Known muscle relaxant - and perhaps more?
Written: Jan 30 '04 (Updated May 21 '08)
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Pros: supplementation was proven to correspond with improvements in health
Cons: you have to pay for it :)
The Bottom Line: Try it - magnesium supplementation was proven to be very safe. In addition, you may discover that it helps your health in some way, as I did.
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| djork's Full Review: Magnesium |
I've been drinking magnesium supplements occasionally for years now. It definitely makes the muscle cramps go away from exercising in a gym. I don't get an upset stomach with it like with some supplements and try to drink it after eating some acidic fruit.
Magnesium - it's that one element of the periodic table you couldn't live without. It is present in some amounts in all cells. It is also stored in bones where it is associated with calcium and phosphorus to provide firm structure. Here's a list of some of magnesium's functions: formation of bone, protein, and fatty acids; cell division, migration, communication; activation of B vitamins; making of DNA and RNA; relaxing of muscles; blood clotting; utilizing ATP (energy "currency" of every cell). Recent studies by NIH have shown that many Americans are not getting enough magnesium (mostly because of high excretion levels). Only about 1/4 of population consumes enough - about 40% of people get below 70% of recommended dose. I'd say that this is a very IMPORTANT mineral for over 1/2 the US population to be low on.
WARNING: before I proceed, I'd like to ascertain that although animal metabolism (process of extracting and using energy from food) is extensively studied, various studies report various things, so all of information provided here should not be taken as completely true. Human body is simply a very complex structure - and metabolism research has really begun only this past century. One thing is sure, however - low magnesium levels have been associated with a variety of problems. Whether people are simply not eating enough, or perhaps their body does not absorb enough or retain enough - it all leads to various side effects. Low Mg (hereby Mg = magnesium) levels have been associated with:
1. Constant fatigue syndrome
2. Attention deficit disorder
3. Diabetes, type II
4. Osteoporosis and cavities
5. Abnormal heart rhythms
6. Cramping, seizures
7. Migraines
8. Depressed immune system and various infections
9. Kidney stones - due to erroneous deposit of calcium in absence of magnesium.
10. Impotence, aggression, weakness, hair loss, etc.
Some of problems mentioned above are due to different sources than Mg deficiency - but Mg supplementation has been proven to help ease "side effects" of certain such diseases. NIH writes that increased intake of Mg helps to:
1. Increase bone density - intake of only calcium still makes brittle bones - phosphorus and magnesium are essential for bone strength
2. Improve blood pressure
3. Decrease risk of stroke or heart attack
4. Ease depression in certain cases
Personal experience: Mg most likely helps with leg cramping. Those of you who have already experienced such cramping know that it may be so bad, as to leave you limping for the whole next day. When I told my doctor about cramps - he told me that nothing has been actually proven to work yet. Officially that is. Then, one day, reading about supplements I found that Mg was known to work as a muscle relaxant. So I bought a supplement and started experimenting on myself. I took it a dose of 30-60% of RDA a couple of hours before I went to sleep. Lo and behold - every evening I've taken this supplement I have had NO LEG CRAMPS at night!! Now that may be due only to coincidence - i do not have these cramps very often - but as time goes on I'm more likely to believe that it is actually the supplementation that helps.
Suppose you are deficient on Mg - what would be the symptoms?
Most likely you would have few very noticeable symptoms unless you are extremely low on Mg, in which case you would experience: sleepiness, confusion, irritability, cramps, numbness / tingling, loss of appetite, depression, irregular heart rhythms, and seizures in extreme cases.
Who is most likely to be low on Mg?
1. Alcoholics, diabetics, elderly, teenage girls.
2. People who are dieting / fasting.
3. People who have underwent surgery (especially of gastrointestinal tract). Those who have experienced much vomiting or used diuretics.
4. Those who drinks much soda and coffee/tea during the day.
5. Certain drugs hinder Mg absorption. Many others increase its excretion with urine. The list is very extensive. So if you are taking some drug, I would recommend asking your doctor or searching the internet to find out if it inhibits anything else.
6. Some people are simply genetically not equipped correctly to efficiently handle the nutrients they eat. Our bodies are built of enormous amount of various substances encoded by large amount of genes. Its no wonder that many of us carry certain mutations (mistakes in our genes) that are not extremely harmful, but they make our bodies less efficient in carrying out some function or another. Our bodies learn to cope. Some mutations kill, but they do so usually very early in life. Others cause people to suffer low health, never learning the true source of the problem. Thus, it is true that some people may be simply unable to absorb Mg efficiently, even if they do get enough through diet.
Right now, an average American consumes about 120 mg of Mg per every 1000 calories he or she eats. At this rate, you'd have to be on 3000-4000 calorie diet to consume enough of Mg - and most of us cannot/do not eat that much.
Taking about deficiencies, what is the recommended daily dose?
Recommended daily intake for women (19-30) - 310 mg
Recommended daily intake for men (19-30) - 400 mg
Both genders ages over 30 years - +10 mg to dose above
Pregnant women - 400 mg
Teenage girls - 360 mg
Is an overdose possible and what would be its side effects?
Mg is water soluble mineral - it is easily excreted by our body with all the other water we excrete. Doses over 2000 mg a day should be avoided. But even eating that much of Mg some people may have no side effects. Temporary diarrhea has been the worst symptom reported of an overdose.
So what would help/hinder absorption?
Mg absorption, as reported by researchers, is an extremely delicate process. Information on this question has thus been not consistent. Common sense would dictate that all divalent mineral ions (those which have 2+ charge on them, i.e. Calcium and Zinc) would compete with Mg for the same absorption sites in intestines. In summary, avoid consuming high doses of fat, fiber, protein, calcium, zinc with a supplement of Mg. Your body also needs to have appropriate levels of vitamins D and B6, selenium, and certain parathyroid hormone for maximal absorption.
How does one test for deficiency?
Urine and blood tests are done. If both come positive for low Mg levels you'd have a strong reason to suspect that you are deficient - though these test do have some failure rate.
What foods are high in Mg?
Leafy, dark green vegetables - plants use Mg for photosynthesis, thus every cell in every green leaf contains some Mg.
120 mg and above in 1/2 cup of the following - peanuts, tofu, broccoli
60-119 mg in 1/2 cup of the following - canned mashed potatoes, cooked small white beans, tomato paste, cooked spinach, cooked chard, cooked soybeans, avocado
Other good sources: almost all bean and nut varieties, meat, yogurt, lentils, chestnuts, chick peas, succotash, okra, chocolate, potatoes.
What supplements are available?
Magnesium oxide is the supplement that contains most Mg for the weight of this substance (~60%) - but its drawback is that absorption is very slow (~4hours) and not very efficient. Oxides are hard to absorp and may cause the most side effects. Chelated supplements are better. Magnesium gluconate (aka Magonate) contains only 5% magnesium by weight but absorbs the fastest, relieving symptoms of Mg deficiency quickly. Magnesium L-lactate - designed for slow absorption with actual scientific proof that lactate leaves with urine alone, Mg stays in body. And there are many many others, each with some benefit and some drawback.
Warning: Mg supplementation may inhibit certain drugs taken at the same time. Generally all supplements work best with at least 100 calorie snack - one exception is perhaps Magonate listed above.
For further information visit:
Magnesium Research Lab in Rangeley, ME - http://magnesiumresearchlab.salu.net/
NIH site for supplement information - http://www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/supplements/
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
djork
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Location: south CA, USA
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
College student in sciences; traveled some; love coffee, cats, plants, trips, music, and the net
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