Anxiety and Magnesium Deficiency
 

I am believing more and more about SO MANY health issues that are related to magnesium deficiency.

Does Magnesium Work For Anxiety?

Thanks for this. I took the anxiety quiz. I'm awaiting the results. I have some sort of vague thing going on with me... my body feels as though I'm experiencing serious nervousness all the time... (sort-of a shaky & tense feeling 24 /7. I've sometimes described it as restless body syndrome... like restless leg syndrome except it's throughout my entire body.) I have nothing to feel nervous or anxious about however. So I don't know if it's anxiety-related or something physical. And I don't think it's anything a physician could diagnose. It's too vague. Plus I really have no interest in pursuing it.

Anyway, someone here on NeuroTalk suggested magnesium supplements as a possible remedy for this as well. I have to admit, though, that I'm skeptical of all these sorts of things. From what I've read, the supplements industry is pretty-much unregulated & one can never be certain that what it says on the label is what one is actually getting. I'm retired & on a fixed income. So I don't have money to spend on stuff just to see if it might help. It's interesting though. Magnesium is definitely on my radar, so to speak, at this point.

Magnesium deficiency is not common.

It can be tested by measuring blood Mg2+ levels - the reference range is 1.5-2.0 mEq/L and levels less than 1.0 mEq/L are a matter of concern Magnesium: Reference Range, Interpretation, Collection and Panels .

The RDA for Mg2+ for adults is in the range 300-400 mg/day. Good dietary sources of Mg2+ include cereals, green vegetables, fish and nuts. Most people can meet their Mg2+ RDA from dietary sources. People who choose to eat Mg2+ as a supplement without medical supervision should note that tolerable upper intake level for supplemental magnesium is 350 mg/day - eating more than that as a supplement can have adverse health outcomes (Magnesium | Linus Pauling Institute | Oregon State University).

you can test yourself, by taking epsom salts baths.

6 to 8 oz of epsom salts to lukewarm bath tub and soak at least 1/2 hr before bedtime, for several days will show you benefits if your body needs this mineral.

There are many clinical causes of accelerated magnesium loss.
Diabetes (both type I and II) causes the kidney to excrete more magnesium daily. Heavy use of diuretics including coffee (caffeine), use of some drugs (like prednisone) and many others will put you on a depleted path.

14 Drugs That Deplete Magnesium by Suzy Cohen - Jigsaw Health

The addition to this list of the acid blocking drugs, is fairly new and use of these drugs is very common now. Hence magnesium loss can be severe in people who don't know this.

If you choose to take a magnesium supplement orally, your target dose should be 1/2 of the RDA. that is 200mg elemental. Check the labeling for ELEMENTAL doses, since not all types are labeled this way. Elemental measures only the magnesium portion and not the total weight of the product. Example... 1000mg of magnesium malate has 150mg of magnesium per tablet, and the rest is the malate portion. So one of this type per day would be your goal.

I prefer SlowMag supplement, as it is easy on the GI tract (little if any diarrhea) and one of these twice a day is adequate for most people. It has a generic called Mag64. SlowMag is in a delayed matrix and releases slowly. I myself use a topical lotion product and find that better for myself, as my GI tract is very sensitive to oral types.
This product was formulated originally for doctors to use for their cardiac patients.

http://www.slowmag.com/

Avoid products with magnesium oxide in them, or hydroxide, as they don't get absorbed by the GI tract and are eliminated in the stool. They are commonly used today as laxatives, and an example of this is Phillips Tablets. Some products show mixture of oxide and other chelates on the labels, avoid mixtures too. They are mostly oxide in reality.

You don't need high doses of magnesium, but you might need some to bring you up to RDA standards.

A good resource to check your food content is this:
SELF Nutrition Data | Food Facts, Information & Calorie Calculator

Beans are an excellent source of dietary magnesium. 3 oz of unsalted almonds have 270mg in them. Easy to do for a snack or added to salads.

In the 25 yrs of working with supplements I find them to be very regulated and plenty of testing go into these supplements before they go on the market. The industry has too much to lose. I've never had issues and I use a lot of supplements. My major worry is the pharma drugs and as much as they are regulated, so they say, mega side effects from them. I avoid them. Yet, on tv about every night a new drug comes to us. Not me.

Magnesium is a major deficiency and a very inexpensive mineral. So much info on the magnesium world.

Thanks for this :hug: ((((((( hugs ))))))))):hug:

I'm using Magnesium Citrate currently, I am not finding a need to take meds for anxiety as often; I don't know for sure if the Magnesium Citrate is making a difference, or if I'm just coping better with the GAD challenges.

Thing I like about Mag Citrate is, if I feel a little "irregular" I can step up the dosage a bit. ;)