Magnesium Supplements

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KetoCutie
KetoCutie Posts: 161 Member
Advise me, friends.

I've read plenty that says you should have a magnesium supplement if you are low carbing. I went to the store and was confounded by the options.

What do you take? How often? How much?

Replies

  • glossbones
    glossbones Posts: 1,064 Member
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    Anything is better than nothing (assuming ingredients are quality). I've used a powdered drink mix (which I found on Amazon), a tablet, a mixed caplet of Magnesium, Potassium, and Calcium.

    Right now I take the Magnesium supplement from Nature Made (I get it at Target), because I'm allergic to sulfates and the mixed caplet we have is magnesium sulfate. I take it twice a day.
  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,104 Member
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    I was told to look specifically for Magnesium CITRATE. Your body can absorb and use this better than other types.
  • glossbones
    glossbones Posts: 1,064 Member
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    Especially my body, apparently! Anything with sulfate, and I have a mouth full of canker sores! Which is pretty fortunate, since Acesulfame Potassium (yes, chemists, I know, and sulfites bother me, too, don't tell me they don't) pairs so commercially with sucralose, which means I have been avoiding it for over a decade (since I discovered the correlation) anyway!
  • DittoDan
    DittoDan Posts: 1,850 Member
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    KnitOrMiss wrote: »
    I was told to look specifically for Magnesium CITRATE. Your body can absorb and use this better than other types.

    Ditto that. I take 800 mg @ day.

    Dan the Man from Michigan
    Are You Having Charlie horse/leg cramps? (try Magnesium)
  • TheSatinPumpkin
    TheSatinPumpkin Posts: 948 Member
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    I take a glass of Ecodrink which takes care of my cramps. I also take a cup of NV Natural Calm twice a day and that keep me VERY regular in addition to matching my calcium intake ratio.
  • NurseJilly76
    NurseJilly76 Posts: 13 Member
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    What's everybody's take on potassium supplements? The highest that I've seen here, is in 100mg tabs.
  • DianaElena76
    DianaElena76 Posts: 1,241 Member
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    DittoDan wrote: »
    KnitOrMiss wrote: »
    I was told to look specifically for Magnesium CITRATE. Your body can absorb and use this better than other types.

    Ditto that. I take 800 mg @ day.

    Dan the Man from Michigan
    Are You Having Charlie horse/leg cramps? (try Magnesium)

    I'm glad I read this. I'm looking at supplements, as I've been feeling particularly crummy this week. I have no idea why, as I'm eating the same things I've been eating for the past 4 weeks, but I'm nauseous and fatigued and IRRITABLE (just ask my husband and kids) and have been getting headaches and mild dizzy spells. I can only assume it's the magnesium and potassium....
  • GSD_Mama
    GSD_Mama Posts: 629 Member
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    I have bottle of Magnesium from Natures Bounty. It's 500 mg with 90 mg of sodium and 30 mg of potassium. I don't take it very often.
  • Keto_T
    Keto_T Posts: 673 Member
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    DittoDan wrote: »
    KnitOrMiss wrote: »
    I was told to look specifically for Magnesium CITRATE. Your body can absorb and use this better than other types.

    Ditto that. I take 800 mg @ day.

    Dan the Man from Michigan
    Are You Having Charlie horse/leg cramps? (try Magnesium)

    I take Magnesium Citrate too...I take 600mg per day. START with less though and work up, Mg citrate has a laxative effect. Take one pill (200 mg) every other day, then one per day, and then add as you feel like you need to. Do NOT start with 600 or 800 mg. You will not be happy while tethered to the bathroom.
  • DianaElena76
    DianaElena76 Posts: 1,241 Member
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    itcphotog wrote: »
    I have bottle of Magnesium from Natures Bounty. It's 500 mg with 90 mg of sodium and 30 mg of potassium. I don't take it very often.

    Just curious, do you not take it often because you only take it when you need it? If so, how do you decide when? Or are you like me and just not take it often because you forget? I'm so bad at remembering to take vitamins...
  • spush
    spush Posts: 132 Member
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    After the horrid cramps last night I popped across the road at work today. And went to Morrisons. They had no magnesium citrate but I did get some calcium, magnesium and vit D tabs which will have to do until I can go to Holland and Barratt Or some where like that. Each dose has 300mg as magnesium hydroxide. 800mg calcium and some vit d.
  • raventwo
    raventwo Posts: 91 Member
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    I use Solgar brand only for all my vitamins and supplements. I used to take Magnesium Citrate 400 mg per day, and am now taking 500 mg per day as I newly am taking a calcium magnesium citrate supplement. I am, however, still having some..issues. I may up the calcium to 600 per day and get the calcium up a teense as well.
  • Teneko
    Teneko Posts: 314 Member
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    What's everybody's take on potassium supplements? The highest that I've seen here, is in 100mg tabs.

    Okay, I did a lot of looking into this because I had medically low potassium for a while. The deal is that in the US, they can't really sell the supplements over 99g because apparently it can cause damage in high doses. Like...if the pill gets stuck in your throat, it can burn. Too MUCH potassium can be deadly, too, but I think it's hard to get there on a diet like ours unless we are freebasing lite salt and avocados. The high doses of potassium that are prescribed are usually coated and time released to help avoid problems.

    Bottom line is the potassium supplements are ok, I guess, but you're better off getting it nutritionally through foods like avocados, spinach, yogurt, greens.
    In addition, potassium is only one of the vitamins / minerals your body needs. It seems the absorption is tied with magnesium and calcium and they all interact with each other. It's a chemical reaction going on in your body, and everybody's different, so everybody's going to need a different balance.

    -T.
  • Quatroux
    Quatroux Posts: 51 Member
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    If you take any prescription meds, check to make sure they don't interact poorly with magnesium. For example, some beta blockers aren't absorbed properly if taken with magnesium.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    I do magnesium citrate in the mornings. And cal/mag/D at night.
    I do it that way because otherwise every morning run includes a stop in at the walmart bathroom, which isn't a good thing. :smile:

    PS: not low carb, just like how it keeps me regular, and my doc recommended it for peri-menopause.
  • radiii
    radiii Posts: 422 Member
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    I take Magnesium Citrate with my evening meds. I take the recommended amount daily (400mg I think?). Before I started doing this, I would have leg cramps when I woke up. Doing this stopped them immediately.

    What's everybody's take on potassium supplements? The highest that I've seen here, is in 100mg tabs.

    Potassium supplements seem pretty worthless to me. I use lite salt, very liberally. If I'm not feeling great I make some chicken broth and dump a serving size of lite salt in it and drink it. I don't do this daily or anything, just if I feel a bit off/am not feeling my best. If you like avocados, you're probably going to be set on potassium.

    Meat has a fair bit of potassium as well and MFP entries rarely list that. There are some nutrition sites that show them, I tend to do things like google "potassium in ribeye" and it'll pull up some numbers for me.



  • glossbones
    glossbones Posts: 1,064 Member
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    Hee, well I doubled up on the magnesium citrate last night before bed (500mg total dose). It was.. effective? But not quite what I wanted.