Hi there,
You wrote this above:
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I've been feeling really tired lately, probably for a good week or so, and thought it was simply fall out from a stressful time the previous week.
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That makes sense since stress massively depletes magnesium stores
and taxes the adrenals, so if you are low in magnesium in the first place
and have exhausted adrenals, then any kind of stress can really knock you sideways and make you need a day or two of rest to simply recover.
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But that seems to have settled now, and I am still tired and not losing weight at the rate I think I should be.
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It could be a combination of adrenal fatigue and magnesium deficiency, which, to my mind, are more or less the same thing.
As for weight loss, I can't think off the top of my head of any studies which show that adding magnesium to your diet will assist weight loss. However, if you have any kind of glucose metabolism problems, it could very well help with that. Mg is needed for glucose metabolism. It is mentioned in connection with obesity in this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Magnesium-Fac.../ref=pd_sim_b_4
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After doing some research, I decided it may be a Magnesium deficiency and thought I should be give it a try....
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Seems like a good plan!!! Most of us have low magnesium, for various reasons, it seems, and the best way to find out - according to Dr Carolyn Dean, author of "The Magnesium Miracle", is to start supplementing and/or adding Mg-rich foods and water to your diet. If you notice a difference in your emotional and physical well-being, then in all likelihood, it is the magnesium which has made the difference!!!
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I know this is going to sound really dumb, but is it possible that after taking one caplet of 150mg I actually feel a difference? Or is that the placebo effect?
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In all honesty, I can't give an answer to this question, but I would say that it could be possible that you would feel a difference after say an hour or two, once the Mg has gone through your system. The more you need the magnesium, the more you absorb it from your food or other sources, so, if you were very low in magnesium, your body would grab the lot and you would possibly feel a difference very soon. It is needed for so many different systems in your body, that it would seem plausible to me that it really could be felt within hours. However, the placebo effect could have also played a role, of course. Why don't we just say it was a bit of both???
I have a similar story with vitamin D3, which I started taking in late November 2008. I had hummed and haa-ed about taking this, but finally took the plunge. Just in time, it seems, in retrospect, too... Just before I started taking it, I was hit with the winter blues, which I had never had before. I suddenly felt like bursting into tears for no reason (and it wasn't that time of the month, either) and felt utterly utterly depressed and down. Three days later, I went to the local shops on my bike and suddenly realized that I felt utterly euphoric. I saw a mum I know and was joking over nothing with her and laughing away: I think she thought I was a bit unhinged, actually.
In fact, I felt rather odd myself, but very very
happy!!! The only thing I had done which was different was the D3, so I am sure it was that which had contributed to my sudden good mood. Therefore, I can totally believe that the magnesium could have had such a sudden positive effect with you as well.
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Has anyone got experience with taking Mg and how it affects your energy levels and your weight loss and the associated timelines?
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I have been a big advocate of magnesium for a good while now, but, unfortunately, it took me a good long while to work out that I wasn't absorbing the magnesium I was taking due to gluten intolerance. Therefore my experience is not going to be typical of everyone. In my case - due to the poor absorption - it took quite a while for the magnesium to take effect, probably because very little of what I was taking was being absorbed. I even got some of that magnesium oil (which I don't like) in the end because I was so frustrated at how little difference the supplements were making.
However, now that I have been gluten free since Nov 22nd 2010, I have noticed that my supplement intake does seem to be having a more obvious effect now. I haven't been waking up with the feeling that I have been clamping my jaw all night and the night-time leg cramps have been gone for months.
As for energy levels, I think it would have a positive effect - in a relatively healthy body where absorption is not impeded - in a very short time indeed. It should be noticeable in a matter of days, at the very least.
I would expect that the extra magnesium in the system could have a knock-on effect on weight loss insofar as feeling more energetic would help you to be more active and burn off more energy. However, there are so many factors involved in weight loss besides "calories in equals calories out", that I don't think anyone could say that increasing magnesium intake will
always bring about weight loss. However, the overall health benefits from bringing up your magnesium levels are so enormous that weight loss pales into insignificance alongside them!!!
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...and of course we all know how it is for regularity!
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Well, the good sources of magnesium for regularity are magnesium oxide (which is what is in the cheapo drugstore Mg supplements) and magnesium citrate. However, other kinds of magnesium, such as Mg taurate, Mg glycinate and Mg malate, don't usually have this effect and are therefore better absorbed.
I have been taking this one and swear by it. My Dad took it also and had no problems either (i.e. no unwanted laxative effect):
http://www.iherb.com/Doctor-s-Best-...lets/16567?at=0
I tried Mg malate and Mg taurate, too. I had the feeling that the Mg glycinate absorbed better than the Mg malate. The trouble with the Mg taurate I got (apart from the expense!!!) was that the tabs were so huge I could barely swallow them, although I always take tablets with water. These Mg glycinate tablets have a very smooth surface, which I find helps them go down better.
I take four a day (they contain 100mg each), two during the day between meals and two at night. That seems to be a good dose for me right now. I drink Mg-rich water and also get quite a bit via food, so I think that is enough for me. If you take more than your body can absorb, it will only get excreted, so there's no point in overdoing it.
I have some of these on the way:
http://www.iherb.com/Alta-Health-Ma...lets/10682?at=0
I have taken Mg chloride before and felt I had good results with that, too. The good thing about Mg chloride is that you can actually take this before meals.( I also find it easier to remember to take supplements which you take with meals than the ones you're supposed to take on an empty stomach).
Unlike all the other forms of Mg supplements which will alkanize your stomach acid and
impede digestion, Mg chloride, apparently, will break down and help form hydrochloric acid in your stomach, which, amongst other things, is needed for the absorption of - you guessed it! - magnesium!!!
If you are ordering from iherb.com for the first time, make sure to use this referral code ~~~~~~ to get a $5 discount off your first order.
All in all, though, the best effect on me which magnesium had was that I felt calmer, more balanced, less frenzied and frazzled and less inclined to rush around like a headless chicken, starting a hundred projects and finishing none!!!
I think the positive effect that magnesium has on your adrenal glands, and thus on your ability to deal with stress, is one of the most important benefits you will get from upping your magnesium levels. It is argued by some experts that stress is the biggest factor in heart disease and heart attacks, so, for me, it is really a number one supplement.
See above!!!
Keep us posted about your experiences with magnesium, OK? I'd be really curious to hear what else you notice and any other benefits you feel it brings you!!!
Take care,
amanda
Self-appointed magnesium advocate