Magnesium dosing - less is more?

[Danielj1]

There have been tons of good posts on this subject over which versions to use, how much to dose and whether tablet or oil or bath salts etc.

My minor point to add is that I have kept going over the last couple of years with magnesium glycinate and found it consistently brilliant - but as time has gone on I have seemed to need less rather than more. At one point I was up to about 400 a day (3 tablets) and now find i am best on one tablet a day which I realise is much less than RDA - but I have really improved my diet and simply do not seem to need as much as a few years back.

All very subjective I know, but for someone new to supplementing with magnesium this may offer an alternative perspective.

None of this is meaning to give specific dietary advice to anyone of course

[humanbean]

Just a theory...

Suppose when you started taking magnesium you were very deficient. So you took three tablets a day and felt better for it.

Then as you repaired your deficiency you were able to reduce to two tablets a day then just one. Now, presumably, you are just maintaining your level where you feel best. You will also be getting some from your food, even if it isn't quite enough to keep your level where you feel best.

Magnesium testing is not reliable. The body prioritises keeping the amount of magnesium it needs in the blood, but it doesn't need to keep a lot of magnesium in the blood. Most of the body's magnesium is needed elsewhere. If you aren't taking in enough in food then the body steals magnesium from the bones, muscles and other soft tissues.

You can find out how magnesium is distributed in the body from table 2 in this link:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

I think the biggest problem for people with thyroid disease (in terms of nutrients) is that they can't break down food and absorb nutrients very well because of low stomach acid. Without supplementation, their levels might be low in range or just below range but they are rarely good. Doctors think that anything in range is fine, and even just below range is "close enough", and they really don't seem able to grasp that there is an optimal level for many nutrients, but bottom of the range for nutrients is never optimal. And if you have no information on what level is optimal for some nutrients it seems reasonable to assume that mid-range will be safe.

[Danielj1 in reply to humanbean]

Very helpful and thank you. I think that stomach acid deficiency is the biggest issue for us all here - my mum and I where we can both now try to have as much fruit and veg as we can for the high water content and restrict proteins to mainly fish now and occasionally eggs. A push for more of a liquid diet of soups and smoothies seems to make a massive help perhaps not heeding the same levels of stomach acid to digest ? Not sure what the science says but for my mum in particular has made a life changing difference in her very advanced years

[humanbean in reply to Danielj1]

I must admit I wouldn't be able to survive on your diet - I hate fish and like meat and eggs!

Good luck.