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Taking Magnesium tablet everyday changes my life
Just like the title said - I have always been active & semi-fit but in recent years, I suddenly got struck with terrible muscle soreness. I would often get cramps when waking up, play sport or bad soreness after a light jog, lifting weight or doing any kind of exercise. The soreness won't go away for days, sometimes a week or two which made it really hard to do any kind of exercise and I feel sluggish all the time and this went on for ages without me knowing why and doctor just discard it as "you just need to get used to exercise and it will get better". A year ago, I was just looking for why I get these leg cramps every 2 days, someone suggested taking Magnesium and Vitamin B - This was the turning point.
Now, 12 months later and i'm enjoying my life again! I am now able to run up the hills with my kids, wake up without leg cramps at all and the soreness from lifting weight heals within half of a day or a day. I just want to share this if someone is struggling with similar problem as I recently shared it with my dad and a couple of relatives and almost everyone were having great results so it seems like a not very well-known thing. :)
- daneel_w 4y agoThanks for sharing. Hopefully the information can reach and help others. Do you happen to know what the biological/medical reason behind the problem was and how the magnesium/VitB supplements help?
- ebfe1 4y agoIt was not obvious to me at the time but after some research, it turned out magnesium deficiency cause muscle cramps and it is also one of the key element for muscle recovery/growth.
- akasakahakada 4y agoLegs and vitamin B. I suspect this special sickness due to the imbalanced food consumption. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiamine_deficiency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiamine_deficiency
- kasperni 4y ago> A year ago, I was just looking for why I get these leg cramps every 2 days, someone suggested taking Magnesium and Vitamin B - This was the turning point. I know Holger Rune (Worlds nr 8 in Tennis) was dealing a lot with cramps in his earlier career. Based on some blood tests, he started taking magnesium recently which resolved the issues he had.
- muzani 4y agoThe ones that do have an impact on me: Caffeine for focus. Magnesium and CoQ10 helps me for energy. Creatine monohydrate for exercise and memory. Vitamin E for skin and itchiness. I don't take it but my wife does. Yes, most of these were recommended by a doctor. I'm not a doctor. This is not medical advice.
- fwlr 4y ago(Disclaimer, I’m not a doctor, and I no longer have the citations to back up a lot of this stuff. Unless otherwise mentioned, a healthy body can easily dispose of an excess of these - but whenever a random internet commenter is telling you there’s no risk of accidentally poisoning yourself, you should do your own research) Here are some other vitamins and minerals that are worth trying, but not well known about. All of them address potential deficiencies you might realize you’re laboring under. If they work for you, you should see pretty immediate results - well before you finish the first bottle, so they’re all low investment. Creatine. Not just for working out! It helps you store ATP, which helps with physical but also mental fatigue (i.e. brain fog). We get a small amount from meat and our body can synthesize enough to keep us operational, but the body’s standards for “operational” are pretty dismal. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, creatine is mandatory. Tryptophan, L-Phenylalanine, Tyrosine, and GABA. Four precursor aminos to major neurotransmitter types. It costs less than a daily coffee to give your body a blank biochemical check to manufacture optimal amounts of neurotransmitters. Methylated forms of vitamin B. Particularly methylfolate and methyl B12. Your body has to methylate most forms of most B vitamins to use them. If this methylation process is interrupted or slowed, it bottlenecks your usable B vitamin amount no matter how much regular stuff you take. But you can just take the already-methylated form instead! If you are autistic or have chronic fatigue, definitely check these out. (Autism is correlated with MTHFR gene dysfunction among other things, and MTHFR gene dysfunction makes you unable to methylate regular forms of B vitamins, in fact in some cases the regular B vitamins going un-methylated will actually jam up that process and cause lots of other problems too. At least some fraction of chronic fatigue is exactly this problem, a group of biological cycles in your body grinding to a halt because they’re jammed up. Potentially this is also part of the health benefit of cutting out bread from your diet, as most bread is fortified with folic acid for dietary purposes, and folic acid is one potential source of jams.) This one has risks, you should actively research the doses and what symptoms to be prepared for Choline. CDP choline, or alpha-GPC specifically, as those cross the blood brain barrier. Precursor to acetylcholine, which is heavily used in the brain for many things, memory in particular seems to be highly dependent on it. (Diphenhydramine is a common OTC drug for allergies that makes you sleepy; many people use it long term as a sleeping aid, and since it is anti-cholinergic, long-term use will actually suppress your memory.) Similar principle as the group of four above, give your body all the precursors it could want. Glycine. As we got better at farming meat animals, we stopped having to make use of the bones, skin, sinews, etc., of animals. This inadvertently cut collagen, the major source of glycine, out of our diets. Has a lot to do with muscle repair and muscle pain, as well as sleep. (The single best night of sleep I have ever had in my entire life was the first night I took a bunch of glycine, in the form of hydrolysed beef collagen.) Zinc. A common deficiency and one that interrupts testosterone production. Apart from all the things you probably know it for, testosterone is also really important in both genders for motivation. Potassium. Compatriot to magnesium, sodium, calcium, phosphorus. Body has excellent regulation of calcium and phosphorus and can tap into large stores of those in your bones, sodium is generally plentiful in the diet, it’s magnesium and potassium that we are likely to have mild deficiencies of. Coconut water (low sugar variety) is a convenient and safe source, but note that direct potassium supplementation carries risks. And lastly, if you’re taking a multivitamin, pick it up and look at the RDAs on the back. RDAs are hilariously bad*, if your multivitamin manufacturer is just putting close to 100% RDA of everything in, they are just ticking boxes and don’t care about making a product that gives you the benefits you are taking it hoping to receive. Look for another multivitamin. The RDAs should be all over the place, that’s an indication they’re analyzing the research themselves. I happen to use Thorne Research. * So, this claim is extreme enough that it does require a citation. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4210929/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4210929/ explains how they screwed up their statistical analysis of vitamin D. They recommended 600 IU, saying it would achieve the desired levels in 97.5% of the population. But actually that would achieve desired levels in 97.5% of the study averages in their meta-analysis pool. That is, if you took all the studies they reviewed and turned each into a human person with vit D levels equal that study’s average level, their RDA would be enough for 97.5% of those 32 synthetic people to reach the desired level. The actual RDA to achieve the result they claimed (acceptable levels in 97.5% of the population at large) is nearly 9000 IU, 15x higher.
- ssoroka 4y agovitamin B alone did this for me. This is a common side effect of some statins for cholesterol, like pravastatin. A pharmacist suggested it and it definitely changed my life. It’s also saved the life of a friend who wouldn’t take his meds due to these side effects. He survived a heart attack, likely in part because he was able to get back on them.
- Overtonwindow 4y agoI take supplements, and for a short period early in my career I worked at the FDA analyzing nutrition policy. Part of that was analyzing policy related to the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, which loosely governs dietary supplements. I am not a medical professional, but after talking with a lot of scientists about this topic, the most often repeated advice was that a person using dietary supplements should get a blood test of the nutrients and minerals in their body. This can be done through your doctor or through a wide variety of retail lab companies.
- BigCryo 4y agoYou may have what's called benign fasciculation syndrome, also known as benign fasciculation cramping syndrome... I've had it for 30 years
- slowmovintarget 4y agoIf there's a way to get the magnesium you need from the food you eat, that's almost always going to be a better way to go. From Google...: pumpkin seeds, 30g — 156mg. chia seeds, 30g — 111mg. almonds, 30g — 80mg. spinach, boiled, ½ cup — 78mg. cashews, 30g — 74mg. peanuts, ¼ cup — 63mg. soymilk, 1 cup — 61mg. rolled oats, cooked in unsalted water, 100g — 29mg.
- rep_movsd 4y agoWhat form of Magnesium? What dosage?
- ebfe1 4y agoI started with 300mg every night - 2 tablets from a brand called Swisse. I am now taking just 150mg a day since I think my body is back to normal. They also have powder type and i was also taking that at the beginning and your body absorb it really quick!
- throw_away1525 4y agoI'm very curious about the variability of mineral content of our foods. Surely it depends on a number of factors, such as the mineral content of the soil the food was grown in, and yet if you search for this you will find that a banana (for instance) has 358 mg of potassium per 100 grams of fruit. Well... what's the +/- on that?
- kuhewa 4y agoA lot of minerals are physiologically controlled and might be influenced by, but won't simply reflect environmental concentrations. Ions like potassium will affect osmolarity so probably are controlled to maintain homeostasis.
- Lapsa 4y agowasn't zinc needed for leg cramp relief?
- n4r9 4y agoBoth zinc and magnesium deficiencies can cause muscle cramps.
- benjaminwootton 4y agoI like it too. It’s the only supplement which has an effect on me. It helps me sleep well and settles any anxiety. I seem to build a kind of tolerance to it so only take it when I need it, perhaps due to my levels getting low. I think I take 200-400mg of Magenesium Glycate. I’m told it’s worth getting a good brand. You can also get a magnesium spray which works really well for sleep if you spray it on the soles of your feet! I was skeptical but I’ve tried it a few times and slept like a baby so I’ll save that for times when I really need a lie in.
- ebfe1 4y agoWowser - I have never heard of Magnesium spray! Will definitely check it out! I have sleep apnea as well so this might be good compliment :)
- campl3r 4y agohttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5579607/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5579607/ might not work as well as oral application.
- fasteo 4y agoIf I may ask, how is your diet ?
- ebfe1 4y agoI ate everything - I'm born lucky with high metabolism so I don't gain weight easily and have pretty lean body. After taking magnesium&B complex, my diet has not changed but the cramps were gone and my muscle recover much quicker than before.
- acadapter 4y agoWhich type of vitamin B? Or is it a combination of all?
- ebfe1 4y agoYea - this is a bit confusing to me but I just take B complex.
- eurasiantiger 4y agoThat certainly is more of a factor than magnesium.
- amelius 4y agoMagnesium can also cause loose stool.
- roelschroeven 4y agoIt's pretty common knowledge that magnesium can help against cramps; I didn't really know about muscle soreness; But the thing is: it helps only if the cramp, or the muscle soreness, is caused but a magnesium deficiency. There can be many causes; if the cause is something else and your body already has enough magnesium, taking extra magnesium won't help. I guess in the case of magnesium it doesn't really hurt if you take somewhat more than you need, so it's probably fine to experiment within reason.
- kuhewa 4y agoI like a magnesium chelate, have one with some kava in it for nighty night time
- draugadrotten 4y agoBananas are great for this and other reasons. Almonds, Cashews, Pumpkin seeds.. Modify your breakfast habit and there is no need for pills.
- ebfe1 4y ago100% I do eat more of these food and the nuts are great! I think in my case, My body either doesn't absorb it well or it really was due to bad diet but I needed the tablet at the time to get back to normal.
- Eisenstein 4y agoDon't take magnesium oxide -- it is a potent laxative. There are different types of magnesium, so do some research beforehand. I used to get 'charley horses' every so often which are extremely painful for a short time, and figured out I wasn't getting enough potassium. Eat your greens!
- jona-f 4y agoI have a similar story (muscle cramps, extreme morning tiredness) and magnesium does wonders. I would describe magnesium oxide as a "slight" laxative and I'm perfectly fine if i take the cheap magnesium pills a quarter at a time. YMMV
- kevviiinn 4y agoAny magnesium is a potent laxative but you actually have it fairly wrong. The oxide version doesn't absorb as well as the chelated versions such as bisglycinate, so its actually a worse laxative and worse supplement in general. The issue is also avoided if you take it with food
- jona-f 4y agoI think it's the unresorped magnesium that causes diarrhea by osmosis. At least that's one of the supposed mechanisms. I find it irritating how confidently you present your half knowledge, especially since you're giving medical advice.
- kevviiinn 4y agoI think you need to reconsider what you understand as medical advice, I'm simply commenting on mechanisms of magnesium and absorption, however you are correct that it is the osmotic effect of intestinal magnesium that is thought to cause the laxative effect
- jononomo 4y agoI find that just drinking some warm water with a half-teaspoon of potassium chloride and a half-teaspoon of sodium chloride dissolved in it is an effective way of immediately curing charley horses.
- cies 4y agoYou need 2 servings of low-oxalate green leafs daily to consume enough Mg. If not possible to eat the greens, the next (IMHO) is supplementation.
- cies 4y agoI follow Greger's "optimum nutrition recommendations" when possible. https://nutritionfacts.org/optimum-nutrient-recommendations/ https://nutritionfacts.org/optimum-nutrient-recommendations/
- petodo 4y agodid you do your blood analysis to see if you are not missing something?
- wslh 4y agoMagnesium-L-threonate (MgT) [1] seems promising, not studied scientifically in humans yet though. Also look at the Reddit threads [2] [1] https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/96066/Slutsky-2010-Enhancement%20of%20Learn.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/96066/Slutsky... [2] https://www.google.com/search?q=Magnesium-L-threonate+site%3Areddit.com&rlz=1C5CHFA_enAR1036AR1039&oq=Magnesium-L-threonate+site%3Areddit.com&aqs=chrome..69i57.3593j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 https://www.google.com/search?q=Magnesium-L-threonate+site%3...
- jasfi 4y agoThere are supplements which can do that for people, and I think magnesium and B complex would have a positive effect on most people. It's so important that I think it should be taught in schools. Another potentially life changing supplement is Ashwagandha. But crucially I only take one if I feel too stressed, not every day, as that could reduce stress levels too low.
- ebfe1 4y agoI'm so gonna give Ashwagandha a go ;) Stress free life is the best!
- dronacharya 4y agoCaution: https://twitter.com/theliverdr/status/1465511297441619970 https://twitter.com/theliverdr/status/1465511297441619970 There are studies that uncovered users of Ashwagandha with: - Liver injury - Itching - No major benefit
- wholinator2 4y agoBe careful with trying lots of things. With supplementation you wanna go slowly and keep it small. I don't know if you've seen the threads where people post their "stacks" which are extremely expensive, hugely overdosed, and typically contain mood altering and potentially addictive compounds (more so in the nootropics space), but unless you have infinite money and time and risk budget i'd be more careful than they are. Good thing to do is look up the contraindications of the things you take. Vitamins and minerals very rarely have any but when you get into mood altering things like Ashwaganda or St Johns Wort you wanna really know what your getting into as there can be dangerous combinations sneakily hidden.
- Rastonbury 4y agoWhat form do you take? Glycinate?
- ebfe1 4y agoI only learn about Magnesium Glycinate now... I have been taking Magnesium Citrate ... works well for me... But reading online... I see why Glycinate maybe better for some XD: > "This form of magnesium is less likely to have a laxative effect than magnesium citrate"
- ndsipa_pomu 4y agoI wonder if you'd be better off getting magnesium from dark chocolate instead as that also has a bunch of other goodies in it
- fredgrott 4y agoYou might want actually Cacao bakers non-semi sweet chocolate.... The Explain Like You Were 5: 1. That phrase refers to the fact that pure cacao gets the acid treatment in processing instead of the heat and acid treatments which tends to severely reduce the good ingredients of raw chocolate in the first place. Bias: It's part of my ADHD treatment.
- ndsipa_pomu 4y agoI think that's what we call raw chocolate here in the UK https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-28104303 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-28104303 Has it had a noticeable effect on you from eating it?
- papito 4y agoI drink Nuun [Sport] electrolytes and that eliminates cramps when I work out. As we get older, our bodies cannot hold as much water, so hydration is key.
- ebfe1 4y agoThis is a great tip and cannot agree more! I also start drinking a lot more water and even bought a 2.2L jug to drink at my desk!
- assimpleaspossi 4y agoWhen I get cramps, it's usually from a lack of hydration and just drinking water solves that.
- Cthulhu_ 4y agoWhile this is true, you also need to ensure your salts and minerals are kept up to date. I mean your sweat tastes salty, that salt needs to be replaced.
- carabiner 4y agoCounter-example: I started taking Magnesium a few weeks ago after Huberman recommended it for sleep. It didn't really do anything to my muscle soreness (I'm very athletic). Also, posts like yours show up in /r/nootropics every day. "Taking supplement X changed my life!" Almost always sound like placebo, especially when it's a medication that takes weeks to have an effect and the user claims it fixed their life in a day.
- muzani 4y agoIs it magnesium oxide? Normally magnesium citrate or magnesium bisglycinate is recommended, because it absorbs better. Notably OP mentioned in another comment that they use magnesium citrate.
- bigtex 4y agoThere are different forms of magnesium that benefit different parts of the body. In my case I take one that helps with heart palpitations.
- amelius 4y agoYeah, supplements can have a "honeymoon phase" sometimes, but it will wear off quickly. Sadly, this phase is also when most people write their reviews of supplements.
- jona-f 4y agoYes, that's why nobody takes you seriously when you finally find something that does work. Magnesium for muscle cramps takes effect very quickly and i don't think muscle cramps are related to Placebo at all. It's very chemical, your muscles lack the magnesium to relax, so they cramp up. No room for your mind to play tricks, really.
- hirundo 4y agoMediated by the CNS or not, placebo effects are ultimately very chemical too.
- wslh 4y ago
- Cthulhu_ 4y agoWhat normal foods do you get magnesium from? I know bananas contain a lot of potassium, also important. What I'm saying is, if tablets help, you should also look into your diet and determine what (if anything) is missing.
- a4000 4y agoHighest density is pumpkin seeds followed by chia seeds. Almonds, cashews and peanuts not too bad either. Otherwise green leafy veg like spinach or avocado. There's some in rolled oats, brown rice and milk too. I usually track my diet and nutrients and find it fairly hard to get the meet the daily RDI for magnesium even when eating a lot of these magnesium containing foods, so it's one of the few things I supplement with regularly.
- fergal 4y agoMagnesium levels in the water can vary fairly significantly from place to place.
- ebfe1 4y agoFrom what I know nuts are rich in magnesium (Almonds and cashews) if that helps.
- seydor 4y agoIf only biology was as replicateable as code
- drakonka 4y agoI've been taking it before bed most nights for sleep. There was a noticeable difference at first, but over time it became less drastic (maybe I was slightly deficient before and am now up to level? Just guessing). The effect seems more obvious if I don't take it for a few nights and then start again; could very well be a placebo, but I whatever works I guess.
- ebfe1 4y ago100% this is what I experienced .. I was fine for months after taking the supplement then I went away for holiday, forgot my supplement and the leg cramps at night came back after sometime. When i came home, i started taking it again and the cramps were gone. Just from that experience, it confirmed to me that magnesium deficiency was the root cause.
- dukoid 4y agoI had a similar experience with Potassium. I'd really recommend to get a blood test before taking any supplements.
- cassepipe 4y agoNot talking about OP but just know that just as there is a group of people that think that vaccines are bad, there is a group of people that think magnesium solves every health problem and even want to send it to third world countries to help them. Science seems based on some twentieth century doctor that studied the lowering amounts of minerals in the advent of industrial agriculture. Which is indeed the case I believe but is not really as alarming as they make it sound, just eat a bit more vegetables, (Veritasium has video on the subject). The laughable part is that this group lobbies for magnesium chloride which the least bioavailable from of magnesium sold today IIRC.
- eurasiantiger 4y agoB vitamins are more important here, as they are required as cofactors for pretty much every metabolic step in and around the citric acid cycle (aka Krebs cycle, responsible for cell respiration and energy generation), as well as a similar cofactor for steps in the human serotonin synthesis pathway.