Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

1

I know this is really a dumb question, and probably falls in the category of a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but:

If the only carbs one ate was from fruit (fructose), and

if fructose makes a 'b-line' directly to the liver to be metabolized into glycogen,

does that mean the muscles are not getting enough glucose to fuel their needs?

Could that contribute to any issues with muscle cramps?

Just taking a shot in the dark since pretty much all my carbs are fruit carbs, and I'm having muscle cramp issues.

Thanks, Mike

edited Apr 4 2012 at 19:03

asked Apr 4 2012 at 18:42

CaveMan_Mike
4,643●13●51

Jen · Accepted Answer · 2012-04-04 18:53:13Z UTC

1

Hi Mike, Your premise kind of falls apart in two ways: 1)not all carbs from fruit are fructose. 2) muscle cramps are usually related to electrolyte imbalance rather than insufficient glycogen. Even if you are VLC, gluconeogenesis should take care of the bulk of those needs in a healthy person.

Maybe a lack of variety in the diet has lead to an incomplete mineral profile. Are you getting enough calcium?

answered Apr 4 2012 at 18:53

Jen
586●1●5

I take 4 caps of calcium hydroxyapatite which says 100% daily value. I just had a magnesium rbc blood test showed i'm ok magnesium wise. I'm trying to increase my potassium in my diet. At one point, I though I was low in sodium, and I had a ton yesterday and this morning, and now I have a terrible headache and even my eyes hurt, and are very bloodshot (which I think I've correlated to too much salt in the past.) It's 2pm now, and I've had 2 liters of water so I doubt I'm dehydrated. Maybe I'm reacting to foods, so I'm going to take a break from anything I ate yesterday & today. – CaveMan_Mike Apr 4 2012 at 19:00

1

Sadly, drinking water does not necessarily mean you won't be dehydrated. Try getting some sea salt and adding a bit to the water you drink. Your pee should be light yellow. (If you're curious, I found the optimally hydrating amount for myself to be around 3/4 tsp per Gallon of water.) And you may want to experiment with dropping the calcium supplements. Supplementing minerals is highly precarious business, and you could be exacerbating unbalances. I had chronic depression and muscle cramps that went away when I fixed my water, and dropped ALL of my supps except for fat-soluble vitamins. – e.istre91 Apr 5 2012 at 2:26

2

Mineral supplementation is indeed a risky business. Calcium homeostasis is much more complicated than taking an adequate pill. Vitamins K and D, as well as how your body is absorbing and using calcium all matter. I would try and get everything from whole foods whenever possible, so you don't miss out on the co-factors that allow your body to use the minerals instead of just, say, letting them accumulate in your kidneys (ouch). – Jen Apr 5 2012 at 3:03

Good info on adding sea salt to water. Ironically, I started 2 days ago, and yesterday I had a TERRIBLE headache, so bad even my eyes hurt and were bloodshot. I've had that kind of headache before, and kinda associated it to too much salt. The odd part, however, is when I actually measure my salt, it's not that much (even if I shake it on every bite of my beef stew). – CaveMan_Mike Apr 5 2012 at 14:35

Hmmm, sounds like some sort of hypertension to me. Recent research has revealed its more likely the Chlorine atom in the NaCl that causes hypertension. Serum calcium ( annals.org/content/76/5/741 ) is in fact associated with hypertension, yet another reason to drop those calcium supplements. If you can, I would get a RBC count on magnesium, calcium, potassium, and sodium. I strongly suspect an electrolyte imbalance going on, especially with that reaction to salt. It may be worth investigating concentrace or superior trace minerals from grasslandbeef.com . – e.istre91 Apr 6 2012 at 15:34

show 1 more comment

August · Answer 2 · 2012-04-04 18:51:21Z UTC

No, the liver will put some out into the blood stream. A low and even level, so it won't fill up the muscles really fast, but the muscles will get what they want eventually. Electrolytes, dehydration- these are the likely reasons for muscle cramps. I have similar problems. I can't say I've figured out the secret, but I have noticed dehydration seems to make it worse.

Muscle cramps caused by fruit? Fructose, glycogen, liver, any connection?

2 Answers