Q. For many years I had excruciating leg and foot cramps that woke me several times each night. I would take a high-electrolyte drink to relieve the cramp but it would be back a few hours later.
Kimchi
I started to eat kimchi (a Korean peppery fermented cabbage relish) by chance, because I watched Korean dramas and was curious about the national dish. I noticed that when I ate some kimchi during the day, I did not have cramps at night.
I started to eat a little kimchi every day. Kimchi is rich in beneficial micro-organisms, and eating it improved my condition about 85 percent.
Artificial Sweeteners
Recently I read an article indicating that artificial sweeteners may kill gut microbes. I was a big user of the blue and pink stuff. As soon as I stopped using sweeteners, my condition zoomed to 100 percent cured.
Other fermented foods such as sauerkraut or pickles might work just as well as kimchi. And folks who use artificial sweeteners might get a lot of benefit by eliminating them. I certainly did.
A. Thanks for the unusual tip. Others have written about achieving success in stopping leg cramps by sipping pickle juice or swallowing a spoonful of yellow mustard. But you are the first to mention kimchi or avoiding sweeteners.
There are many other approaches to warding off nighttime leg cramps in our Guide to Leg Pain, including a description of a cramp stretch to be done before bedtime.
