2014-04-07
Whenever I get low on magnesium, my bile duct and pancreatic duct close up. I can tell, because my poop becomes white and I don’t tolerate carbs any more. I need to take quite a lot of magnesium to keep this from happening. This is probably because of low stomach acidity as well as mercury and aluminium and possibly other toxicities, like nickel.
I also get low on energy when I’m low on magnesium, because magnesium is an important part of ATP production.
Absorption/ loose stools
From: http://www.westonaprice.org/vitamins-and-minerals/magnificent-magnesium
Loose stools indicate you are not absorbing the magnesium, but that it is acting as a laxative. When the magnesium travels through the intestines in less than twelve hours, it is merely excreted rather than absorbed. If you find you cannot overcome the laxative effect by varying your dosages, you may want to try an oral supplement that is chelated to an amino acid, such as magnesium taurate and magnesium glycinate, which some consider to be better absorbed than the salt forms and less likely to cause loose stools.
For those who need a little help with digestion, such as young children, older adults, and anyone with reduced stomach acid or bowel dysbiosis, consider homeopathic magnesium, also referred to as tissue salts or cell salts. Magnesia phosphorica 6X is the appropriate dosage, and it works to usher magnesium into the cells where it belongs. It is also indicated as a remedy for muscle spasms and cramps of many varieties. Mag phos can help reduce and eliminate loose stools while you are supplementing with oral magnesium, giving you a positive sign that your body is indeed taking the magnesium into the cells.
2014-05-01 I must have read this article a dozen times already, but it never really sunk in that magnesia phosphorica could help with my problems with low magnesium. I take a LOT of magnesium, have done for more than two years now, but I still suffer from magnesium deficiency. I can tell by my lack of energy, dry skin, edema, cramps, bile sphincter cramps up: white stool + problems with carbs, etc. I started magnesia phosphorica two days ago and my edema is disappearing fast. I also still take my magnesium supplements plus p5p, I just take the magnesia phosphorica on top of that.
Supplements
From: http://www.westonaprice.org/vitamins-and-minerals/magnificent-magnesium
Yet another option for oral magnesium supplementation is ionic magnesium in liquid form, such as that offered by Trace Minerals Research. This is a sodium-reduced concentration of sea water from the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Only about a teaspoon is needed to deliver about 400 milligrams of magnesium (along with seventy-two other trace minerals), which should be taken in divided amounts during the day. I recommend adding this to soups (made with bone-broth bases of course) as the strong mineral taste is hard to take straight. You can also add this to spring and other drinking water to up the magnesium content and use it in cooking. By “micro-dosing” your food and water in this fashion you greatly reduce any laxative effects a large dose of magnesium might elicit.
Another potential way to get more magnesium into your system is via the pleasant method of soaking in a bath of magnesium sulfate, otherwise known as Epsom salts. Commonly used to ease muscle aches and pains, magnesium sulfate also importantly helps with detoxification when sulfur is needed by the body for this purpose. When used intravenously, magnesium sulfate can save lives in such crises as acute asthma attack, onset of myocardial infarction, and eclampsia in pregnancy.
A couple of cups of Epsom salts added to a hot bath will induce sweating and detoxification; after the water cools a bit, the body will then absorb the magnesium sulfate. According to Mark Sircus in Transdermal Magnesium Therapy, the effects from a bath of Epsom salts, although pleasant, are brief as magnesium sulfate is difficult to assimilate and is rapidly lost in the urine.
Magnesium chloride, which can also be used in baths, is more easily assimilated and metabolized, and so less is needed for absorption. This is what I use in my baths. I bought a 10 kg bag on the internet.
Finally, magnesium may be applied topically in a form commonly called magnesium “oil.” This is actually not an oil at all, but a supersaturated concentration of magnesium chloride and water. It does feel oily and slippery when applied to the skin, but it absorbs quickly, leaving a slightly tacky, “sea salt” residue that can be washed off. There are many advantages to transdermal magnesium therapy, since the gastrointestinal tract is avoided altogether and there is no laxative effect. Next to intravenous magnesium administration, transdermal therapy provides a greater amount of magnesium to be absorbed than even the best tolerated oral supplements, and can restore intracellular concentrations in a matter of weeks rather than the months required for oral supplementation.
The one supplement that I tolerate really well is Dr’s Best High Absorption 100% chelated magnesium.
Toxicity prevention
From: http://www.proliberty.com/observer/20080201.htm
Magnesium protects the cells from absorbing aluminum, mercury, lead, cadmium, beryllium and nickel. Evidence is mounting that low levels of magnesium contribute to the heavy metal deposition in the brain that precedes Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s. Researchers have found that children with both learning disabilities and heavy metal toxicity have low total body magnesium.
Calcium and potassium
From: http://www.proliberty.com/observer/20080201.htm
The importance of magnesium cannot be overstated since it is a critical element in over 325 biochemical reactions in the human body. Since it is magnesium that controls the fate of potassium and calcium in the body, if magnesium is insufficient, potassium and calcium will be lost in the urine and calcium will be deposited in the soft tissues (kidneys, arteries, joints, brain, etc.).
Zinc
Zinc inhibits the absorption of magnesium, so don’t take them together. Take them at different times of the day instead.
B6
Magnesium needs B6 to get it into the cells. The combination magnesium – B6 can be very powerful in restoring damage in the body, i.e. energy levels, PMS, carpal tunnel, etc.
Boron
Magnesium needs boron for absorption and retention.
Estrogen dominance
Estrogen dominance inhibits magnesium from doing its job, because it blocks B6 dependant enzymes.
Book
Read the Magnesium Miracle for all you need to know about magnesium.
Sites
http://www.drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Magnesium_-_treating_a_deficiency