In a recent post about insomnia BadHare mentioned how beneficial magnesium is for sleep and as a muscle relaxant. Magnesium deficiency is very common due to the soil being depleted of it and by poor diets and processed foods.
I was horrified to read that in the US 60% of the population do not get their RDA of it. The only supplement that I take is vitamin D at the end of winter. And last winter I had a cold, so I took my usual vitamin D tablet and had a poisoned headache later.
When we take vitamin D our bodies use magnesium to make use of the vitamin D so the headache was caused by self inflicted magnesium deficiency. I now have some chelated magnesium which I take if my muscles ache and I won’t take vitamin D without it as they work together. Another really good way of getting enough magnesium is magnesium oil, which’s magnesium flakes dissolved in water and I make my own as a bag of 1Kg magnesium flakes makes 2L of magnesium oil. I make it by boiling the kettle and adding 100ml boiling water to 100g magnesium flakes stir to dissolve leave to cool and put in a spray bottle and you literally spray it on your skin which absorbs it. Now stating the obvious this is really good if you strain a muscle as you can spray it directly so as well as sooting the aching muscle it is absorbed by the skin, so doesn't affect our gut. Magnesium oil is also great for our skin and hair as well.
Lastly magnesium is essential for our bodies to absorb calcium and a large proportion of society are deficient but its best to take a chelated one as a supplement and not magnesium oxide .
This important mineral crops up a lot in the TUK forum, being an essential nutrient for hormone health, especially good thyroid function.
It's important for folks to know that oral magnesium has an effect on the absorption of other minerals & also the absorption of medication. I do not take it within 5 hours of vitamin D3, my thyroid hormones or HRT. However, there is no digestive interaction from transdermal, which is also better absorbed by the body. I also make my own spray with magnesium hexahydrate crystals & distilled witch hazel. I use a much lower dilution to Jerry, 100g to 200mls of WH, & still find it stings! I've been informed that most is absorbed within half an hour, so the spray can then be washed off. My favourite source is having at least a half hour soak in a bath with a kilo of epsom or magnesium salts. This greatly improves sleep & is wonderful for aching muscles!
There is a big difference between the different forms of magnesium & also their use. The cheaper form of magnesium (citrate) is better taken with meals to reduce constipation. It acts as a mild irritant & increases gut motility. As stated above, don't take it with iron rich meals if you think or know you have iron anemia. For bioavailability, chelated at night time om an empty stomach, or transdermal at any time, is better.
I initially took magnesium to reduce nocturnal sugar cravings, & now chelated for nerve function & bone health. Also because my calcium intake is very high. This is important for everyone, with regard to avoiding atherosclerosis, as this is exacerbated by in excess ratio of calcium to magnesium, or deficiency in the cofactors needed to bind calcium to bone where we want it. For women, & also older men, who are more prone to developing osteoporosis, vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), the mineral boron, & vitamin K2 (from fermented food) is essential for producing bone mass & preventing loss. Think I've posted about vitamin D3, boron & K2 previously.
I love this group. Compere I have been taking my d3 k2 a vtimin c and mag together. Because earlier I have an iron Roch breakfast with vitamin c (not every day) and I take my b12 spray then too. Then later in the day I take more magnesium and alternate between throwing in a selenium or a zinc or a manganese for the funsies. And I can't take my d any later or I'll be hyper all night. So does that sound good? I can't take the mag earlier because iron and I need to split it up through the day otherwise it twitches in my tummy all the way through. So I have one with lunch one with dinner and two at night before bed with a big glass of water. I try to have some oils with my d and k in the lunchtime slot. But I want to take a b complex for a while too and not sure where to slot it in? Maybe in the morning with the iron foods and b12 and vitc? I think that's gonna be my limit too but I'm going to try to make my diet better so that I won't need them but right now I need the supplements as lockdown has screwed with my ability to shop so really limited.
I have issues with calcium supplements because the majority are calcium carbonate which's chalk and its molecules are 100,000x larger than calcium from food. So the problem with calcium supplements in my opinion is that our kidneys end up working harder because we only absorb a fraction of the chalk about 3%
I have border line osteopenia and have had for 15+ years with no change and no calcium supplements and I eat sesame seeds and quinoa (in bread) and eat cheese/ dairy and that works for me.
Interesting re calcium molecules. I wonder why doctors keep prescribing useless stuff like calcium carbonate & D2 tablets?
My concern with too much calcium is that I like my kefir so much, I may overdo it.
I recently found out the medication for osteopenia & osteoporosis doesn't just prevent bone loss, but also new bone mass. This can make the bones brittle, which defeats the point. I wonder if GPs are aware of this, too?
I asked my gastroenterologist this and he said that because we do absorb some calcium it was worth it. The other issue I have is they add maltodextrin which can be a wheat derivative.
That's naughty, There are so many meds available that don't have fillers that people are allergic to, it should be common practice for all medication. I know how frustrating to have to check everything!
It's not as simple as that as wheat derivatives are classed as gf in the UK and the EU as they are well within the codex 20ppm for gf food. In the US, Australia and NZ they have to label wheat derivatives.
The EFSA say that below 20ppm of gluten is unlikely to cause a severe reaction, me I don't want a reaction full stop.
Some supermarket own brand multi vitamins use mannitol not only a wheat derivative but a laxative, just what you want when you're feeling off colour LOL.
Really?!! Those standards are just not good enough!
My preferred hypo medication has no reactive fillers, despite no obvious or immediate GF reaction than feeling better on that one rather than the otherwise identical one with a miniscule amount of wheat. The company I choose has a +/-2% quality standardisation, rather than the FDA allowed +/-10%. I was diagnosed with coeliac as an infant, but told I'd grown out of it, which was utter sloblocks.
The reason in my opinion that wheat derivatives do not have to be listed in the EU is because codex wheat starch is made in Germany by the Hero food group based in Switzerland and eaten across Scandinavia and available on the prescription in the UK. So if we are told that codex wheat is OK then wheat derivatives will have an even lower gluten count e.g. >5ppm. But because we can get codex wheat on prescription the UK Coeliac society deem that malt vinegar which is below codex is safe and so are malted breakfast cereals if they are below codex.
I can see why non coeliac experts think this way but many coeliac have adverse reaction to malt, me included.
There is a big campaign going on by the coeliac society as they are stopping food on prescription for coeliac in one area after another. Now the big issue with this is the NHS pays £8.40 for 500g of codex wheat because of the handling charges etc when coeliac in the EU can buy it for 2.5Euro's over the counter.
Codex wheat is washed repeatedly in solvents to remove the bulk of the gluten rendering it inert and it has to be fortified with calcium carbonate (chalk) to make it appear more nutritious. As you can see I'm not a fan and thats why I make my own bread.
Now being diagnosed as a child and then experts thinking you've grown out of it was quite common among adolescents because of the hormonal changes. As gluten didn't seem to affect them anymore then usually mid 20's it kicks back in. I was referred to a psychiatrist when I was 6 as I kept getting sick and the psychiatrist said I didn't not need to see one. And in my teens no issues, then late 20's bang it was back with a vengeance and it took 13 years for me to be diagnosed as I appeared too healthy. So you're not alone.
I'd like to see gluten free mean zero gluten but measuring this is difficult so I'd like undetectable gluten and none of the forbidden grains as a compromise.
The issue with stopping your food prscriptions has already hit people with thyroid disorders who have had their T3 stopped. Extremely bad for people who have a genetic issue with converting T4 to T3, or who do not tolerate T4 monotherapy. T3 is on sale for £1 a packet OTC in Greece. Some numpty in Whitehall signed a contract with a company selling the NHS 100 for £275, which I think rose to £325. The most expensive in other parts of Europe being £27 for 100. Myself & thousands of other people have to buy their own.
It wasn't the experts that decided I no longer had coeliac, which can't be grown out of, but my apathetic family. My issue, rather than present as digestive, didn't materialise for another 10 years when I started to develop hypothyroid symptoms initially being cold, then all the other malaise that come with it. I was 49 when I had the diagnosis of a pituitary tumour, likely caused by eating wheat. I had to diagnosed myself with secondary hypothyroidism, the self-medicate for this condition. The past two years have been wonderful with regard to being able to produce body heat & eat a normal amount of calories, not that I've ever followed a normal British diet.
Both coeliac & hypothyroidism can present as severe psychiatric disorders, including schitzophrenia & bipolar disorder. Instead of looking at something as simple as diet & hormonal imbalance, people are put on a range of **** medicines that cause worse symptoms & side effects, so they get more medication. It makes me rather angry, & sad that other people won't have the ability to understand what they need to do to help themselves get better, as we've done, & medical professionals just hand out the cheapest or easiest pills!
I agree 100% find the cause and not treat the symptom.
in reply to
Even tic tacs are called sugar free even though there's sweet f all else in them. But they're only small so they can say below 5g is zero. Lol! Madness. Didn't know about the wheat though.
I started taking magnesium a few months ago as I understand it’s good for the thyroid and it helps with vit d3 when taken with it. I have problems with both.
I’ve had higher than normal blood pressure for a few years where it was getting to the point Drs wanted me on blood pressure tablets and were refusing me other meds’ due to blood pressure. I had my blood pressure taken a couple of weeks ago and the dr was very surprised, it was totally normal, she asked what I’d done. So I no longer need blood pressure tablets and got the medication I needed as my blood pressure was no longer high.
My husband has had to take blood pressure tablets and after seeing his side effects I think I’ll stick with the magnesium.
That;s interesting to know. I'll pass it on to a friend with high BP.
Your D3 is best absorbed with a meal containing fat, I usually have mine with nuts. These are good for boron & zinc, Magnesium is nest absorbed at bedtime, on an empty stomach. Don't forget vitamn K2 from fermented foods, & some cheese. I get mine from kefor, but brie is also a source.
I saw an article in the MailOnline that said high blood pressure was due to a magnesium deficiency, I saw it after I started taking it and just forgot about it until my last blood pressure reading.
I've been taking for for about 15 years. MY BP has always been low, but I don't think taking it has lowered it further.
I had my bone density tested 16 years ago and then 5 years ago and my Dr referred me for another earlier this year and the specialist replied that as my levels had not changed and my blood tests were normal and I obviously stick rigidly to a gluten free diet there was no need.
I eat meat I was a vegetarian but was constantly anaemic until diagnosed as a coeliac so started eating meat again and I eat chicken, fish and lean beef sometimes.
I make my own bread and add sesame seeds quinoa flour and now chia seeds I eat broccoli most days and cheese most days and I eat live yoghurt sometimes. And milk in tea daily.
I walk a lot and have a short/quick workout with weights every morning, I'm also very active and lose weight very easily and my Dr told me to try and put on some weight as I'm lean. I also cycle a lot even though its not load bearing it helps to keep me fit.
I also have microscopic colitis so avoid all astringents including alcohol and I don't drink caffeine in the evening as caffeine strips our bodies of calcium.
I saw a program the other night and don't think that I could stomach bone broth.
And thanks again for the info and I live in the UK.
A holistic practitioner that ran an acupuncture course I attended, talked about the benefits of bone broth. Being veggie, & having vegan friends, I asked wht the alternatives are. He suggested egg shells, & beetroot. The latter makes a fabulous red velvet torte with ground almonds.
in reply to
I got a collegen powder which is really easy to slip into things like just your soups and casseroles and things. The college isn't absorbed but it feeds bacteria that seem to signal the body to produce its own. Which I find too cool to not eat. Lol
Buy kefir grains, add to organic wholemilk, then leave to ferment. I like a website called Yemoos. I think they sell grains, too. I drink about 750mls a day, but don't know the amount of K2 in kefir. This is where I read about it: chriskresser.com/vitamin-k2...
I take 200-300mcg of chelated magnesium, but alternate with using a transdermal spray or putting it in a bath. In winter I take about 3500mcg of vitamin D3, 2,000 mcg in summer.
I'm unsure of my boron intake, but eat several foods containing this mineral, so I'm happy I have enough. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
Yup I was having whole heart go into a vibration instead of beating...scared the bejeepers out of me...400mg of magnesium a day later it was gone. And it makes me wonder how many people have medications and surgeries without ever addressing the possible cause. I'm so glad I found it cos the longer the heart thing goes on theres damage along the way. So that reminds me time for my supplements! Lol!
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Buckwheat and date flapjacks 
Gluten free comforting millet porridge 
Plant based diet, B12& Iron deficiency 
