Magnesium
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dietbepsi
Posts: 136 Member
So after I bought the mag oxide (which was the wrong stuff) I never ended up getting any of the right stuff. In the mean time I'm getting super painful Charlie horses in my legs every night so in addition to my sodium chloride tablets they are 1000 milligram (which I take one a day, but honestly not every day) I picked this up at the health food store today. Does this look right? Any recommendations on how much to take? I don't want to over do.
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Yep I've been taking that recently, stir 3g into a couple ounces of warm water or any beverage and drink it. Without mag I get charlie horses every night too it's awful.
Eta: I take the natural calm on the left.0 -
According to the US RDA, adult women should not take over 320 mg a day. That said, you won't absorb it all, you'll absorb more if you are deficient, and if, by chance, you absorb too much, your kidneys are probably just going to get rid of it. I'd start with a teaspoon and a half per day. Are you getting enough potassium? If you're taking other supplements and/or medications, you should check the interactions, and take your magnesium two hours before or after those meds.
Full disclosure: I'm taking 400 mg of mg citrate a day, and although I intend to run it by my doctor very soon, I haven't had any problems so far.0 -
Oh also take the natural calm before bed it knocks me out0
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This is the only other thing I take, and I take it every day. As far as potassium I do eat an avocado probably twice a week. But that's about it.0 -
If I keep my sodium levels up and supplement magnesium, my potassium levels shouldn't fall anyhow should they? I need to do some more research. All I know is I just cannot wake up another night with Charlie horses! This morning it woke me up at 4 AM and I wasn't able to go back to sleep
and they are ridiculously painful! 0 -
If you keep sodium up you won't lose potassium, it's also in many foods even though it's not listed on nutrition labels so I wouldn't worry too much about that. I've found the thing that affects the cramping the most is magnesium. Start taking it tonight, should clear things up pretty quickly.0
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The standard of 320mg is considered by some experts as too low, as the guide was set when veggies provided a lot of Mg back in the 1920s, now with factory farms, and soils not amended with minerals, then veggies are far less likely provide these minerals.
Since many on LCHF don't consume veggies then you aren't even getting small amounts daily to offset the higher calcium in cheese and dairy.
In addition it is not flushed from the kidneys but from the colon, this is where the NATURAL protective 'fall back" of too much is to cause a laxative effect. So in a sense you can't do too much trouble as your gut will react..and warn you to take less.
Mg is one of the most confusing minerals for most to understand, and there are so many versions of it. If you consume high dairy or calcium rich foods then you must prevent the muscle constriction caused by calcium with supplemented Mg. ( In the ER during heart attack Mg is given) the correct ratio is 2 Mg:1 calcium, and 1:1 is more risky for muscle cramps.
here is just one link: many more articles abound http://www.mgwater.com/mgrda.shtml
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I found the leg cramps didn't improve until I focused on getting the sodium tablets (after already taking the mag citrate) in everyday. It takes three of them (1gram tablets) to work for me! If I miss any I will wainwright cramps! Good luck in getting to what works for you!
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Lots of pink salt and lots of bone broth! I hate the taste of bone broth so I cook with it a lot and it's helped so much! And it's super cheap to make0
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Oh boy I sometimes have to take over 1200mg of Magnesium (toileting probs). I hope I'm not doing any damage??0
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Christine_72 wrote: »Oh boy I sometimes have to take over 1200mg of Magnesium (toileting probs). I hope I'm not doing any damage??
You going to the bathroom is your body flushing the excess out, that's why it works for that purpose.0 -
auntstephie321 wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »Oh boy I sometimes have to take over 1200mg of Magnesium (toileting probs). I hope I'm not doing any damage??
You going to the bathroom is your body flushing the excess out, that's why it works for that purpose.
Doh! Makes sense
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Christine_72 wrote: »Oh boy I sometimes have to take over 1200mg of Magnesium (toileting probs). I hope I'm not doing any damage??
Likely not. I read a bunch of dire warnings, followed by the information that kidneys get rid of excess Mg that has been absorbed. But you can always ask your doc. I agree, in theory, that if the Mg is drawing water into your gut, it's because it isn't being absorbed. I simply don't trust my health to theory, and like to double check anything that I take. (Because, also in theory, Mg has a muscle relaxing effect that could be helping your gut move more efficiently, and it might not be entirely the osmotic effect. Bottom line: we don't know).
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DaniTronMcNally wrote: »I hate the taste of bone broth so I cook with it a lot and it's helped so much!
I'm glad I'm not the only one. It tastes like vaguely unpleasant blah to me, and I cook with it too. I have to admit that it adds a silky texture to soups and stews.
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KETOGENICGURL wrote: »Since many on LCHF don't consume veggies then you aren't even getting small amounts daily to offset the higher calcium in cheese and dairy.
That's not really true. Animal meats contain magnesium. 100 grams of beef, chicken, or pork has 20-30g of magnesium, and without the oxalates, phytates, and other nutrient-binding compounds found in plants, the magnesium found in meat is more highly bioavailable. Add bone broth into the mix, and you've got a fair bit more, as well. This means that while we may take in fewer grams, we can use more of what we take in. Also, since we don't eat a "mixed" diet that contains grains and other phytate and oxalate heavy foods, all bets are off with the RDA recommendations.0 -
Is 1 avocado meeting all your potassium needs? I eat an avocado a day and I'm always low on Potassium. I need to find another source other than yams which are too high carbs at this point in my journey.0
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Is 1 avocado meeting all your potassium needs? I eat an avocado a day and I'm always low on Potassium. I need to find another source other than yams which are too high carbs at this point in my journey.
Coffee.
I'm actually not joking. Coffee's a good source of potassium. So if you're drinking it, you're likely getting enough. There are also small amounts in a bunch of other stuff. Spinach is another big one for potassium, though, and likely easier on your carb goal. Also, meat has around 250mg potassium per 3oz serving.
Odds are good, then, that you're getting enough to at least maintain your levels. It's always hard telling, because it's optional on nutrition labels, so if you're eating anything other than whole foods, and tracking using anything other than the USDA numbers, you're likely missing a lot of smaller sources.
Are you "low on potassium" as in not reaching the RDA, or are you experiencing symptoms commonly associated with low potassium? The former is a non-issue. Aside from the labeling being optional, the RDA for potassium is insanely high. As in, most people don't actually need that much (it was derived from something like what it takes CVD patients to keep from having a heart attack, or somesuch, as I recall, because it's about all they have to go on; for the average person, they basically pulled the number out of their *kitten*).
If the latter, then it's possible it's not potassium. Be sure to check your sodium and magnesium intake, too. You might need to bump up the other two a bit to balance things back out.0 -
Thanks Dragonwolf (and I don't want to hijack OP's post), but it was more a concern about meeting RDA. I don't have any negative symptoms.0
