mg of potassium, I don't drink anything but water salt and meat I don't drink any other liquid than water...... great video and greetings from Italy 🇮🇹
I came off a three day fast last week and had a cup of coffee with cream. Just an hour or two later I started having pain and stiffness in my left knee and then little cramps all over my body. During the night I had horrible large muscle cramps in my legs, I could barely stand up. I managed to drag myself to the kitchen to take potassium, salt and magnesium, and the cramps dispersed within a few minutes. So, what's the conclusion? I had had two black coffees during my fast and had no problem, but with the cream added I had a problem. Am I lactose intolerant? Should I give up dairy and coffee? Will experiment and discover...! Thanks for this helpful content.
I've never had cramps as a carnivore. Maybe people aren't digesting their food properly as they do have not acidic enough stomach acid and or not properly emulsifying fatty acids through their Liver and Gallbladder. I just do water and some sea salt, without any of the fancy electrolyte products. Sometimes I'll forget to add salt for a week and still have no problems. Meat has enough Potassium its just the matter if a person is doing some else extra which antagonizes K+ like excessive stress or junk food keto products and perhaps extra help with digestion coming from a detrimental Western Diet.
Too much salt can lead to a deficit of potassium. The more salt you take the more potassium you need. Excess salt leads to water retention.
I used to get severe cramps down the outside of my calf when I started carnivore, but now get them rarely. I can feel my foot starting to twist, so I mentally keep repeating “my leg is completely relaxed” and it subsides in a few seconds. I don’t actually drink water - I hate the stuff. Several milky coffees, mostly decaf; the occasional glass of wine, and I’m fine. My scales give body fat %, (currently 20%) water content (58%) and BMI 20.2. If “normal” water content is 70%, then I am dehydrated, but it has been 58% for years. I take magnesium glycinate, boron, vit B12, just in case I am not eating enough (I’m rarely hungry)
In my experience it seems like oxalate dumping on this diet is what causes cramps because the body attaches magnesium/calcium to oxalate to get rid of them. Supplementing with magnesium/calcium/vitamin D helped me dramatically and I think won't be necessary once my body has had enough time to rid enough oxalates
I have low blood pressure and I have been drinking electrolytes for a few years.. It seems to help sometimes I forget to take it within a few days my BP will drop and then I remember I need to take some electrolytes. I drink enough water. I rarely have any cramping. Back when I used to drink alcohol I cramped sometimes and I would just drink water for it. Alcohol does dehydrate .
I’ve had severe hypokalemia which caused way more than heart palps. It caused muscle cramping, shakes, twitches, etc.
I currently drink mineral water and supplement high doses magnesium, salted water, prescription megadoses of potassium, topical magnesium on my legs every night, and I track my water intake, at least 88-96oz water daily and I weigh 125 lbs.
I drink minimal coffee in the mornings - with butter, salt & protein powder then blended. I still get leg cramps occasionally, far less often since I started using topical magnesium..
But then I’ll get severe leg cramps that wake me up screaming usually in the wee hours of the morning.
Since being hospitalized with severe rhabdomyolysis, my body seems to be constantly dehydrated. I get a liter of lactated ringers (electrolytes IV) weekly for the last 3 years but my body constantly shows signs of chronic severe dehydration.
I just don’t understand and neither do any of my Drs.
I’ve dealt with toxic mold poisoning and tick diseases (borellia, babesia, Ehrlichia, Bartonella) that just about killed me several times since 2016.
Even when I was drinking over 100oz water daily I was getting leg cramps and symptoms of dehydration.
For me I think it relates to severe potassium deficiency as potassium controls the fluid balance in & out of the cells.
I wish I could fix the dehydration issue but I’ve been scouring medical literature trying to see what I’m missing… can’t figure it out. And I had a pretty amazing Dr for a few years who wasn’t able to figure it out either. He retired sadly.
Water is pretty much the only thing I drink besides my 20oz or less of blended organic coffee. I also drink 1/3 can full fat coconut milk with 3 raw eggs 5-7 days each week. I quit eating most veggies & fruit 3 years ago and quit the last bits over a month ago. I pretty much eat wild venison, elk, pastured beef & pork, organic chicken & duck, eggs.
I think it was dr Berry who explained how drinking excess water FLushes out minerals with it, it’s the way the kidneys are designed he said
Also look into B1 deficiency
@@naturaloptions1407 thanks I have already- watched quite a few hours of Elliot Overton and Chandler Marrs talk about b1 and I figure I do have b1 deficiency as well as other b’s. I started megadosing b1 per Elliot’s recommendations and have noticed improvement in many symptoms
Be aware that raw egg whites have an enzyme in them which blocks the bodies ability to assimilate and utilize biotin
And btw I feel ya on the mold toxicity thing, I've gotten sick from mold as well and may or may not have Lyme... still trying ti really figure that out. Or I did and it's gone now etc
@@TrialByFire14 yeah I know that about egg white but I figure the egg yolk & white comes together so I’ll consume it together. Don’t seem to have any issues and I wouldn’t think it would block all the biotin probably just so one doesn’t get too much? At any rate it seems to be right for me to take the whole egg and I just crave them every day. Sometimes just 4, other days I’ve consumed a dozen bcs that’s what my body seems to want
YUP
I think to many just think they need all these things that are pushed on them :)
I do think they can help some get over deficiency and balanced BUT once they get going correct you can drop them and yes a very few might need them but not the majority as is happening
Small amount of carbs from raw dairy and / or honey (tablespoon before bed) works for me, still in ketosis in the morning; this is a simple hack so I can still enjoy my morning coffee. There is no need to take fancy electrolytes.
We are always at a level of ketosis, how deep are you in ketosis in the morning? The dawn effect should knock down under 0.5.
0.3 - 0.9 depending on how much exercise we did the day before. The only time I'm ever 1.0+ is when fasting (usually more than a day). Whenever you exercise your glucose will spike and your ketones will go down, then they will reverse after you rest a bit. All that glucose gets used up. You are always burning some fat. When you are burning more fat than you need, then ketones build up until they are needed. The body just works... until you really try to break it!!!
I hope you are right. I drink at least 2-3 liters per day and take electrolytes and try to go by how I am feeling, my food intake etc. Cramps always get worse when I fast even when I am well hydrated. Most effective thing for me has been homeopathic Leg Cramp Ointment and topical magnesium before bedtime. If I am on a longer fast like 42 hrs or more I take salt and water before bed and keep it handy in case I feel the start of cramping in the middle of the night which is often when they strike
I did suffer from these cramps, but I cannot remember when it was on pure Carnivore Diet or with Coffee and stuff... I'll try again and probably update as to what's going to happen... I'm currently 2 weeks pure Carnivore but with Coffee, so far no cramps.
This is in line with “my blood sugar is a little low”.
Well, not really, because, you know, the liver and gluconeogenesis….
Drives me nuts when people say they have hypoglycemia.
And before the flaming starts, I’m referring to normal healthy folks who maybe feel a little fatigued or dizzy or whatever, and that is their default response
I DO drink a lot of water. I have “farmer’s bladder” as we call it (a leak every half hour when you hop off the tractor to refill the combine, or get out of the ute to open a gate), and always have to get up during the night.
Had cramps since my teen years, regardless of diet (been carnivore for three years) , regardless of salt/electrolyte intake or whether I drink coffee.
Always had dense bones, so it’s not a calcium issue.
It’s a puzzle.
It's low b1. Try mega dose to take b1 Thiamine for a few days. It will get better. b1 HCL or b1 nitrate
@@multitablez .... I’ll try that, and thanks.
@@peterwebb8732did this help?
Any dosage suggestions? Thanks!
@@Smugly_Watching_Society_Burn … I’m not having cramps now, but I’m not taking supplements of any kind. Just persevering with Carnivore.
When i have a cramp I drink some salt and in 1 minute or less the cramp is gone.
Ive had 2 leg cramps in the last couple of months, Ive never had that before. Ive been drinking too much coffee lately. It causes dehydration, and depletes nutrients.
My legs don’t cramp, but they feel weak/feel like they are floating? Is this normal? How can I fixed this. I’ve been drinking salt water and adding more on my meet. (Day 7 carnivore)
what about magnesium on the carnivore diet? i had heart palpitations and higher bloodpressure when I was transitioning...really freaked me out
I've been carnivore for 3+ months. I have always had problems with cramps all over my body. I've tried everything. I'm 62 and I sit quite a bit hauling crude oil. The only thing I can surmise is too much sitting. I was hoping carnivore would help but no luck so far.
I definitely had cramping and pain especially at night if I don't take extra magnesium and potassium along with electrolytes, but I do drink coffee so I guess I will have to try that to see it makes a difference.
I am carnivore, but how can I get rid of being anemic. When the temperature goes below 75 ° F, my hands, feet and nose goes cold as ice and below 60 °F, my body starts to shiver and if I drink water it gets worse.
Anemic issues are caused from low b1. It is very common. Try a B1 Thiamine supplement.
@@multitablez Thanks
@@shahyar234 No problem. It's cheap to buy. Could also be an eletrolyte problem. Or thyroid problem.. But id highly suspect it is caused from low B1. The b1 supplement will also help your thyriod and the aneimic issues. Try Vitamin B1 HCL, or B1 Nitrate. whatever the dose says to take on bottle, take 2 or 3 x that for a couple of days. You should feel the impact from b1 immediately. If it helps, add b1 foods to diet.
@@multitablez I used to weigh 310 pounds, then did Atkins diet now this was in 1997, lost weight, my weight came down to 170 pounds. Unfortunately had problems with doing (#2), had to have a surgery, then doctors told me to stop eating meat and eat vegetables and fruits. So switched to vegan, from that time my health got worse, but still kept being vegan, my weight was around 78 pounds. Finally being vegan for 23 years, after watching Dr. ken berry next day switched to carnivore. I am very disciplined, with food control, never had any bread, potatoes, rice and other starchy vegetables Since 1997. Now my weight is up to 130 pounds, but still can't get rid of feeling cold, living in Maryland winters are tough. Even when AC is running in a room my body starts to shiver. ( I am Sorry for such a long distribution).
@@shahyar234 How did you go with B1?
I had a schizophrenic patient who drank water until she had seizures and went into a coma. It happens but like you said, you have to force yourself
A symptom of a severe magnesium deficiency can be seizures.
The actor Anthony Andrews survived a case of water intoxication in 2003. The condition, also known as hyponatraemia ("low blood sodium"), occurs when sodium ions in the body are diluted so far that nerves are unable to function properly. The condition has symptoms similar to those of dehydration, such as headaches, nausea and cramps. While performing as Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, Andrews consumed up to eight litres of water a day. He lost consciousness and spent three days in intensive care.
@@joeoleary9010omggg😢😢
I'm getting leg cramps and if I use an electrolyte solution (like Re-lyte or LMNT) or salt my food I start getting anxiety heart palpitations exhausted and can't sleep. I thought it was the salt but maybe its water? I already drink around a gallon per day. I stopped salting my food some time ago and that definitely helps but the cramps still occur.
and I do drink mineral water.
I just replied to someone else re: the supplement that I read about in a FB carnivore group and it has been 100% effective for me in completely stopping cramps. It is Solgar Calcium and Magnesium Citrate. I tried several forms of Magnesium with limited success before coming across this recommended formula. For some reason it is highly effective re: cramping. I really detested cramping and so it was a huge relief to finally find something that actually worked immediately. I hope others read this and try it and have the same success. If you remember, please let me know how it goes for you if you decide to get some and test it out. I wouldn't be without these tabs in the cupboard now and my stepdaughter swears by them since I introduced her to them one day when getting cramps.
Dr Chaffee, the RDA for carb eaters is 1,000mg calcium, 400mg Mag, 4,700mg potassium, and 2400mg salt.
Do carnivores need the same amounts, and if so how without supplementing?
I haven't even gotten to full Carnivore yet, just eating much more meat and much less other stuff but it gives me cramps. I drink more water but that also means I have to get up a lot during night, I then also drink water. . . It does not seem to help.
Exercise cured my leg cramps not crazy working out just walking 4-5 miles a day.., I do however keep water by the bed and drink a little everytime I get up.
I used to frequently have very bad leg and foot cramps at night after I would eat a high sodium processed food meal. I made the connection between the type of food and the cramps, but it never occurred to me to just drink more water. 😓
Since starting carnivore though I don't think I've had any cramps at all except on a day where I fell off the wagon. I wasn't taking any electrolytes besides salting my meat.
The more water I drink the more I urinate, every hour daytime every 2 hours nighttime. I feel dehydrated. I drink 60 to 120 oz. A day. And I still get screaming cramping in legs. I have gastritis it seems like the more acidic my stomach the more I urinate.
I have been becoming dehydrated after my doctor put me on Glyxambi. I have had to stop taking Chlorthalidone and Spironolactone because I am so dry. I drink lots of water but I have to really supplement my electrolytes because I am diluted. I still get legs cramps. I can’t get my doctor to understand the dose of Glyxambi is too much. Medications are the culprit for me.