This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

I found the info on magnesium VERY interesting, especially the mention with insulin, of course. Thank you, JL.

At the moment I am out of Mg tablets, but certainly will be replenishing my stock today!

Mag-citrate is used in preparation for a colonoscopy; so it very definitely has a laxative effect! I have taken it (a half bottle from the drugstore)and it made me feel terrible and pass out! I won't be taking that again!!!

Lots of information to absorb--sleep connection, spasms, vascular element,.... I wish the author had given some dietary sources for magnesium; I believe almonds are a good source, right?

If you google magnesium and foods you will find a lot of charts listing foods and mag content.

Almonds are a very good source.

gwa

Magnesium is a wonderful muscle relaxant. It's helped my husband sleep thru painful night time spasms. Thanks to Jimmylegs for the lead! It's been life-altering for us (I can get some sleep

Here are some food sources:
Fruits: Avocado and dried apricots
Soy: Tofu, soy flour, and soy milk
Nuts: Almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, and pecans
Whole Grains: Whole Wheat and brown rice

I've talked about the mag. citrate supplement, Natural Calm. Hubby takes 600g before bed. Keeps him regular and relaxed.
Here's some more info from a fibro site-
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art54443.asp

best,
AC

I read on the web site http://www.mgwater.com/clmd.shtml ...which is well documented studies from national and state institutions and was amazed at the problems lack of magnesium can do to the human body...The list of medical problems from seizures to Alzheimers....sleep disorders , headaches, allergies and many more..and even that with lack of magnesium the brain does not produce the "dopamine" it should .

hear that pegs. magnesium has helped me so much! when i read up on the klenner protocol i ignored magnesium - bad idea. so grateful to the random pharmacist who told me i needed mg!!

Hey pegs,
I'm another Mg believer. Watched my husband's nightly spasms go from terrible (limbs flying everywhere) to small twitches. He also sleeps deeply, like a baby now. He takes it at night, before heading to bed. According to DIM's research, take zinc with your magnesium, and take Calcium with your D
AC

for the body to benefit.....except when at out of balance anyway? So I have been taking more magnesium then required.....I will stop because I do know everything is dangerous.... I just want an immediate cure for not sleeping thru the night...I have never taken a sleeping pill... maybe it is time to try ...I just do not knoe what to to do... .... I am hoping magnesium will be my cure.....but last night I was up every hour amost on the hour except I slep a hole 2 1/2 hours last nigt!!!!I have to realize I maybe will not have an overnight cure...so I will go on MODERATELY

You may know this but
valerian (herb), melatonin, magnesium and the amino acid GABA (>2gr gamma aminobutyric acid taken alone at least two hours after last food)
help in your case.
You probably know about the others but not for the GABA, it relaxes and promotes growth hormone which stimulates neurogeneration as a bonus!
Keep a balance between magnesium-calcium (taken different hours) say 2:1 to 1:1 and take vitamin D, more important exercise daily and RELAX!

cheerleader wrote:Hey pegs,
I'm another Mg believer. Watched my husband's nightly spasms go from terrible (limbs flying everywhere) to small twitches. He also sleeps deeply, like a baby now. He takes it at night, before heading to bed. According to DIM's research, take zinc with your magnesium, and take Calcium with your D
AC

I have posted this before but worth a try again.

Some minerals will directly affect the metabolisation of others and an increase in one will cause an imbalance or decrease in another. This sometimes works in only one direction.

In the diagram below note that Cadmium (Cd) influences Copper (Cu) and Copper influences Iron (Fe) but the reverse is not true. Excess Sodium (Na) may decrease Potassium (K) and vice verse.



Some vitamins, like minerals, cannot be properly metabolised if certain other vitamins or minerals are not present in sufficient quantities.

Vitamin B3 is a good example: tryptophane requires Vitamins B1, B2, B6, Vitamin C, Magnesium, Zinc and Manganese to be converted to B3, so all these are important for that synthesis. Taking a B3 supplement will not provide useful amounts of this vitamin unless the other vitamins and minerals exist in sufficient quantities to metabolise it.

Calcium is another example. Taking a calcium supplement or eating calcium rich food does not mean that your body absorbs this nutrient. Interactions among nutrients can either help or hinder the absorption of other nutrients. You are more likely to absorb calcium if you are also taking a vitamin D supplement.

Other supplements that aid absorption of calcium include, lactose (milk protein) lysine, potassium, sodium bicarbonate, vitamin B6 and vitamin A. Refined sugar can also assist in metabolising calcium but causes loss of calcium through urine! Some people can obtain more calcium from dairy products than from supplements and taking calcium supplements with food can increase their absorption by 10%.

Taking calcium in the evening is more effective than taking it in the morning. The calcium supplement calcium citrate is probably the most bioavailable of the calcium salts but can increase the undesirable absorption of aluminium! Dr Melvyn Werbach in his book "Foundations of Nutritional Medicine" explains numerous other ways in which simple calcium supplementation may fail or succeed according to the other foods and supplements taken in conjunction with calcium.

an interesting thought:

Magnesium sulfate attenuates increased blood-brain barrier permeability during insulin-induced hypoglycemia in rats (2001)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11599780

"Magnesium probably protects brain tissue against the effects of cerebral ischemia, brain injury and stroke through its actions as a calcium antagonist and inhibitor of excitatory amino acids. The effects of magnesium sulfate on cerebrovascular permeability to a dye, Evans blue, were studied during insulin-induced hypoglycemia with hypothermia in rats. Hypoglycemia was induced by an intramuscular injection of insulin. After giving insulin, each animal received MgSO4 (270 mg/kg) ip, followed by a 27 mg/kg dose every 20 min for 2.5 h. Plasma glucose and Mg2+ levels of animals were measured. Magnesium concentrations increased in the serum following MgSO4 administration (6.05+/-0.57 vs. 2.58+/-0.14 mg/dL in the Mg2+ group, and 7.14+/-0.42 vs. 2.78+/-0.06 mg/dL in the insulin + Mg2+ group, P < 0.01). Plasma glucose levels decreased following hypoglycemia (4+/-0.66 vs. 118+/-2.23 mg/dL in the insulin group, and 7+/-1.59 vs. 118+/-4.84 mg/dL in the insulin + Mg2+ group, P < 0.01). Blood-brain barrier permeability to Evans blue considerably increased in hypoglycemic rats (P < 0.01). In contrast, blood-brain barrier permeability to Evans blue was significantly reduced in treatment of hypoglycemic rats with MgSO4 (P < 0.01). These results indicate that Mg2+ greatly reduced the passage of exogenous vascular tracer bound to albumin into the brain during hypoglycemia with hypothermia. Mg2+ could have protective effects on blood-brain barrier permeability against insulin-induced hypoglycemia."

cool find, JL.
Another mg benefit
Oh, L-i-i-i-n-d-a....

interesting on interactions. magnesium deficiency can be an interrelated effect of iron deficiency. if you're a rat, that is...

https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bits ... k03011.pdf

The effects of iron deficiency on the levels of iron, copper, zinc and magnesium in the brain, liver, kidney, heart and lungs of albino rats (Rattus novergicus) was investigated...

..The significant interactions that occur during iron deficiency with copper, zinc and magnesium showed that the complication of iron deficiency is not strictly due to anaemia but also due to imbalance in the metabolism of other trace elements especially those that have common absorptive pathway with iron.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9374 ... t=Abstract
Stability of brain content of magnesium in experimental hypomagnesemia. (...in rats)

Magnesium is important in cerebral function. If there is a deficiency and neurological symptoms accrue, we hypothesised that Mg2+ deficiency causes neurological symptoms by decreasing the level of Mg2+ in cerebral tissue...Although the global values for Mg2+ in the brain did not decline in MD rats, there was a significant decrease in Mg2+ in the brainstem...topographic variations could account for some of neurological signs accompanying this condition.

http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/conte ... 288/3/1311
Optimization of Magnesium Therapy after Severe Diffuse Axonal Brain Injury in Rats ...rats and more rats

A number of studies have demonstrated that magnesium salts given after traumatic brain injury improve subsequent neurologic outcome... identical concentrations required for improved neurologic outcome suggest that improvement in outcome was dependent on the magnesium cation and not the associated anion... Subsequent magnetic resonance studies demonstrated that the administered magnesium penetrated the blood-brain barrier after injury and resulted in an increased brain intracellular free magnesium concentration and associated bioenergetic state

jimmylegs wrote:talk about a poorly worded title but an interesting thought:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1159 ... t=Abstract
Magnesium sulfate attenuates increased blood-brain barrier permeability during insulin-induced hypoglycemia in rats

Thanks for posting that interesting abstract. So for a person of my weight an equivalent Mg dosage would be something on the order of 15.3 g followed by another 217 mg over the next 2.5 hrs. Isn't that dosage in the range that would cause some problems?

NHE