Magnesium questions

[Emma-Liza]

My chiropractor gave me some samples of a powdered magnesium. The brand is Peter Gillham's Natural Calm, though it is only powdered magnesium and not a proprietary blend of minerals. I took it last night, mixed with a half-cup of warm water. I liked how it tasted (evidently, I'm the only one, though! ;) ) He cautioned me disguise it with juice, but I thought it tasted a bit like hot lemonade. I added a little stevia and drank it right before bed, as directed.

It was a little like taking Nyquil! My muscles relaxed and my body had a warm, pleasant feeling in general. I slept fine, but lately I have been. I was not overly sleepy when I woke up, but lately, that's been the case anyway. I wanted to know if anyone else has been supplementing with magnesium and/or if you know anything about this brand/product.

Too much information section
I'm female, in menopause, but my blood panel is still showing hormone levels for someone not in menopause. I had a recent bone scan with a normal result (no bone loss); my blood sugar is normal. I don't take any long-term (sometimes use them when I'm feeling poorly) vitamin or mineral supplements, but I'm about to start using Alissa's green powder just to be sure I'm getting enough minerals (I don't want to have teeth problems!). I do have seretonin re-uptake delay, but am not currently on medication for it. I eat a variety of seeds and greens daily. I have been raw less than a month.

Here's the product literature: Peter Gillham's Natural Calm (http://www.petergillham.com/product-line/peter-gillhams-natural-calm.php)

[Jenifae]

Hi Emma-Liza

I just started using Peter Gillham's Natural Calm, also with great results. I am also moving into Menopause and notice I am more at peace and less reactive. I've been drinking a 1/2 tsp in my morning tea and 1/2 tsp in my evening tea and I take natural mood balancer (5-HTP & GABA). I totally forgot to take it last night and normally I would not have slept without and I slept good last night & didn't realize I forgot to take them until this morning.
I read somewhere - I think from David Wolfe that most of us are Mag. deficient and this is a beneficial side affect ;)
I think it's great!
I've also been taking MSM 3x's daily and have noticed a big difference in mood with that also, but, more importantly my hair is beginning to stop falling out.

[Emma-Liza]

Jenifae--
Mood...hair...two of my biggest frustrations! See, there's the mood right there!:D

Seriously, I'm glad to have a first-hand account. Turns out, since I posted, I found out one of my coworkers (and best friends--but I didn't know about this!) has been using Natural Calm plus calcium for 3 months. It has totally stopped her menopausal symptoms (mainly hot flashes).

[JennaBoBenna]

I take magnesium tablets when I'm menstrual, it helps my cramps and headaches.

As for Peter Gillham, I tried a product of his--some vitamins--and I really enjoyed it!! I am thinking of purchasing more of his products

[JennaBoBenna]

Haha--I just found a sample of the Natural Calm in my cabinet! It came along with the vitamins and I forgot about it.
I'll be trying it soon, possibly tonight :)

[VibinOnLife!]

I have become afraid of magnesium supplementation. I was told that this was very good for you, and that most are deficient. I started taking it and made it through the first bottle fine. Once I started the second bottle I had a bad reaction. I had major leg cramps during the night. I had a very hard time waking up the next morning. I mean I literally laid in bed for a half hour just thinking about opening my eyes and realizing that I just did not have the strength. Once I opened my eyes, for the first 30 seconds I could not see anything except a blur. All that day I felt as if I had been beat up.

I later found out that too much magnesium can cause cramps, and can actually put someone in a coma-like state due to the fact that it's pretty much the most potent relaxer known. Also, a person with kidney problems cannot eliminate excess magnesium sufficiently, and can therefore suffer greatly by consuming too much.

So about 4 months after this happened, I decided that maybe it wasn't the magnesium and took it again in a smaller dose. I ended up with cramps in my toes for about a week!

Apparently it's great for many people, just not for me. I think that it just puts my mineral balance off way too much. Great that you all are feeling the benefits though. I must admit that I did feel great mentally when I first took it and slept like a baby!

Of course the problem might also lie in the brand that I was using. Hmmm, maybe I'll work up the nerve to try Natural Calm one day. I was just using Magnesium Citrate by TwinLab.

[firefaery]

I have been using it for years and recommend it to all of my clients. We are mostly mag deficient, but like anything some are not. It's a balance. IF you have too much mag then you need to focus on potassium and calcium. It's rare, but it does happen.

Oh, and NaturalCalm is mag. citrate. I think it's the best one out there, but use caution. The standard dose is 3 tsp. but I would start with a 1/2 a tsp if you had a known reaction. You could also try an epsom salt soak. Mag is accessed transdermally as effectively as orally. It's a different form so perhaps that would be better for you.

[shashibala]

I loved the way the magnesium made me feel, so relaxed, so carefree!
The problem is that I also got severe leg cramps at night each time I took it.
I was using it to help with depression and pms. I thought maybe the cramps were from an improper balance of calcium and magnesium.
Now I'm trying to eat lots of pumpkin seeds for the natural magnesium and have given up the powder.

[VibinOnLife!]

shashibala! That is sooo funny! This is what I'm always talking about...intuitive eating. Do you know that for the past month or so, I absolutely CANNOT leave the house without having a handful of raw pumpkin seeds! I've been buying them like crazy. I usually just sprinkle a few in my salad, but I've been really going at them lately. I hadn't thought about it much, but now that you say that, I guess that why! I didn't know they were magnesium rich. I just knew they were light on my digestion as far as nuts and seeds go, and that they are good for killing parasites. I have them with my tea, and basically THOUGHT I was using them just to put something on my stomach before I took my supplements.

Also, the last time I tried the magnesium and got the toe cramps was just a couple of weeks ago. So maybe it came from the fact that I've already been eating so many pumpkin seeds.

Wow...knowledge is truly power! Thanks! :D

By the way, when I saw your pics I was just too tired to write. But you look fabulous lady! Your skin and hair say it all...in addition to your trim physique! If you hadn't lost a pound I would have been able to look at you and see raw! Lovely!

[Jenifae]

Well, I'm happy to report that I am having great success with Natural Calm by Peter Gillham.

I am sleeping more sound then I have in a very long time. So long in fact I cant' remember the last time I slept all night soundly and I have slept soundly the last two nights.

How Wonderful......................... :)

I am having continued mood balance throughout the day and not vascilating and trying to control or modify my feelings through my thinking.

What a Freedom!

So, this has all been an imbalance? I wonder if I have any other imbalances that I can find centeredness with?

I'm sorry to hear others have not had the same positive result. Just goes to show us to listen to our bodies of what we need and don't need like Vibinonlife said ;)

I am only taking 1/2 tsp first thing in the morning and a 1/2 tsp last thing in the late evening before bed.

[Emma-Liza]

Wow, thanks for all the great input!

The literature that comes with the packet says balancing calcium and magnesium is key and that too much of either is bad.

Is there a way to test for magnesium / calcium? I'm going for my checkup next week, or how would that be checked?

I eat pumpkin seeds a lot, too!

[Jenifae]

I would like to know what the side effects of too much Mag. are, too. Does anyone know?

[lizzyrose]

Here's some interesting info. about magnesium.
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/magnesium-000313.htm
It says the most common symptoms of too much are nausea and diarrhea.
But, the bigger concern is that magnesium competes with calcium for absorption, so if you're ratio is off with too much magnesium, you're not going to be absorbing calcium property and that could be problematic.

I have a few samples of Natural Calm but didn't know what it was so haven't taken it.
I'm trying it today! I'm so excited. I've been like a crazy person at work - jumping down people's throats at the smallest things.
of course I also haven't gotten my period since April so I'm convinced it's a hormonal imbalance too! I wish my body would just regulate itself already!!

[firefaery]

yup, it's water soluble so before you get "too much" generally you just get diarrhea. Fun, right? But it's our body's built in way of protecting us.


Calcium and mag do compete, but generally unless something else is going on calcium gets first dibs. As you need mag to absorb calcium even if you are calcium deficient *generally* it is because you are mag deficient. There are always exceptions.

[freespirit]

raw cacao beans have the highest source of magnesium found in nature- if you want to take something more natural. and added to green smoothies they can make it like a chocoalte milkshake

[VibinOnLife!]

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Magnesium Overdose includes the 9 symptoms listed below:

--Muscle and generalised weakness
--Decreased reflexes (Neuromuscular depression)
--Hypotension
--Disordered cardiac rhythm (cardiac arrhythmias)
--Drowsiness
--Decreased alertness and concentration
--Decreased rate of breathing/respiratory paralysis
--CNS depression
--Coma

[Cabosun]

I took natural calm for several years until I found Pure essence Labs Ionic Fizz calcium Plus magnesium and Vitamin D and Ionic trace Minerals with Silica. This is the form that the cells recognize. I take my magnesium before bedtime because it totally relaxes me. Did you know that magnesium is responsible for over 300 metabolic functions that go on in our bodies?

[RawHeaven]

I respect where everyone is on this subject and I hope that you find what works for you personally. I used to take a lot of supplements and vitamins for many years, but I no longer take anything except a B12 supplement. I find that intuitive eating is really a blessing and works for me. Reading this thread, I was becoming alarmed that perhaps I haven't been getting enough magnesium. After reading vibinonlife and shashibala's comments about pumpkin seeds, it prompted me to do a google search. I've discovered I've been eating magnesium rich foods instinctively the past couple of days. Sunflower seeds, bananas, sprouted quinoa & mung beans and I've had a couple of raw cacao drinks. I ate an entire bag of dulse flakes yesterday that I meant to sprinkle on my sprout salads throughout the week. My body has been wanting magnesium! This always happens right before my cycle, I get a craving for these foods...especially bananas when I feel low in energy. I'm going to trust that my body knows what it needs to find balance and it lets me know by signaling what I should eat. I just find the whole aspect of intuitive eating fascinating!! I'm just going along thinking I'm having cravings, but it's not that at all - my body needed specific nutrients and minerals in these foods. It is nice to have this information, thank you for bringing it up as I wasn't focused on magnesium before.

I was initially a little discouraged when I did the google search on magnesium rich foods as most listed were cooked meats and grains! I found the following in a link...I'm not including the link because it's to a non-raw food site. Nonetheless, here are all of the wonderful raw foods that are rich in magnesium. The ones with an * have a high concentration. If there is more than one *, it has a very high concentration. :D

Best wishes to everyone as you find balance either with supplementation or intuitive eating.

Some Magnesium Rich Raw Foods...

Juices

Apricot
Grape
Grapefruit
Lemon
Orange
Tomato
Prune
Pineapple


Vegetables

Asparagus
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Corn
Peas*


Fruits

Apricots
Bananas*
Cherries
Grapefruit
Oranges
Peaches
Pears
Pineapple
Strawberries


Nuts and Seeds

Almonds***
Brazil nuts**
Cashews**
Pecans*
Pumpkin Seeds****
Sesame Seeds***
Sunflower Seeds***
Walnuts*

[VibinOnLife!]

RawHeaven,

Wow...thank you for this information. I spoke about intuitive eating above, and I agree that it's the best way to eat. The funny and exciting thing is to see the reality of just how intelligent our bodies really are!

When you put up this list, it reminded me that right before the first time I tried magnesium supplementation, I went on a cashew binge. And when I say binge I mean that I had to have at least two bags a day! These were not raw, so they were the $1.99 bags that you see in any store. The funny thing was that I knew something was strange because in all of my life I'd never eaten cashews! I was literally longing for them and had no problem leaving the house at 9 pm to get some.

This went on for about 2 months. Oh, and I forgot that I was eating about a half pound of almonds daily. Anyway, somewhere along the way I read something about magnesium and started taking it. Like I said, the first bottle was great...no problems. The funny thing is that I never really thought about it, but my almond/cashew issue went away immediately! I haven't eaten them since then.

Amazing. The body is just AMAZING!

[Jenifae]

RawHeaven................Thank you so much for that list. I do feel Intuitive Eating is best for our bodies.
Vibinonlife............how funny. I recently had the same experience about 2 weeks ago. I have never been a cashew eater and I started eating cashews and was also eating quite a few daily. When I started the natural calm I stopped craving the cashews. How funny. That's for bringing that to the forefront of my mind.

[Pookietooth]

I got really low blood pressure when I was using Natural Calm, and it took quite awhile before it got back up over 80/40. It's now in the low-normal range, which is right for me. I think it was 108/56 the last time I had it checked, and that's after several months of not taking it. I eat a lot of high magnesium foods though, including almonds.

[Jenifae]

I too have low blood pressure. It usually runs about 110/64. I've had to go from twice a day am and pm to only pm. I was too tired throughout the day and was/am having diarrhea.