Posted by Mistermindmasta on September 14, 2005, at 23:47:05
In reply to Calcium magnesium ratio? » Mistermindmasta, posted by JLx on September 14, 2005, at 19:50:16
> My not very scientific understanding is that if you're deficient in magnesium but getting a lot of calcium, you may not even be getting the benefit of the calcium you're taking/eating because it needs magnesium to work properly. Perhaps a sudden surge in magnesium then may actually increase calcium?
That might be possible, too, I didn't think about that. I have read several places that magnesium is necessary for proper calcium utilization.
>
> I started taking magnesium two years ago because of what I read on George Eby's website: *Rapid Recovery From Depression Using Magnesium Treatment* http://www.coldcure.com/html/dep.htmlYeah, that has a big influence on me, too. He seems to have a lot of decent references.
>He said to decrease/eliminate calcium when supplementing magnesium for depression so I basically cut it out of my diet altogether for a month or two. I had a dramatic improvement in mood, not in weeks as I expected, but within ONE day. I felt so good I quit my meds (Zoloft,Provigil) cold turkey that day and haven't taken any since. I felt a little shaky for a day but then was ok. (I know this is not recommended but I never had any prob quitting any med and they definitely felt like poison at that point and didn't work besides.)
>I cannot take calcium at all. None. I guess I'm hoping I get enough from my diet alone - veggies and alternative grains. But anyway, if I take calcium supps I DEFINITELY feel down, depressed, lethargic, dark feelings. Can't take it. I never understood and still don't understand why I'm so sensitive. Most people with anxiety / depressive disorders cant take calcium and have some sort of metabolic imbalance with the way their body uses calcium. Not the mention that calcium excess in neurons can increase the rate of glutamate induced neurotoxicity... whether too much calcium from supps/diet actually contributes, I don't know.
> It was many months before I felt like that previous calcium overload/magnesium deficient imbalance was righted. And during that time, taking magnesium glycinate primarily, it was not sedating to me. Now, it is, so I have to take it at night.
>Interesting that you say it's not sedating to you.
> I would suggest that anyone not experiencing any benefit from magnesium, decreasing or eliminating calcium from the diet for a week or month, to see if that made any difference. This may be more relevant to women as we're often following that anti-osteoporosis advice to get huge amounts of calcium in our diets or by supplementation.
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> My other suggestion would be for people to experiment with other kinds of magnesium, such as magnesium malate which feels much less sedating to me. And fiddle with the dose, either up or down.
>I tried that in the past, sporadically, and don't recall it being too sedating.
> Otherwise I think we can assume that people are just different in how they react to it. My sister, who is not a depressive type, finds magnesium glycinate stimulating. She can't even take an Epsom salt bath without it keeping her from sleeping afterwards.
>I never have problems sleeping, unless its the middle of the day.
> Magnesium for me is DIRECTLY related to suicidal ideation and feelings too. Since I started taking it I don't experience that special circle of hell.>
> > I just started using Magnesium and I feel kind of out of it... like slow thinking, when I take too much (approx 400mg) at one time. I'm hoping this foggy feeling will go away or turn into a nicer feeling. What do you think? It definitely has acute anxiety reducing properties, just FYI... I definitely recommend it for that.
>
> What kind of mg does this and have you tried any other?
>If I do 800 mg / day for like 3 days straight, I'll be EXTREMELY sedated (VERY VERY SEDATED!!!) and lethargic... but nicely lowers anxiety (what with being close to unconscious and all... ha). I can only tolerate 200 mg in the morning and 200 mg at night, this seems to make me feel less spaced out.
I've tried Mg malate and asporotate. The asporotate form I remember making me spacy too, but I remember being calm and more stable, like the glycinate form. I plan on trying the taurate form next.
I'm going to stick with 200 mg / day and 200 mg / night. At the least, I'm assuming I can slowly build the levels in my body over the course of several months. *Most people* don't become rectified of magnesium deficiency in 3 days or anything, so I'll keep taking it and see how I feel.
BTW, I started supplementing iron today. I've read numerous studies on how it can help cognitive function and fatigue in people who are not even anemic. I don't want to be doctor to myself, but I look at things this way:
In the typical american diet of fortified foods and whatnot, it is easy to get 500% RDA of iron. I don't eat fortified foods and I eat foods high in fiber (phytates bind iron and Mg), and foods high in oxalates and tannins (also bind Iron and Mg). I eat a lot of buckwheat, quinoa, brown rice, oatmeal, nuts and sometimes tea / guarana / coffee. Thus, I figure, unless I have the genetics for iron overload, i'd probably be good getting a little more iron. At the least, i still won't get as much iron as the typical american diet People who eat high fiber diets often are lower in iron.... so, maybe it'll help my short term memory, since that kinda stinks.
Right now, the only nutrients that want to be sure to get are enough of zinc, iron and magnesium, and possibly selenium.
poster:Mistermindmasta
thread:554015
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20050812/msgs/555211.html