Can long term magnesium suppl cause malabsorption?

[patty]

It is said that magnesium is very alkaline, therefore, it may lead to malabsorption and other health problems. I have done research on magnesium and it is said that it is not toxic. This is the first time that i have heard of such problem. Any truth to this?

 

Thx!

 

Patty

[Chemar]

Hi Patty

 

as with all supplements, magnesium should be used in a balanced and dose appropriate way Overdosing, or dosing in an unbalanced way, can lead to many other problems with magnesium as with anything else

 

I would be VERY careful in where your source of information is. Many people can make many claims on the internet...one has to be diligent in selecting reputable information or further researching info to determine whether it is just someones opinion or whether it is backed up by studies and/or anecdotal evidence that is convincing

 

I have said it before and I will say it again..............I firmly believe that it is supplementing with the CORRECT supplements that an individual requires, and doing so in the correct COMBINATIONS and at need appropriate doseage that is beneficial

 

I become very concerned when I see a particular supp being hailed as THE one that helps. it may help initially because of the deficiency in that supp...BUT...at the end of it all it is very very necessary to balance that supp with the OTHERS that work with it biochemically AND according to the specific and individual needs, overall biochemistry and metabolism of the person...also whether they have other incorrectly balanced nutritional issues, allergies or illnesses in their system

I am told that even blood type should be accounted for as well as a host of other fine tuned markers that we are only beginning to glimpse the complexities of (eg the methylation, sulfation, oxidation etc etc issues)

 

That is why I always urge people to balance their magnesium intake with calcium. Minerals work in the body in harmony with one another and upping one without balancing the others can unbalance everything. One also has to consider regular dietary intake when adding supps so that one doesnt overdose. So, whereas for most people a 2:1 ratio of calcium:magnesium is considered optimum, for others the ratio may need adjustment, dependent on the individual's biochemistry and metabolism

 

Patty, if you can find the source that you got this info on, please link to it so we can see exactly what it is that they are saying. I would urge everyone not to now stop using magnesium based on such a vague and unsubstantiated report. I have a feeling that any malabsorption issues are likely linked to incorrect supplementing procedure.

[patty]

Sorry all if i have caused any misunderstanding or concerns about taking magnesium. Since my son takes magnesium, i was alarmed when i came across this info. and wanted to know if there is any truth to it.

 

The malabsorption info is in the middle of the page.

 

http://www.ctds.info/magnesium-faq.html#two

 

Patty

[Chemar]

thanks patty

 

yes, they are clearly talking of overdosing or taking magensium supps long term WITHOUT balancing other minerals, alkalis and bases etc ie BALANCED supplementation in co-operation with good nutrition and diet

 

from that site you linked

Eventually I figured out to give my children crushed magnesium in some cultured yogurt, which is an acid forming food, in order to balance the alkalinity of the magnesium.

[faith]

Yes, I was going to say something like that too. What I got from it is to not rely on one supplement like that long term without balancing other things that could be a problem too. It's just something to note. I remember someone saying here once that it seemed like something seemed good for their child and then it sort of seemed like it stopped working once the balance was corrected. That makes sense, because then you might go to far the other way and cause other imbalances and deficiencies.

 

I would'nt look to far into this. If you think he's better with not so much calcium added, than stay with that. If it looks like you can sneak some in, then you'll try and see how it goes..... What does Nancy Drew have on us?!

 

Faith

[Cum Passus]

Patty & Faith,

 

Faith, I think that was me you remembered. I did feel that my son was good for awhile then he would tic again. (not much but enough to notice) he did this with the Mag, cal, zinc, and B6. So far the B6 is the only one that we have not seen even a little increase in tics.

 

His state testing ended last week and as Carolyn pointed out we waited to start the B12. Well so far all is still great. I'm pretty sure with him, it is to give a very very small amount of the supp. to start. Last week I opened the capsule and sprinkled a tiny bit of B12 in his kefir, did this for 5 days.

My husband misunderstood my note one day, and gave him half the capsule, all was well so now I'm up to half the amount.

 

Tonight he sat 2 hours at his sister's softball game and made not one peep.

 

I think what we are seeing is what chemar is pointing out about a balance.

 

I will keep you all posted on the next introduction, I think it will be vit C. then krill oil.

 

God Is Good!

C.P.

[faith]

 

But you are still giving the other supplements still, right? What kind of B12, I forgot--oral or sublingual andhow much? Also, how much B6 are you giving? Is it with any other b-complex formula or alone?

 

Oh, and where were you on the night of ..................................... just kidding! Sorry for so many questions.

 

 

Faith

[Cum Passus]

Faith you crack me up

 

I declare it was in the kitchen with a bunch of pills

 

Yes, he still gets the multi, natural calm, cal, zinc, vit E & selenium.

 

according to his Metametrix recommedations his base is 50 mcg his Dr. has him on 250 mcg of B12 as cobalamin. I could only find a capsule with 500 mcg. He is not taking the whole capsule yet.

 

The B6 base was 15 mg with units added at 100 mg, doing p5p. Those are the only B's I'm giving outside his multi.

 

The vit C I'm a little nervous about because we thought he had an increase the first time we tried it.

His chart has a base of 250mg with units added at 2000 mg. I think we just gave him too much at first I'm going to give a tiny bit and work up to the 2000 mg over a couple weeks.

 

Well he had an orthodontics appt. this morning, still no peeps out of him, but we found out he has to have 6 (yes I said 6) baby teeth pulled. He has already had three baby teeth pulled 2 years ago. Then in 6 months or when ever the teeth decide to show themselves, 4 adult teeth are going to be pulled.

 

At this point I'm going to have to leave it all up to God I can't worry anymore. THIS IS KILLING ME.

 

C.P.

[patty]

C.P.

 

Just curious, what kind of orthodontic work is your son having? My son has an underbite and will be needing orthodontic work soon but am nervous about it.

 

Does the orthodontic work cause an increase in tic?

 

Also, since your son got more symptoms from taking mag, zinc...., does he still have more symptoms now or just in the beginning? I find that it is really hard to determine if a supplement is causing more tics, because someday, there is just more symptoms than others.

 

Patty

[Cum Passus]

Patty,

 

He almost has an underbite, the top teeth and bottom meet. the only dental work he has had is cleanings and the three baby teeth removed April of 2005 before the onset of tics. I do remember him being nervous and was jumpy that day. He did fine when it was over though.

 

I'll let you know how it goes he should be having them pulled in the next 2 weeks. I think for him it will be nerves that will set off tics. I feel pretty good about the pain not causing more tics as he has been pretty beat up this ball season, and no increase in tics with pain. I'll be wondering about the pain killers he will be getting.

 

When we gave the mag he did very well for about 3 weeks then we noticed a bit more tics. that is when I started the cal, because I wanted to see... if he was already ticcing... I would not be wondering if the supp caused the tics. Once we gave the cal his tics slowed again, for about 2 weeks, then he ticced again, but not much. Then introduced the zinc, same thing happened, good for awhile... then a bit of ticcing. It wasn't until we did the B6 that we have not seen an increase in tics. I find this the most interesting because the B6 was to fix the high Kynurenate (under the neurotransmitter markers)

 

Mag and B12 are the only 2 vit he showed deficient in. I chose to do the B6 first because carolyn said that was the best one to start with.

 

I think if one is following test results they have a good chance the supps. will work as long as one goes slow.

 

Right now he has been doing really well even during the week of SOL tests. The only time we hear him tic more is when he is getting ready for school. I think it is nerves. Last year I could hear him coming home from school, down the street 6 houses away. Now he pops in the kitchen door and sometimes scares me, that is how quiet he is this year.

 

What supplemental info have you had done on your son?

 

C.P.

[kim]

The vit C I'm a little nervous about because we thought he had an increase the first time we tried it.

His chart has a base of 250mg with units added at 2000 mg. I think we just gave him too much at first I'm going to give a tiny bit and work up to the 2000 mg over a couple weeks.

 

Just wanted to share this study. Kind of interesting

 

Extracellular Ascorbate Modulates Glutamate Dynamics: Role of Behavioral

Activation

 

Sandstrom MI., Rebec GV.

BMC Neuroscience 2007, 8:32 (16 May 2007)

http://www.biomedce ntral.com/ 1471-2202/ 8/32/abstract

 

The complete article is available as a provisional PDF. The fully

formatted PDF and HTML versions are in production.

 

Background

 

A physiological increase in extracellular ascorbate (AA), an antioxidant

vitamin found throughout the striatum, elevates extracellular glutamate

(GLU). To determine the role of behavioral arousal in this interaction,

microdialysis was used to measure striatal GLU efflux in rats tested in

either a lights-off or lights-on condition while reverse dialysis either

maintained the concentration of AA at 250 uM or increased it to 1000 uM to

approximate endogenous changes.

 

Results

 

When lights were off, both locomotion and GLU increased regardless of AA

dose. In contrast, animals in the lights-on condition were behaviorally

inactive, and infusion of 1000, but not 250, uM AA significantly increased

extracellular GLU. Interestingly, when ambient light returned to the

lights-off group, 1000 uM prolonged the GLU increase relative to the 250

uM group.

 

Conclusions

 

Our results not only support evidence that elevated striatal AA increases

extracellular GLU but also indicate that this effect depends on behavioral

state and the corresponding level of endogenous GLU release

[patty]

CP

 

I have similar experience with supplements. When i added vit C, my son experienced slight increase in tics initially. I decided to stick it out and it went back to hardly any tics. With magnesium, it took about 1 week before i notice a decrease in tics, then very mild increase and back to hardly any. The most recent change was 2 weeks ago, i replaced mag to the cal/mag combo and had a mild increase. Stopped the cal/mag and went back to mag only, tics almost gone in 2/3 days.

 

Currently, i am giving my son 250mg of vit C and 85mg of magnesium daily. Epsom bath every other day. Chiropractic and craniosacral every 3 weeks (we started with once a week, then every other week and now every three weeks).

 

Because the natures of the tic wax & wane, i am not so sure if the supplement is causing the tic to increase or decrease because the increase is usually mild and it is short lived. The only time i know my son's tic was effected by the supplements were the ones given to him by the ND (homepathic drops, fish oil and probiotic), because it increased the frequency and intensity of the existing tics and also caused many new ones. Once he stops the supplement, the tics usually subsized anywhere from 1 week to 6 weeks.

 

Based on our 14 months of experience, the waxing cycle is getting milder and shorter lived each time. I am not sure exactly what we are doing is working, but i believe everything we do have an impact on my son's well being.

 

Patty

[Cum Passus]

Kim,

 

When I clicked on the site it would not come up. (page not found is what it said)

 

C.P.

[kim]

Sorry CP, the link posted would oly give you the abstract that was already posted, but this is for the full text

 

 

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/8/32