I can't find slowmag in Canada, but after talking to MrsD (a fairly long time ago) I switched to magnesium citrate and though I don't really notice a difference when I take it, I really *do* notice if I'm off it for too long... esp. if I consume mag. depleters like coffee. So, because I drink coffee on the weekends, I take my magnesium over the weekend and then for the first couple of days of the week. I've found that keeps me in good spirits with improved energy and no shaking. I've not had issue with bowels because of the citrate at all.

As for dairy and calcium, dairy (or any other food to which you are reacting) can cause malabsorption. If you're malabsorbing, then you'll have a harder time feeling better.

Foods that will get my mood coming down fast is gluten (#1: even miniscule amounts can affect my mood) and coffee (if I drink it for more than four days in a row... and four days is kind of pushing it).

So, I don't do any gluten at all... am quite freakish about it really after a couple of small errors left me fatigued, with joint pain, a migraine and depressed. And I really enjoy my coffee (which is fair trade, organic beans that I grind in my kitchen) so I keep it for a weekend treat.

My dairy is fairly limited because it causes mucous production and I get a bit of tightness in my chest (I didn't feel any of these symptoms, by the way, until I removed the foods for a time and then ate them again). So, mostly just holidays or special events... and even then, I make sure to keep it quite limited.

For calcium, it seems far more effective to make bone broth soup using cabbage as the acid to pull the calcium (and probably the magnesium) out of the bones. Here is a bunch of information I've collected. Please excuse the fact that it's not been proofed yet and so is not finished. The only reason I've got it on the web already is because so many people were asking for the information and though it's not pretty, the information is still valid and readable. I do list my sources and urge people to ask if it looks like I've missed listing one: Pecking Apart Chicken Soup