What's in tonic water that helps restless legs?

Tonic water is a soft drink containing quinine, which gives it a bitter taste. Quinine is a common treatment for malaria. Some people believe that it can also help with leg cramps and restless legs syndrome. Quinine comes from the bark of the cinchona tree.

What does tonic water do for your legs?

A. Tonic water—and the quinine it contains—have been promoted for preventing leg cramps for decades despite the lack of evidence that they are effective.

How much quinine should I take for restless leg syndrome?

A Cochrane review in 2015 found "low quality evidence" that quinine treatment of 200 mg to 500 mg daily significantly reduces muscle cramp frequency, with "moderate quality evidence" that quinine reduces cramp intensity.

Why does quinine help restless leg syndrome?

Tonic water—yep, the light carbonated beverage—contains quinine, and just one glass before bed can help relax your muscles and encourage blood flow.

What can I drink for restless leg syndrome?

People with RLS often have low levels of iron in their blood. Your body needs iron to make dopamine, a brain chemical that helps control movement. Ask your doctor whether an iron supplement might help you. If so, take it with a glass of orange juice or another source of vitamin C to help your body absorb the iron.

Talking health: Quinine for leg cramps?

What is your body lacking when you have restless legs?

The single most consistent finding and the strongest environmental risk factor associated with RLS is iron insufficiency. Professor Nordlander first recognized the association between iron deficiency and RLS, and reported that treatment of the iron deficiency markedly improved, if not eliminated, the RLS symptoms.

Is tonic water good for restless legs?

Benefits of drinking tonic water

Many people believe that drinking tonic water helps with nighttime leg cramps and restless legs syndrome. However, there is no scientific evidence verifying this belief. In fact, the FDA have warned doctors against prescribing quinine to treat leg cramps or restless legs syndrome.

Is it OK to drink tonic water every day?

According to the American Heart Association, excess levels of sodium (they recommend staying under 1,500 mg) can lead to water retention, along with puffiness, bloating, and weight gain. Our verdict: Avoid tonic water as a daily drink if you're concerned about your waistline.

Does Schweppes tonic water have quinine?

Schweppes tonic water quinine amount

Tonic water in general and Schweppes tonic water, in particular, contains no more than 83 mg of quinine/liter. Schweppes quinine concentration is much less than the amount of quinine in the therapeutic dose of quinine tablets. Specifically, Schweppes quinine content is 67 mg/liter.

Which tonic water has the most quinine?

Fever-Tree Premium Indian Tonic Water

The highest quality quinine was sourced from the Rwanda Congo border and blended with spring water and eight botanical flavors, including rare ingredients such as marigold extracts and a bitter orange from Tanzania.

Can you buy quinine over-the-counter?

In the mid-1990s, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned over-the-counter availability of quinine and marketing of prescription quinine products for leg cramps. In early 2007, FDA banned all prescription quinine products other than Qualaquin.

Is tonic water with quinine good for you?

The inclusion of quinine in tonic is often associated as a primary health benefit of tonic. Quinine's primary benefit is for the treatment of malaria. It's not used to prevent malaria, but rather to kill the organism responsible for the disease.

Does magnesium help with restless leg?

Magnesium supplementation is often suggested for restless legs syndrome (RLS) or period limb movement disorder (PLMD) based on anecdotal evidence that it relieves symptoms and because it is also commonly recommended for leg cramps.

Who should not take quinine?

You should not take quinine if you have a heart rhythm disorder called Long QT syndrome, a genetic enzyme deficiency called glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G-6-PD), myasthenia gravis, optic neuritis (inflammation of the nerves in your eyes), if you have taken quinine in the past and it caused a blood cell ...

Does quinine help you sleep?

The results showed that quinine significantly increased the time spent in wakefulness and decreased the time spent in slow wave sleep along the 24h of polygraphic recording.

What are the negative effects of quinine?

What drink has the most quinine?

Today, you can find quinine in some of your favorite beverages, most notably in tonic water. Historically, tonic water contained very high levels of quinine and was extremely bitter, requiring sugar and, at times, gin to improve the flavor profile.

Does Canada Dry tonic water have quinine?

With a balanced touch of quinine giving Canada Dry® Tonic Water its distinctively delicious zip, this is the naturally flavoured classic Canadian mixer that's just as refreshing on its own.

Does quinine help leg cramps?

Evidence-Based Answer

Quinine is moderately effective in decreasing the frequency and intensity of muscle cramps, but it is also associated with an increase in minor adverse effects. In addition, there is a risk of rare but serious adverse effects.

Are there any foods that contain quinine?

It is obtained from the bark of the cinchona tree and belongs to the group of alkaloids. In medicine quinine is used to treat malaria and nocturnal leg cramps. In the food sector, quinine is used as a flavouring mainly in beverages like bitter lemon and tonic water.

What does quinine do for the body?

Quinine is used to treat malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum. Plasmodium falciparum is a parasite that gets into the red blood cells in the body and causes malaria. Quinine works by killing the parasite or preventing it from growing.

Does tonic water help with inflammation?

Quinine — which is responsible for the bitter taste in tonic water — is a chemical found in cinchona bark. It has been used as an antimalarial and anti-inflammatory drug since the 18th century.

What foods trigger restless leg syndrome?

The top three foods to avoid are chocolate, sugary sodas, and fried foods. Additionally, you will also want to avoid any foods or beverages that contain caffeine, since this can stimulate your nerves and make your symptoms more severe. These include coffee, tea, energy drinks, and chocolate.

Is potassium good for restless leg syndrome?

Because potassium contributes to muscle function, Restless leg syndrome (RLS) and muscle spasms are symptoms of low potassium in women. Some doctors recommend a potassium supplement to prevent RLS. Low potassium levels are often caused by a magnesium deficiency.

What is quinine made of?

quinine, drug obtained from cinchona bark that is used chiefly in the treatment of malaria, an infection caused by the protozoan parasite Plasmodium, which is transmitted to humans by the bite of various species of mosquitoes.