Dr. Bruce Bean, neurobiologist and co-inventor of HOTSHOT, joins The Feed to discuss their research and philosophy behind muscle cramps. Jump on board to learn about how HOTSHOT was formulated and why, exactly, it was formulated.
Dr. Bruce Bean is a professor of neurobiology at Harvard Medical School. He is also the co-inventor of HOTSHOT.
While sea kayaking with a friend and his respective co-inventor, and experiencing severe cramping in their arms, they became intrigued about why we have them and how to prevent them.
Here's a highlight reel of our conversation with Dr. Bean.
Dehydration: the original myth
According to Dr. Bean’s research, electrolyte imbalances and dehydration are the classic myth that the causes cramping.
One study found no difference between water loss and sodium levels of runners that cramped and runners that did NOT cramp
So what does cause cramping?
Finding: muscle cramps are largely due to the hyper-excitability of the neurons that actually control the muscle contraction. This loss of control is what leads to the spasms, cramping.
In lemans terms, uncontrolled firing of the neurons that signal a muscle to contract.
Pickle Juice
Dr. Bean found that people in hotter climates had been using pickle juice/brine to reduce cramping. After Miller, et al. ran a study utilizing pickle brine, they found that ‘yes’ it did reduce cramping.
However, this effect happened within 90sec of consuming it; an effect that is way too quick to be related to electrolyte balancing.
The suggestion was that somehow the brine was stimulating some neurons in the mouth/esophagus to stimulate a reflex that was reducing cramping.
They used this information to formulate a beverage that included as many of these compounds as possible (garlic, mustard seed, pickle, etc.) to stop cramping in its tracks.
How does this work?
Dr. Bean says we are activating nerves (especially vagus nerve) in the mouth that stimulate neurotransmitters in the brain > spinal cord which control the excitability of the motor neurons.
HotShot utilizes this from a chemical perspective
Found to also reduce muscle soreness after intense training.
