I used to get leg cramps, and have researched the causes thoroughly.
What I found is that the most common cause is not having enough magnesium. The second most common cause is getting too much calcium. Other micronutrient or electrolyte imbalances can also play a role.
Calcium is required by muscles in order for them to contract, and magnesium is required in order for them to relax. There are many factors that can lead to magnesium deficiency, including exposure to toxins in your food or environment. Some people also tend to leak magnesium from their kidneys when they are totally well, and so can be in a chronic state of deficiency, even when on a good diet.
If you're having cramps, you might try dramatically increasing your magnesium intake, while reducing calcium as much as you can, until the cramps abate (if you get too much, you'll find it's a natural laxative). There are many different forms of magnesium supplements; some are much more readily absorbed than others. I prefer the amino acid chelates, although I've also found mag citrate ("Natural Calm") to be effective when taken in sufficient quantity.
[[MORE]]At high doses, calcium is actually a cellular toxin. I worked with a very bright doc once (Robert Cathcart, of Vit C fame), who had a theory that calcium toxicity was responsible for osteoporosis, and contributed much to heart disease.
Another thing to try is Epsom salt baths: take about 250 grams of Epsom salts (about a half-pound) and dissolve them in a bath full of warm-to-hot water, and soak for 30 to 60 minutes. Finish the bath at least an hour before bed, to allow your body time to cool down before you go to sleep. When the cramping in my legs used to get bad, I found this was one of the most effective things I could do to help.
Showing posts with label magnesium. Show all posts
Showing posts with label magnesium. Show all posts
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Saturday, 10 July 2010
Mineral absorbtion and transdermal magnesium
I don't have first-hand experience with transdermal magnesium (Mg). However, many substances are absorbed by the skin and make their way into the blood--including things like formaldehyde from clothes sizing, fire retardant from kids nightclothes (required by law!), perfumes, etc--so it seems reasonable that Mg could be absorbed that way, particularly if it was in an oil-based carrier (although the carrier would be absorbed too). However, the skin is also a natural barrier, so it doesn't absorb most substances very easily or in large quantities (though there are exceptions, such as DMSO).
The gut, on the other hand, has a much larger surface area than the skin, and readily absorbs nutrients that come into contact with it. I am therefore skeptical that Mg applied to the skin would be absorbed any better than Mg when you ingest it. As a technology, transdermal is great for compounds that you want to be absorbed slowly over a period time or in very small doses. But the body needs a fair amount of Mg every day, and of course even more when you're deficient.
[[MORE]]In addition, the gut provides a safety factor that's not present with transdermal (or IV) administration: if you get too much, the body will get rid of it, one way or the other. This isn't as big a deal with Mg as it is with other minerals. Too much copper, for example, when given by IV, can be fatal; but the gut acts as a safety valve and tends to help prevent copper poisoning by causing you to vomit if you accidentally ingest too much. The gut wall can also alter the extent to which certain minerals are absorbed or not absorbed, depending on your current health needs.
I'm not aware of any studies about how long it takes to correct deficiencies, although I imagine they must exist; this is a well-known phenomena in the field of Environmental Medicine. From a theory perspective, keep in mind that many mineral absorption / transport
mechanisms are active -- that is, rather than relying on a concentration gradient to cause them to be absorbed, they have to be actively carried into the body by a transport system of some kind (ion pumps, ion channels, etc).
Another issue is that many minerals serve their ultimate functions in the body by being at the center of an enzyme: zinc, molybdenum, Mg and selenium, for example. Enzymes are complex proteins that actually have to be grown--so it's not a matter of just having some mineral ions floating around in a big soup. Those ions have to be captured and an enzyme has to be grown around them. If you don't have enough of certain minerals, then the associated enzymes are not created in the same amounts as they would be otherwise.
When you're deficient in certain enzymes, it can put a load on others, causing the body to divert more resources in certain directions, and away from the production of other enzymes. Also, certain health conditions or environmental factors--such as leaky gut, candidiasis, food allergies, celiac disease, chronic fatigue (low ATP) and exposure to toxins--can interfere with the absorption of minerals and other nutrients.
The combination of the issues above can conspire to make it difficult for some combinations of mineral deficiencies to correct, and one deficiency can slow down the correction of another. In my case, I found my deficiencies tended to correct one at a time over a period of many months, rather than all at once, even though I always supplemented with everything I was low in.
The gut, on the other hand, has a much larger surface area than the skin, and readily absorbs nutrients that come into contact with it. I am therefore skeptical that Mg applied to the skin would be absorbed any better than Mg when you ingest it. As a technology, transdermal is great for compounds that you want to be absorbed slowly over a period time or in very small doses. But the body needs a fair amount of Mg every day, and of course even more when you're deficient.
[[MORE]]In addition, the gut provides a safety factor that's not present with transdermal (or IV) administration: if you get too much, the body will get rid of it, one way or the other. This isn't as big a deal with Mg as it is with other minerals. Too much copper, for example, when given by IV, can be fatal; but the gut acts as a safety valve and tends to help prevent copper poisoning by causing you to vomit if you accidentally ingest too much. The gut wall can also alter the extent to which certain minerals are absorbed or not absorbed, depending on your current health needs.
I'm not aware of any studies about how long it takes to correct deficiencies, although I imagine they must exist; this is a well-known phenomena in the field of Environmental Medicine. From a theory perspective, keep in mind that many mineral absorption / transport
mechanisms are active -- that is, rather than relying on a concentration gradient to cause them to be absorbed, they have to be actively carried into the body by a transport system of some kind (ion pumps, ion channels, etc).
Another issue is that many minerals serve their ultimate functions in the body by being at the center of an enzyme: zinc, molybdenum, Mg and selenium, for example. Enzymes are complex proteins that actually have to be grown--so it's not a matter of just having some mineral ions floating around in a big soup. Those ions have to be captured and an enzyme has to be grown around them. If you don't have enough of certain minerals, then the associated enzymes are not created in the same amounts as they would be otherwise.
When you're deficient in certain enzymes, it can put a load on others, causing the body to divert more resources in certain directions, and away from the production of other enzymes. Also, certain health conditions or environmental factors--such as leaky gut, candidiasis, food allergies, celiac disease, chronic fatigue (low ATP) and exposure to toxins--can interfere with the absorption of minerals and other nutrients.
The combination of the issues above can conspire to make it difficult for some combinations of mineral deficiencies to correct, and one deficiency can slow down the correction of another. In my case, I found my deficiencies tended to correct one at a time over a period of many months, rather than all at once, even though I always supplemented with everything I was low in.
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Magnesium testing and supplementation
Several studies have shown that most people these days are magnesium (Mg) deficient. However, diagnosing and treating those deficiencies is tricky.
The red blood cell (RBC )Mg test is probably the best "easy" test. Unfortunately, a normal result isn't enough to rule out a deficiency.
The Gold Standard in magnesium testing is the Magnesium Loading Test. The process involves having an IV containing a known amount of Mg, and
measuring 24-hr urine Mg before and after the IV. Using those numbers, you can calculate how much Mg the body held onto, and based on that amount, you can tell if you're deficient or not. Since an IV is costly and time consuming, most docs fall-back to the RBC Mg test if you're lucky, or the plasma test if not. The plasma test is one of the least reliable, most misleading tests around (plasma contains only about 0.3% of total body Mg).
[[MORE]]The reason the blood tests aren't very accurate is because blood is only store of Mg in the body -- it's also present in bones, muscle and other tissues.
After working through massive frustration with doctors on this issue over many years, my solution was self-experimentation. Here are a few things I've learned:
-- Mg oxide and Mg carbonate are pretty much useless when it comes to
correcting deficiencies
-- Time-release Mg chloride tablets work pretty well ("Slow Mag"), but take a long time
-- Liquid Mg chloride works faster than the tablets, but can cause GI upset and headaches because it gets into the body quickly (take with food and in divided doses)
-- The Mg chelates also work well, particularly Mg glycinate and Mg aspartate; orotate and taurate are also good
-- Mg citrate, although not as well absorbed as the chelates, also works well because it can be taken in a higher dose (1 tsp to 1 tbsp at a time), such as with "Natural Calm" (my current favorite form of supplementation)
-- Dark green veggies are a great source of Mg in food (chlorophyll uses Mg in a way that's analogous to how hemoglobin uses iron); chocolate is also a good source
-- Some medications and health conditions can cause the kidneys to leak Mg (where you excrete more than normal); hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) is one way that can happen
-- Something like 80% of the population is Mg deficient
-- Mg is used by over 300 enzymes in the body, and is required in order for muscles to relax
-- High calcium intake can interfere with Mg absorption
-- Common symptoms of Mg deficiency: high blood pressure, asthma, tension headaches, muscle cramps, constipation, anxiety, and depression
The red blood cell (RBC )Mg test is probably the best "easy" test. Unfortunately, a normal result isn't enough to rule out a deficiency.
The Gold Standard in magnesium testing is the Magnesium Loading Test. The process involves having an IV containing a known amount of Mg, and
measuring 24-hr urine Mg before and after the IV. Using those numbers, you can calculate how much Mg the body held onto, and based on that amount, you can tell if you're deficient or not. Since an IV is costly and time consuming, most docs fall-back to the RBC Mg test if you're lucky, or the plasma test if not. The plasma test is one of the least reliable, most misleading tests around (plasma contains only about 0.3% of total body Mg).
[[MORE]]The reason the blood tests aren't very accurate is because blood is only store of Mg in the body -- it's also present in bones, muscle and other tissues.
After working through massive frustration with doctors on this issue over many years, my solution was self-experimentation. Here are a few things I've learned:
-- Mg oxide and Mg carbonate are pretty much useless when it comes to
correcting deficiencies
-- Time-release Mg chloride tablets work pretty well ("Slow Mag"), but take a long time
-- Liquid Mg chloride works faster than the tablets, but can cause GI upset and headaches because it gets into the body quickly (take with food and in divided doses)
-- The Mg chelates also work well, particularly Mg glycinate and Mg aspartate; orotate and taurate are also good
-- Mg citrate, although not as well absorbed as the chelates, also works well because it can be taken in a higher dose (1 tsp to 1 tbsp at a time), such as with "Natural Calm" (my current favorite form of supplementation)
-- Dark green veggies are a great source of Mg in food (chlorophyll uses Mg in a way that's analogous to how hemoglobin uses iron); chocolate is also a good source
-- Some medications and health conditions can cause the kidneys to leak Mg (where you excrete more than normal); hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) is one way that can happen
-- Something like 80% of the population is Mg deficient
-- Mg is used by over 300 enzymes in the body, and is required in order for muscles to relax
-- High calcium intake can interfere with Mg absorption
-- Common symptoms of Mg deficiency: high blood pressure, asthma, tension headaches, muscle cramps, constipation, anxiety, and depression
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
Managing allergies
I went through a number of years of having severe allergies. However, I was eventually able to largely cure myself; today I’m 90% better than I used to be. A few things I learned along the way that might be helpful:
- Allergies are, of course, an immune system issue; immune system support is therefore essential. In addition to avoiding allergens, it's also critical to reduce your exposure to toxins. Even micro amounts that wouldn't bother a healthy person can be very damaging to the immune system. This includes things like pesticides, formaldehyde, perfumes, cleaning compounds, etc.
- Long-term allergies are almost always associated with poor nutrient status. Magnesium, in particular, is extremely important, but so are all micronutrients. "Natural Calm" is a good source of magnesium. A good broad-spectrum multivitamin can be extremely helpful, even though they can take a very long time to have a full effect (on the order of several years). "Beyond Any Multiple" (BAM) is a good one.
- The combination of the above two items means that supplement and food selection is very important: organic, pesticide-free food is crucial. The issue with supplements is one of purity and freedom from microcontaminants. Brands such as Thorne, Jarrow, Carlson, Now and Country Life are good. I’ve had terrible luck with Twin Labs and Allergy Research Group.
- Myself and many of my highly-allergic friends (but not everyone) have found certain "neutralizers" to be extremely valuable. These are temporary quick-fix things you can do to turn off an acute allergic reaction. The one that works best for me is Alka Seltzer Gold. It works is by rapidly alkalinizing the body, which has a normalizing effect on the immune system. I can be feeling absolutely terrible, exhausted, brain fogged, ready to collapse, and 5 minutes after consuming the Alka Gold, I feel completely normal.
- You might consider having yourself checked for heavy metals. High levels can have a very damaging effect on the immune system.
- Yeast overgrowth can be another issue. The yeast can cause the gut wall to become leaky, so that small particles of food enter the blood, which then provokes allergies. A very low carb or even zero carb diet (Paleo or Paleo-like) can be a big help there, although you may also need to take an anti-yeast medicine such as Nystatin for a while to completely clear yourself out.
- Hormone levels are another thing that often seems to get tweaked when allergies flare up. In my experience, they often seem to be a precursor to more severe health issues. Thyroid issues, in particular, are very common—probably in part as a result of not getting enough iodine, which is already low in most people’s diet. There’s a negative feedback loop here, because you also need adequate levels of thyroid hormone in order to be able to absorb nutrients from your food. Testing and diagnosis of thyroid levels is (surprisingly) a bit controversial. One easy at-home test is to measure your basal body temperature, before you get out of bed in the morning. If it’s more than a degree low, that is almost certainly indicative of a thyroid problem.
- Active detox programs can help to significantly speed up recovery time. They aren’t fun, though.
[[MORE]]
Sunday, 25 October 2009
Calcium supplementation and Paleo
Most people don’t require calcium supplementation, particularly when eating Paleo. Meat and green vegetables are rich sources of highly bioavailable forms of calcium.
I would even suggest the reverse, which is that most people get too much calcium. Calcium is actually a cellular poison; if too much calcium gets into a cell, it dies; before it dies, it becomes sluggish and poor-performing. One aspect of arteriosclerosis is arterial calcification, which may be encouraged by having too much calcium.
[[MORE]]Also, since magnesium deficiency is so wide-spread, and because they offset each other in your muscles, supplementing calcium while magnesium is low could cause or aggravate all sorts of problems, including muscle cramps, migraine headaches, blood pressure spikes, etc.
This is true even with osteoporosis: calcium supplementation can do more harm than good (osteoporosis is not a disease of insufficient calcium). One theory of osteoporosis is that excessive calcium can slow down or kills osteoblast cells, which are responsible for building bone. Those cells are apparently affected before the osteoclasts, which break down bone; less effective bone building + continuing bone break down = a net loss of bone.
The above associations with heart disease and osteoporosis are reasons why EDTA chelation therapy, which pulls a lot of calcium from the body, can be an effective treatment for both conditions.
There are of course exceptions, but unless you have a documented need, I would avoid calcium supplements. Getting enough vitamin D is much more important.
I would even suggest the reverse, which is that most people get too much calcium. Calcium is actually a cellular poison; if too much calcium gets into a cell, it dies; before it dies, it becomes sluggish and poor-performing. One aspect of arteriosclerosis is arterial calcification, which may be encouraged by having too much calcium.
[[MORE]]Also, since magnesium deficiency is so wide-spread, and because they offset each other in your muscles, supplementing calcium while magnesium is low could cause or aggravate all sorts of problems, including muscle cramps, migraine headaches, blood pressure spikes, etc.
This is true even with osteoporosis: calcium supplementation can do more harm than good (osteoporosis is not a disease of insufficient calcium). One theory of osteoporosis is that excessive calcium can slow down or kills osteoblast cells, which are responsible for building bone. Those cells are apparently affected before the osteoclasts, which break down bone; less effective bone building + continuing bone break down = a net loss of bone.
The above associations with heart disease and osteoporosis are reasons why EDTA chelation therapy, which pulls a lot of calcium from the body, can be an effective treatment for both conditions.
There are of course exceptions, but unless you have a documented need, I would avoid calcium supplements. Getting enough vitamin D is much more important.
Thursday, 22 October 2009
An approach to high blood pressure
The best approach to high blood pressure will of course depend on the cause. Metabolic syndrome (chronic high levels of insulin with associated insulin resistance) is one well-documented cause of hypertension, as is diabetes. The theory is that chronically high BG (even below levels considered diabetic) can damage nerves, including the autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for controlling blood pressure (among many other things). In the long-term, the Paleo diet should help improve things by eliminating what may have been one aspect of the initial cause.
[[MORE]]There are many other causes too, though. Calcium is required for muscles to contract, and magnesium is needed for them to relax – that includes the muscles in arterial walls, which, when they contract, raises your blood pressure. Increasing your magnesium to the point of bowel tolerance for a few months helps some people. Unfortunately, magnesium deficiency is wide-spread and often hard to correct. Avoid magnesium oxide; amino acid chelates, such as magnesium orotate or aspartate are much more readily absorbed. Time-release mag chloride (“Slow Mag”) is another option. Mag citrate (Natural Calm) is also OK, although you need to take more of it to get the same effect.
Another area that helps for some is nitric oxide (NO) releasers, such as arginine, ginkgo biloba, panax ginseng, resveratrol, green tea, garlic and quercitin. NO is involved with blood vessel dilation. Since NO is a strong oxidant, be sure to take extra antioxidants with NO releasers.
[[MORE]]There are many other causes too, though. Calcium is required for muscles to contract, and magnesium is needed for them to relax – that includes the muscles in arterial walls, which, when they contract, raises your blood pressure. Increasing your magnesium to the point of bowel tolerance for a few months helps some people. Unfortunately, magnesium deficiency is wide-spread and often hard to correct. Avoid magnesium oxide; amino acid chelates, such as magnesium orotate or aspartate are much more readily absorbed. Time-release mag chloride (“Slow Mag”) is another option. Mag citrate (Natural Calm) is also OK, although you need to take more of it to get the same effect.
Another area that helps for some is nitric oxide (NO) releasers, such as arginine, ginkgo biloba, panax ginseng, resveratrol, green tea, garlic and quercitin. NO is involved with blood vessel dilation. Since NO is a strong oxidant, be sure to take extra antioxidants with NO releasers.
Problems with chronic IBS, constipation, etc
I’ve had chronic IBS and associated problems most of my life. My solution to this is to take 1 tbsp of soluble fiber daily; works great. If you’re into supplements, you can also add 1 tbsp of Natural Calm, which is a magnesium supplement (Mg is a natural laxative). The psyllium-based fibers are too rough for me. Look for a soluble fiber that doesn’t have sugar or sweeteners and that isn’t wheat-derived. Apple pectin or glucomannan are other options. Increasing fluid intake slightly is also helpful.
[[MORE]]I had a fair amount of gut-related discomfort when making the initial switch to Paleo. Among its many other effects, I’ve read that it encourages a completely different type of gut flora. The good news is that 80% of the achiness associated with my IBS is now gone, for the first time ever.
[[MORE]]I had a fair amount of gut-related discomfort when making the initial switch to Paleo. Among its many other effects, I’ve read that it encourages a completely different type of gut flora. The good news is that 80% of the achiness associated with my IBS is now gone, for the first time ever.
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