Magnesium 101

[Yoda]

I'm cycling through magnesium awareness right now. Mrs Yoda seems to have developed a heart arrhythmia (sp?) and anxiety in the middle of the night, cramps, and lack of general cheerfulness over the last several months. The real doctor couldn't figure it out so Dr. Yoda went to work.

 

Turns out that magnesium deficiency was the culprit.

 

If anyone is stressed out, anxious, high blood pressure, high pulse rate, muscle cramps, and exhaustion you might keep mg in mind.

 

Try this experiment: take a half teaspoon of potassium salt substitute and mix it w/ water and drink it during an anxious spell. (don't take too much potassium--it is seriously dangerous) If it makes you feel better within 30 minutes, you most likely have a mg deficiency. (Mg is needed to stabilize potassium levels).

 

Due to the confusing relation between caffeine, alcohol, potassium, calcium, stress and the very disparate symptoms of Mg deficiency, it has taken me several months to figure out the cure. I kept thinking it was a potassium thing.

 

The researchers suggest that there is an unfavorable mineral ratio in the current American diet and that many/most people in the developed world may have borderline Mg deficiencies and symptoms.

 

I'm going to try taking Mg for a few months to see if I can see any improvement in general peacefulness and relaxation.

 

Good article by a researcher here:

 

http://www.mgwater.com/conseq.shtml

Edited February 9, 2006 by Yoda

[Jeremiah]

I've been taking 800mg Magnesium a day since the summer. Cools overly hot liver? Often a suggestion for migraines is to take a lot but im not sure how much is a lot.

 

good info yoda thanks

 

surfing the site you posted & found another interesting board...

 

http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/index.php

[Pietro]

I'm cycling through magnesium awareness right now. Mrs Yoda seems to have developed a heart arrhythmia (sp?) and anxiety in the middle of the night, cramps, and lack of general cheerfulness over the last several months. The real doctor couldn't figure it out so Dr. Yoda went to work.

 

Turns out that magnesium deficiency was the culprit.

 

If anyone is stressed out, anxious, high blood pressure, high pulse rate, muscle cramps, and exhaustion you might keep mg in mind.

 

Try this experiment: take a half teaspoon of potassium salt substitute and mix it w/ water and drink it during an anxious spell. (don't take too much potassium--it is seriously dangerous) If it makes you feel better within 30 minutes, you most likely have a mg deficiency. (Mg is needed to stabilize potassium levels).

 

Due to the confusing relation between caffeine, alcohol, potassium, calcium, stress and the very disparate symptoms of Mg deficiency, it has taken me several months to figure out the cure. I kept thinking it was a potassium thing.

 

The researchers suggest that there is an unfavorable mineral ratio in the current American diet and that many/most people in the developed world may have borderline Mg deficiencies and symptoms.

 

I'm going to try taking Mg for a few months to see if I can see any improvement in general peacefulness and relaxation.

 

Good article by a researcher here:

 

http://www.mgwater.com/conseq.shtml

 

Very interesting post, thank you. The symptioms remind me of the symptoms I get when I eat too much raw meat, and raw eggs and not enough celery (or other green thing) juice. Maybe I could find some magnesium or similar for when I go on a trip. It's always such a pain to be dependent on making juices every day.

[三江源]

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Edited April 18, 2015 by 三江源

[Yoda]

improved my digestion

 

 

Actually, Mrs Yoda started getting heartburn around the same time. I'm not sure if this is connected or just coincidental. Let me know why/how your supplement has helped.

 

Thanks,

Yoda

[三江源]

.

Edited April 18, 2015 by 三江源

[Lozen]

Magnesium is supposed to help blood pressure, insomnia and asthma by relaxing the blood vessels and muscles. I think 300-600 mg should be plenty, fi you take too much (esp. if it's magnesium citrate instead of magnesium glycinate) you can get loose bowels and diarrhea.

 

Anybody ever taken that magnesium drink called Calm?

 

Edited: DOH! I just realized that was what Cat was talking about. For some reason, Cal - M and Calm seem so different to me.

Edited February 9, 2006 by Lozen

[Yoda]

Just read "The Magnesium Factor" by Seelig. Very scientific, good read, recommended for anyone with heart issues to get what they won't hear from the drug company cyborgs. Mrs Yoda's doctor--a nice guy & well trained & lots of experience with heart issues--totally missed the boat here. I'm sure Mrs. Yoda isn't the only one misdiagnosed.

 

Apparently, the author recommends using table salt that is a mixture of sodium, potassium, and magnesium. "Whole" sea salt and smart salt are examples. The modern diet is too much sodium.

 

Also, if you are underwhelmed by your ability to exercise strenuously, you might try taking magnesium.

 

Magnesium is stored in the soft tissues of the bones, so it can take years to bring magnesium levels in the body back to normal. Also, it can take years before the effects of an imbalanced diet brings about problems in weight gain, heart function, energy levels, etc.

 

The book also recommends magnesium supplements if one is engaged in any form of regimented diet and/or exercise program or is taking calcium supplements or drinks soft water.

[Jeremiah]

I'm glad you are keeping up on this yoda.

 

I was in our food co-op today and the distributer for Peter Gilliam's Natural Calm, magnesium supplement was there so i asked him a bunch about it. this product is magnesium citrate powder.

 

www.petergillham.com

 

He takes the product also and gave a few pointers...

 

1. you have to boil the magnesium powder in water to break it down before taking it. he said you could boil up extra and keep it in the fridge for several days.

 

2. he reccomened starting with 1 tsp a day and going up to 3 tsp eventually but that he started dirctly with 3 tsp. with 1 oz of water.

 

3. if you take too much too quick it may "loosen things up a bit" so work your way up to avoid some unpleasent times on the pot.

 

4. calcium needs magnesium in order to assemilate in the body and that everyone wants calcium supplements but calcium is already in almost everything we eat the problem is that there is no magnesium for the assemilation. if magnesium is not present when you engest calcium it will pull it strait from your body.

 

5. he said if you have trouble sleeping it is great to take right before bed. (i don't have trouble sleeping)

 

qi :-0

[Yoda]

Yes, diarrhea is a sign that one is taking too much magnesium. The cheapest source of Magnesium is Epsom Salts, just take less than the directed amount unless you'd like to sit on the can all day.

 

I had a friend who flew out to Phoenix and I was to be her tour guide through a backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon. She said she was constipated, so I had heard that epsom salts would help and I mixed her up a tall glass of the stuff... Very much the opposite problem during the expedition!! Nor was she happy with me until it worked out of her system and we saw the Havasupi falls. That was pretty cool!

 

Actually the Magnesium Factor ties in with two other books I've reviewed: The Obesity Myth and the one about Vitamin D (I forget the title). This book is team written by an MD and a PhD is very much in agreement with the Obesity Myth that being overweight isn't the big deal most people think. The Magnesium Factor gets into a bit why. The Mg Factor discusses vitamin D but stresses that one must first correct Mg deficiency first before addressing vitamin D deficiencies as Mg is crucial for Vit D assimilation but taking too much D would interfere with bringing the body back up to proper Mg levels. In some people Mg levels can be corrected within months, but it can take years, depending on the individual.

 

The book doesn't fully get into 'why' the medical community has largely missed the boat about Mg and its connection to cardio disease. Perhaps b/c Mg is dirt cheap and no drug company will fund research, perhaps b/c it's extremely difficult to test Mg levels in a live person, perhaps it's b/c the medical community has already decided that heart disease is all about weight, stress, cholesterol, etc. The book suggests that these things do correlate with heart disease, but are often symptoms of the underlying Mg problem. The book says the the rise of heart disease over the last 100 years is about the ratios of sodium, potassium, and magnesium getting out of balance.

 

In any event, Mrs Yoda is feeling much better now. And her pulse and blood pressure are down to normal levels after 2 weeks of Mg 800mg/day. She's not completely over her arrhythmias but that is improving dramatically and the book suggests that after 4-5 months of Mg that her arrhythmias should largely be a thing of the past.

 

I'll take Mg too just for kicks to see if I can gain any improvements from it. (600ish mg/day) I'll run it up and then back off when I get too poopy.

 

PS, Mg can "cure" heart murmurs and reverse artery damage in many cases too, so it's never too late.

 

PPS, check the Mg levels of your drinking water--that might possibly cover it right there if you have the right kind of hard water.

 

So, it's recommended reading if you have any cardio type concerns.

 

-Yoda

 

Incidently, over the last several months of Mrs Yoda complaining about her heart I told her that it was "just mental, get over it" so I've not been the perfect doctor myself, but I've come out rosey in the end after cracking the case on perhaps my biggest victory I've had with google to date. (fundamentally, all aspects of physical experience do arise from vibrational transmissions--so I was 'right' as far as that goes, but relationships have a truth of their own, don't they?)

Edited February 15, 2006 by Yoda

[agharta]

If you want a good Mg supplement, you can check out Barry Carter's Ormus site at www.subtleenergies.com. I learned to make a magnesium supplement from seawater and/or sea salt. It gives me an incredible kick. You can learn to make your own, or buy it from a couple of different makers. It was used by Solomon to make gold from Dead Sea water. Don't let the fact that msot people use drain cleaner to make it. You can buy FOOD-grade lye from www.snowdriftfarms.com, I believe. I just use regular Red Devil lye. Seawater has about 3:1 magnesium to calcium. I've been making my own for about 9 months now, I've made and consumed probably 4-5 gallons of this stuff. It works great on plants as well.

 

It really helps to make this stuff from seawater. I made it from Celtic sea salt for months before making it from seawater. It makes a big difference in the energy level, in my experience.

[Yoda]

can you get the same kick just buying whole sea salt?

[karen]

Hi Yoda,

 

Just to add a couple things on the subject of arrythmias, which I had for quite a while but rarely anymore.. First, Mg is great but most of what's sold is poorer (cheaper) quality, and not well absorbed. Mg Glycinate or Mg Taurate are well absorbed and also tend to have higher poop thresholds. Great source of info there is George Eby's Magnesium site

 

That said, instead of using such high doses of crude Mg, which can cause some mineral imbalance, I use a potentized form of Mg which is a component of the Bioplasma tissue salts. It's a broad-spectrum multimineral, more bioavailable in potentized (what people generally call "homeopathic") form.

 

Another possible cause of palpitations that's often missed is MSG toxicity. MSG is everywhere in most processed/packaged foods even when not stated on the label. ("Natural flavoring" often means MSG, same for a slew of other harmless sounding ingredients). Some people are more sensitive to its toxic effects than others, and palpitations are a common effect, not to mention food cravings!

 

There are lots more things that could enter into the situation, but I had good results with Mg and also Heavenly Emperor Formula, to nourish heart yin and qi. Somewhere online is a great article by Bob Flaws about that, to treat yin-deficiency-related menopausal symptoms (which can begin waaay before expected, I can tell you! )

 

-Karen

Edited February 20, 2006 by karen

[agharta]

yoda,

 

my experience has been that it is best to use both the straight sea salt andthe precipitate, plus some kind of calcium supplement like Tamahi Calcium. I am making my own version of Tamahi with oyster shells, fish bones, and chicken eggshells. Tamahi is made the same way as the sea salt precipitate, with lye.

 

Plants don't tolerate sodium as well as humans and animals. Some people use sea salt solutions hydroponically, though. The Lye (wet method, as we call it) method removes most/all of the sodium, while leaving you with all the more useful minerals in more or less the same ratios.

 

There are several people who make the sea salt precipitate for sale, including Joe Lello at www.atlantisalchemy.com. I have bought from Joe in the past and find his products of high quality. I currently make all my own these days, though.

[Yoda]

Okay, I think Mrs Yoda is at 4 weeks +/- of Mg supplementation and she's 100% better--zero cardio issues. Just on a basic Mg supplement by Solaray--some chelated, some just plain Mg oxide. The Magnesium Factor said that any ole source is fine. So fancy sources probably aren't required.

 

But in the name of science, I'm checking out different brands that I can find in the typical vitamin shop. So far my fav is www.petergillham.com natural calm--I can feel the calm after taking it. I haven't tried the others that have been suggested on this thread, I'm sure they are excellent.

 

One good website suggested taking taurine with Mg to counteract heart problems stemming from long term Mg deficiency and that taurine enhanced Mg assimilation. Google for "rapid recovery from depression using magnesium treatment" for the website.

 

He makes a good point: that the magnesium blindspot in modern medicine isn't from lack of research. Mg is extremely well-studied by American researchers... it's all on pubmed... it's just that the awareness hasn't jumped over to the actual doctors. I guess that there are no cute Magnesium sales reps chatting up doctors on the subject, I suppose. In his case, he suffered long term depression and heart issues for many years and when his zoloft stopped working, it forced him to take research into his own hands. It's a good site on the subject.

 

He believes that depression is genetic in the sense that genetics may have a large role in how well one can assimilate Mg.

 

He is very elitist about Mg supplements and which ones are the best, but he's just a self educated guy. I'd go with the MDness of the Mg factor, saying that common supplements will get the job done too.

 

It would be interesting to go to Pubmed and find out what sort of supplements the researchers used. What I found was that they used magnesium oxide and magnesium sulfate (epsom salts), but my search was far from exhaustive. But usually researchers tend to use a very standardized form of a supplement in their tests like mg oxide or mg sulfate so that would make sense.

[agharta]

All the evidence I have seen from making my own supplements is that totally drying it at any point during the process makes it MUCH less effective. The precipitate from seawater is much better than from dried celtic sea salt, and dried precipitate of any kind seems to have no effectiveness at all. Joe Lello at Atlantis Alchemy makes this product.

[Lozen]

I read that magnesium deficiency can manifest as noise and light sensitivity, which I sort of have. Well I go nuts if people are too loud, and I always think everyone has their brights on when I drive at night even when they don't. So I'm going to get some CALM soon. But right now just letting my body adjust to the bee pollen and nutritional yeast and the cod liver oil (mixed in OJ).

[Yoda]

Lozen,

 

Taking Cod oil is great, but I can never stick with it as it's so yuckers.

 

-Yoda

[Lozen]

Yeah, it is nasty. I got the lemon flavored kind which isn't as bad though...

[Ian]

Just occurred to me....

 

Are there any foods particularly rich in Magnesium?

 

Can we achieve a balance without supplements, or is the soil just too poor these days?

[Yoda]

If you have hard water with lots of Mg in it, then you are set. Or follow the diet of a culture that has low heart disease like Japan. I'm sure it's easy to do.

[Lozen]

Will have to try it with and without vinegar... I do know that magnesium by itself is supposed to help with acid/alkaline balance.

 

It definitely seems to increase flatulence though.

 

I think that the addition of the cider vinegar makes it a powerful alkalising mixture, thereby decreasing the acidity in the system.

 

I know that cal-m sometimes appears to cause heartburn when it is first ingested, as the acidity of the system comes to the fore. In which case it is best to go slow and begin with a low dosage, building up as the body acclimatises.

 

 

Anyone ever used hawthorne berries for heart arrhythmias?

 

 

 

There are lots more things that could enter into the situation, but I had good results with Mg and also Heavenly Emperor Formula, to nourish heart yin and qi. Somewhere online is a great article by Bob Flaws about that, to treat yin-deficiency-related menopausal symptoms (which can begin waaay before expected, I can tell you! )

 

-Karen

 

 

P.S. Foods rich in magnesium: almonds, cashews, broccoli, prunes, bananas, wheat germ, green leafy vegetables, OH and try raw cacoa beans, add some honey or add to almond milk and it tastes just like regular chocolate, minus the yucky stuff.

 

P.P.S. Taurine is trucker's speed. Bad stuff.

[agharta]

Might want to try looking at Dr. Weston Price's work before you make dietary choices. Every group he studied said that shellfish and fish eggs were the single best foods available. You can get fish eggs dried, or salted. I eat raw oysters and shrimp. I don't mind lightly steaming them, but most other people have a different definition of "cooked" than I do. Raw meat and fish, etc. still have vitamin C intact in them. Through the eating of lots of raw meat and fish, the Inuit managed to avoid scurvy, whereas many British sailors died of scurvy because of lack of Vitamin C. I'm not saying eat 100% raw, I'm just saying don't over cook your food.

[Lozen]

It really depends on one's constitution and imbalances. My imbalance is cold and damp, so I need warm and dry foods. That means limited raw.

Edited March 2, 2006 by Lozen

[agharta]

I don't really know what your definition of cooked is. Wet heat above 118 degrees F is cooked. Some foods do about as well cooked as raw.

 

My personal experience has been that I have much more physical stamina on raw/very lightly cooked versus more thoroughly cooked.

 

Warming food to 118 makes it taste cooked, without changing the chemical structure.

 

Experiment all you want with this, but don't make a religion out of Chinese medicine. Your innate constitution can change over time.

 

Chinese medicine does not address nutrient density of food, nor does it make clear the worthlessness of refined grains or refined sweeteners.

 

It's all about absorbable/absorbed nutrients versus absorbable/absorbed calories.

 

I do agree everyone has a constitution, but I don't agree that flesh foods should be cooked over 118 wet heat F degrees, unless the person eating it is very weak, or the flesh is from a sick animal, etc.

 

 

I'm just saying, there's a reason that every wild animal that eats its natural wild diet has straight teeth, whereas many humans and Dr. Pottenger's cats don't/didn't.