Valias

Howdy, Val here. Ok so i was going to post this in the supplement area but i figured it was more a question of nutrition. Magnesium, it's my understanding that most bodybuilders need more of it than a sedentary person. Currently i get what i believe is enough from Almonds. But recently i acquired some epsom salt's which i was intending on bathing in. I read on the side of the box, Magnesium Sulfate and this got me thinking, while i know Magnesium Oxide and a few others are the supplement form, why wasn't this version used? After a bit of reading I've found MgSulfate is used in hospital situations for low blood Mg levels and used for many other situations than just bathing in.

Now the question - Why can't this be used as a magnesium supplement? I mean it does in some situations. If so how much would be around the daily requirement of 350-750mg?

Also when is an appropriate time and is there anything that can be taken with it to increase absorption?, my guess is before sleep with a vitamin C tablet and perhaps a zinc tablet (emulating the popular ZMA supplement). I know the body is extremely efficient at absorption and excretion of Mg so if no one can answer this i intend to just work it up in small increments until i... well.. get diarrhea (this is how the body excretes excess Mg) which will tell me how much is too much.

The main reasoning behind this is that 375g of epsom salt is around $2.20 here, whilst a Mg supplement is around $20 for 50 tablets. From my knowledge on chemistry there is a fair amount of elemental Mg by weight in that 375g epsom salt and overall seems like the intelligent choice.

Anyone have any thoughts or knowledge on this?

Valias

I guess no one cares

JasnoE

No I dont think it is that, I think it is more along the lines of no one has a fucking clue

Jodi

I would just go buy magesium, it's cheap.

Essence EFA

GoalGetter

I don't see why the huge preoccupation with magnesium and epson salts. Here is a huge list of foods containing magnesium (many which are very affordable!).

Chances are if you take whey protein powder shakes (which are usually fortified with vits and mins), and eat enough nuts, whole grains and dark green veggies, you already get the magnesium you need. And if you supplement with a multivitamin daily, even more so.

Additionally, here is some information on magnesium:

Functions
Nerve conduction, muscle action (including the heart), bone function, coenzyme (responsible for hundreds of reactions), stabilizes ATP, helps to maintain the immune system.

Deficiency Symptoms
A pure magnesium deficiency is rare and is almost always linked to alcoholism or a renal disorder. Symptoms include personality changes, hallucinations, balance problems, and vomiting.

People at Risk
Alcoholics, diabetics, those with cardiovascular disease, people who abuse diuretics, and individuals who vomit excessively or have severe diarrhea.

Recommended Intake
(mg)
Infants 0-0.5 yr 30
Infants 0.5-1.0 yr 75
Children 1-3 yr 80
Children 4-8 yr 130
Males 9-13 yr 240
Males 14-18 yr 410
Males 19-30 yr 400
Males 31+ yr 410
Females 9-13 yr 240
Females 14-18 yr 360
Females 19-30 yr 310
Females 31+ yr 320
Pregnant 350
Lactating 0-12 mo. 310

Dietary Sources
Nuts, legumes, dark green vegetables, whole grains, seafood, coffee, and tea.

Interactions with Other Nutrients
Calcium and Vitamin D depend on magnesium, but calcium and magnesium compete for transporters. Magnesium hinders the absorption of phosphorus and protein aids in the absorption of magnesium.

Toxicity
Not likely since the kidneys dispose of excess magnesium, but symptoms include diarrhea, dehydration, weakness, slurred speech, and double vision at 9 to 12 mg/dL.

Supplements
Available alone, with calcium, or in multivitamin form. The most bioavailabe and soluble form is magnesium sulfate

Valias

Coffee and tea? i had no idea! freaking score. Yeah i should apologies for a pretty stupid post - being diagnosed with hypotonia since i was a kid means ... well it means i read into alot of this health stuff probably more than what i should hah

thanks goalfetter, the interactions with other vitamins and most bioavailable thing was very helpful

GoalGetter

Hey you're welcome.

You were a hypotonic baby? How old are you now? How has that affected you growing up? Did you or do you have any concurrent conditions? Sorry to ask, I'm just curious about all this stuff, and I've never met anyone who was diagnosed with hypotonia before. I've read that among many causes for hypotonia are down syndrome, hypothyroidism, rickets and hypervitaminosis, and those are all pretty common. i'm guessing down syndrome wasn't the case for ya!

Valias

Well it’s unlikely I developed it at the time of diagnosis, which was when I was around 10 or so. I’m 19 now and for me it wasn’t as bad as what it could have been. I had a lot of leeway in school, say I would get tired copying notes down or reading a lot so I would normally need printed notes etc. That’s how it was first suspected, besides a few things like learning to walk late and such it was never really realized until of continual reports about me complaining about not being able to physically keep up with certain aspects at school.

The talk about causes, well I don’t think the doctors were entirely sure. I think mine had something to do with my brain not sending proper nerve impulses to my muscles (it’s been a long time), not so much a physical or genetic based disease like down syndrome or muscular dystrophy. To tell the truth, I don’t know if it’s been overly hard, it seemed worse when I was younger, apparently there is no cure but I’m sure as hell feeling better then I have have been.

I don’t think about it much any more, I feel like I’ve beaten it so to speak, besides being told very clearly many times that there is no cure I’ve come a long way with my physical being and even have hopes of getting to competition size. The main difference I can see is just that for a 13 year old I was already reading into nutrition here and there.