Magnesium

I keep hearing about magnesium, and I wondered if I needed some in my diet, so I decided to do a research on this supplement.

I have always had muscle cramps in my legs from when I can remember. People have given me their recommendations for relaxing the cramps, such as drink tonic/quinine water, take potassium, or take zinc to name a few. And then there is magnesium.

First let me emphasize that I do not have a medical degree of any form, but I believe that we as owners of our body need to inform our health professional of any ailments and to ask questions. That is the purpose of this research. Will taking magnesium help me or hurt me? I want a good idea before I discuss this with my doctor because I want him to know that I am informed and I do care about this body of mine.

First, there are the questions of what I put in my body and if they are signs that I may be magnesium deficit: (from www.ancient-minerals.com/magnesium-deficiency/
 -- 1. Do I drink a lot of carbonated beverages? NO. I don't think you can count a Sprite once or twice a month as "a lot".
 -- 2. Do I regularly have sweets? YES. I do like my pastries, and chocolate.
 -- 3. Do I have stress in my life? NO.
 -- 4. Have I had a major surgery? NO.
 -- 5. Do I drink caffeinated drinks daily? NO, but I do drink decaffeinated coffee daily.
 -- 6. Do I take drugs such as for the heart or asthma or birth control? NO.
 -- 7. Do I drink more than seven alcoholic drinks a week? NO.
 -- 8. Do I take calcium supplements without magnesium? NO. I do take calcium supplements and they have magnesium.
 -- 9. Do I feel anxious? NO.
 - 10. Do I have a hard time falling asleep? YES or NO when I take a sleep aid, which is mostly all the time.
 - 11. Do I have a hard time staying asleep? YES and sometimes even with the sleep aid.
 - 12. Do I have muscle spasms/cramping? YES, and even as I write this.
 - 13. Do I have fibromyalgia? NO.
 - 14. Do I have facial tics, eye twitches or involuntary eye movements? SOMETIMES.

So, now I see some of the effects of a magnesium deficiency. What else should I know? I think it is important to know the foods high in magnesium. Think high fiber, high magnesium.
 -- 1. Do I eat legumes? NO.
 -- 2. Do I eat green leafy vegetables, especially spinach, broccoli and brussel sprouts? BROCCOLI only, basically, NO
 -- 3. Do I eat nuts, especially almonds? I do eat nuts and almonds, but not much, so this is a qualified NO.
 -- 4. Do I eat potatoes? YES
 -- 5. Do I eat avocado? NO. Never had one.
 -- 6. Do I eat bananas? SOMETIMES.

Basically, then, my body is not getting much magnesium from the foods I eat. There are other foods, such as fortified cereals and milk which I do eat. But from the list above with the highest level of magnesium, I am failing big time.

Benefits of taking magnesium include (according to www.healthremediesjournal.com):
 -- 1. Helps the immune system.
 -- 2. Helps muscles relax (Oh, yes, I want some of that)
 -- 3. Controls inflammation in the body -- I hear more and more about this inflammation in our body and how it may be the culprit of cancer and heart problems.
 -- 4. Helps absorb calcium in the body, and that helps with bones and osteoporosis.
 -- 5. Helps with energy. (Oh, yes, I want some of that)
 -- 6. Helps manage diabetes
 -- 7. Helps manage migraine headaches
 -- 8. Reduces insomnia
 -- 9. Increases flexibility in the body (Oh, yes, I want some of that)
 - 10. Helps neutralize the body's acidity and alkalinity.
 - 11. Prevents constipation.

For me, that means magnesium would help.

Two other sites that I researched are:
www.webmd.com
on the top of the page click drugs and supplements,
then, on left side, click, "Find a Vitamin"
then, on left side, click "magnesium" under top supplements.

this site will give you an overview, uses, side effects, interactions (with drugs), and dosing.

The other site I checked out was the NIH (National Institutes of Health)
Go to:
ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/magnesium-Health Professionals/

it has a really good article and lots of good information.

Next time I see my doctor, which will be soon for my yearly physical, I am going to ask him about magnesium. I do think it warrants a discussion and to get his expert advice.

I believe we can not have enough information about medicine and how it affects us. As I said, I am going to talk about health every Monday. If you have a health question, or you just want some research on a topic, let me know, and I will research it for you and write about it, maybe lead you in the right direction.

I am going to continue this health discussion tomorrow and tell you why I think it is so important to know all you can about vitamins, supplements, symptoms and anything to do with health.

Until then...have a great day!