This thread is almost 6 yrs old now. Some links below may be outdated, since online sites do not last forever, get updated, moved, and closed. I've fixed the first 5 pages, so that is where the few outdated ones were located.

Most of the important information on this thread is in the first 5 pages, and some new things at the end, with some discussions in between.

I've been posting online for just over a decade now on magnesium and its importance in so many health conditions.
It is estimated that 70% of the American population is deficient in magnesium in the diet. Magnesium is a cofactor in mitochondrial functions, metabolism of fatty acids from the diet, and hundreds of other biochemical reactions in the body that we cannot live without.

Low Magnesium can occur during certain therapies as well. Chemo for cancer is notorius for lowering magnesium. Also diuretics, estrogens and progestins in hormone/birth control treatment, digoxin, steroids, some antibiotics.

Stress, alcohol, and caffeine also deplete magnesium. As would chronic diarrhea.
Diabetics are typically deficient in magnesium as well.

The Linus Pauling Institute has a good monograph about this mineral.
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocente...ium/index.html

Magnesium is useful in patients with ADD/ADHD and is essential for the
biochemisty of Omega-3s.

People who become depleted of magnesium may succumb to a cardiac event called prolonged Q-T. This is where the heart rhythm becomes stalled,
and the heart stops beating. Many drugs cause Q-T events, and I will post that later on this thread. Chronic pain patients using Methadone need to be watchful, as well as those using amphetamine or methylphenidate for ADHD.
The withdrawn common antihistamines Seldane and Hismanal were taken off the market because of Q-T events occurring when other drugs were used
with them. Propulsid was removed for the same reason when diuretics lowered magnesium in patients, who then died of cardiac arrest while using Propulsid for GERD.

Later on in this thread I will post about which types of magnesium are best to use, and which (magnesium oxide) are not good choices.

Hi Mrs D
just wanted to add that magnesium seems to be a vital factor in Tourette Syndrome supplementation too, with most TS people being deficient in it

Bonnie Grimaldi's research is directed toward this, and this also forms the basis for her BonTech line of supplements for TS

I am soooo appreciating having this forum here!

Hi Mrs. D:
Is there a general rule of thumb for how much magnesium we should have?
I have migraines and I know it helps in prevention.
In addition, can you recommend a good book for a layperson re: taking vitamins and minerals for health or preventing sickness?
Thank you, A.

There are two types of magnesium supplement...
1)inorganic salts
2)organic chelates.

Inorganic salts include epsom salts (magnesium sulfate), magnesium chloride
as found in delayed release forms SlowMag, and its generic equivs MagDelay and Mag64.
And Magnesium Oxide (which time has proven in studies to be next to useless).

The chelates are citrate, lactate, glycinate, malate, taurate..these are the most common. This is magnesium bonded to an amino acid which then allows for better absorption with less stool loosening (a common side effect).

Recent studies have shown that not all magnesium supplements are bioavailable --meaning absorbed well from the GI tract.

Magnesium lactate is the best, most completely absorbed.
Magneisum oxide is the worst, by far, and should be avoided.

The rest provide in intermediate level of success and if you want dual effects, some of the chelates afford those. Magnesium taurate provides taurine, which some Tourette's patients do well on. Taurine is also good for the heart.
Magnesium malate provides malic acid which Fibromyalgia patients often find helpful. Anyone with muscle issues would find this useful.
Magnesium citrate can be very laxative, but some people find this useful if they have chronic constipation.

For many, foods offer a safe and easy way to get enough magnesium. This is best for children, and I prefer this way myself. The Linus Pauling site I posted above gives good food choices to do it this way. It also provides dosing suggestions. When taking a supplement of magnesium, one has to consider how much one is getting from food. Most people do not need high doses of magnesium supplements, for that reason. The general rule of thumb is to take at least 1/2 of the suggested RDA in a supplement form. Also people with renal (kidney) disorders must have their blood checked and some physician supervision while taking magnesium supplements.

Overdosing on oral magnesium usually leads to diarrhea in normal people without kidney issues. So toxicity is difficult to reach. But in babies given enemas (Fleet's) magnesium poisoning is a real danger. Adults with eating disorders who purge this way using enemas like this can become a statistic in a poisoning event. Poisoning with magnesium yearly is rather low risk,
usually in the double digits, nationally. Elderly patients with impaired renal function are also at risk when given enemas, citrate of magnesia for X-rays, or Magnesium sulfate IV. They are not commonly poisoned orally with supplements.

The next thread I post here will be about elemental values.
Many supplements have confusing labels, and you may think you are taking something and really receiving something else.

Because I had meningitis which is considered a brain injury once I finally hooked up with my present good doctor he immediately put me on a high dose of magnesium. The thinking is that in any brain injury the magnesium in the csf fluid that bathes the brain is released and is lowered. I also get IV magnesium once a month at the hospital pain centre, seems to help with the jerks.

You will also find on the web many trauma centres now giving IV mag. as part of the initial head injury protocol, Kindly, Alye

I dont know if it has already been mentioned...
but taking a warm tub with about 2 cups of EPSOM SALTS (aka magnesium sulfate) has tremendous health benefits in detoxification, soothing muscular-skeletal pain and a whole lot more!

your saying that magnesium chelated with lactate is best absorbed is based on what resource ? while am finding just the opposite its the worse one
**
and while now a day top brands are using glycinate as being the best absorbed and more recently also lysinate plus malate is being added apparently those along with glycinate renders it even more bio available ? or more soothing to the digestive system ? such as the one made by albion labs

Welcome to NeuroTalk:

Post # 10 in this thread has the links explaining absorption of oral products.

All oral magnesium has flaws. Some just more than others.
Magnesium oxide does not ionize in GI tract so passes mostly thru to become a laxative. Phillips caplets contain this form and are advertised as a "gentle" overnight laxative. The magnesium stearate in vitamins is also inert and passes thru. Many people see stearate listed on labels and think they are getting magnesium, but they are not.

Minerals can be blocked during absorption if certain drugs are taken. Acid blocking drugs for GERD, will reduce some magnesium absorption, for example. If you listen carefully to the commercials on TV, they even state that now. But for many years this was not understood well. Also if a person has Celiac or gluten intolerance magnesium will be poorly absorbed no matter what form it is in.

Diuretics deplete magnesium and many drugs affect its utilization in some ways...hormone treatments, long term antibiotics (as in Lyme treatments), and steroid treatments will affect magnesium in the body. (this information is from Drug Induced Nutrient Depletion Handbook, by Pelton and LaValle, 2nd ed.)

Personally I've been using magnesium in a new lotion called Morton's Epsom Lotion. This has been the best for me. It even reduces pain levels, and my hypertension.
http://www.mortonsalt.com/for-your-h...-epsom-lotion/
This is still new but available inexpensively at WalMart and Amazon. I expect to see it at more sellers soon. It is just fabulous and I no longer take oral supplements myself. And I've reduced my hypertension medication from 3 to one small dose.
It is really good for muscle strains, tendon problems, or nerve pain. When people have circulation issues, where the small blood vessels are constricted the topical works much better than oral. The mag in the blood really can't get to places, where circulation is impaired. Inflammation, for example, that is long term does this or oral is hampered whereas topical bypasses that issue.

This is a long thread, and encompasses many years--since 2006. I put up scientific papers when I find them on PubMed...and so one has to read along to find those. Medical topics tend to have conflicting studies at times like most other medical information, so NOTHING is caste in stone with supplements, drugs, devices, or treatments. It has been relatively recent that studies on bioavailability have been done at all.

Hi MrsD! I'm thrilled to have found you... or rather... thrilled that you found me.

Now that I know you're here, I'm linking the gs board over to here for some of my food study threads. When I do vit.s and minerals, I only mostly cover the basics and then post the foods and how to cook them.

So, here's a link to the foods and how to cook them for anyone here who might be interested.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...6071#post36071

As usual you always find very important/basic information, that is very
useful.

It is much harder to get magnesium these days for many people, since
whole foods are the basic sources. (people eat and run, and do fast food).