Natural not so calm

[whatjosaid]

Hi all,

 

I've been having a spot of trouble with Natural Calm. If I take half a teaspoon before bed I drop off easily but then wake up regularly due to super crazy dreams. And when I take it in the morning (same dose but in hot water with lemon), I find that I sweat profusely when I work out (more than usual) and my muscles just aren't up to performance. 

 

So... do I just ditch it and take magnesium baths instead? 

 

Seems like a shame and a waste of money. 

 

Has anyone else struggled to introduce Natural Calm into their day?

 

Thank you. 

 

[Tom Denham]

I've always taken Natural Calm at bed time, although sometimes I have taken it several hours before sleeping. I've never had sweats or weakness from taking it, although my bed time routine is pretty relaxed, so does not offer much of a test like a workout. I have been taking Natural Calm since 2010 and, although I have had a few crazy dreams since then, I don't think they were from drinking my Calm at night. 

[AmyS]

I take Doctors' Best chelated magnesium tablets. Natural Calm, even in the tiniest of doses, rips through my digestive system with vengeance, the ghastly effects lasting for days. I find it painfully harsh. Chelated magnesium treats my body better regardless of how much I take. I recommend it! I don't know how it would change your dreams, but I would think all side effects would be milder.

[jent103]

There are some people who tend to have the opposite reaction to Natural Calm, so you're not alone!

[whatjosaid]

There are some people who tend to have the opposite reaction to Natural Calm, so you're not alone!

OK, that's good to know, I think I'll leave it in the back of the cupboard for now or maybe try it post workout instead. Thanks!

[Vian]

Natural calm before bed gave me anxiety and i couldn't sleep for hours. Now I take Magnesium Glycinate tablets (200mg tablets, one with each meal) and I absorb a lot more of it, I can take more than double the dose I can of natural calm and it's really helped my heart palpitations and muscle cramps.

[whatjosaid]

Natural calm before bed gave me anxiety and i couldn't sleep for hours. Now I take Magnesium Glycinate tablets (200mg tablets, one with each meal) and I absorb a lot more of it, I can take more than double the dose I can of natural calm and it's really helped my heart palpitations and muscle cramps.

Is there a particular brand you use that's W30 compliant?

[Vian]

I used Kal brand The bottle looks like this http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31DnxXPTzKL.jpg It contains only Magnesium glycinate, Cellulose, Stearic Acid, and Magnesium stearate.

[SaraRuns]

I had the same results as Vian with Natural Calm.  And I was one hoping for some of the laxative results, which never came for me.  

 

Does anyone know if there is a major difference between gluconate and glycinate?  I had gluconate recommended to me and it is on the way from Amazon.

[Sharon Simpson Thumann]

How does one know if they should be adding magnesium or D3? Should I be tested by my doctor or just take the lowest dose? Supplements confuse me.

[Vian]

With magnesium, just start taking a low dose and work your way up. Most people are deficient, and if you aren't, taking it won't hurt you. The great thing about magnesium is that your body takes what it needs, and then passes the rest. Keep working your way up on the dose until you get loose stool (diarrhea) and then back off slightly. That's the dose your body needs. Vitamin D3, unless you spend time in the sun regularly (all year long) you probably are deficient in it as well. Living in Florida, you probably get more sun than me (in Washington) so you could probably go with a lesser dose. I take 10,000 IU D3 daily, but it's also winter here and I spend literally 0 time in the sun on weekdays, and only a little more than that on weekends, and that's only if there aren't a ton of clouds anyway. On weekdays, I get to work at 8:30 (sun has only been up for about an hour, still low in the east) and get out at 5 when it's pitch black out already.

 

The problem with being tested by a doctor is that most magnesium is tied up in your bones and blood levels of magnesium are very, very low. So you might be deficient, but a blood test won't show it. The other problem is that modern medicine doesn't delineate a difference between "not sick" and "healthy". You could have levels that are "normal" but low for you and not be functioning optimally, but a doctor will tell you you're fine.

[Sharon Simpson Thumann]

Thanks! I do  live in Florida but it can be pretty brutal outside in the summer! I average about 15 minutes a day outside. I am trying to remedy that by going to the beach for at least an hour or two every weekend. I will start with a very low dose on both.

[puppypower]

There seems to be a fair amount of confusion re: magnesium supplementation. Vian's post is spot-on, but I'd like to add to it...

 

A bunch of stuff needs to be available to muscles in order for them to relax...one of those things is magnesium (Mg). It doesn't just need Mg, but if there isn't enough, there will be no relaxing of muscles - guaranteed. On the other hand, muscles need calcium (Ca) to contract. Again, they don't just need Ca, but if there isn't enough calcium present in the muscle tissues, the muscles will not contract. Full stop. So it's not hard to see why there needs to be a Ca-Mg balance in the body.

 

So, Mg is necessary for muscles to relax. Therefore, it would not be a great idea to take a bunch of Natural Calm (or other brand Mg) in the morning or just before you are about to work out. To whatjosaid: that's probably why you're sweating up a storm and also finding that your muscles just aren't up to performing. You've flooded your body with Mg and then asked your muscles to contract(!) The sweat is likely because your body just isn't needing the Mg just then and wanting to expel it from the body (Mg is water-soluble). Keep in mind that Mg isn't just a muscle relaxant, it's a general nervous system relaxant. So it's also helpful for decreasing anxiety and other conditions exacerbated by an overactive nervous system.

 

What I did when I started using magnesium is titrating my dose, so I figured out at exactly which dose I experience the desired effect. Another plus of doing this is if you decide to continue to take a form of Mg whose absorbibility depends on its solubility in water, you will gradually build up a tolerance to its laxative effects.

 

Speaking of which, some forms of magnesium produce those effects more readily than others. Mg bonded with an acid, such as

 

- magnesium ascorbate

- m. aspartate

- m. citrate

- m. fumarate

- m. gluconate

- m. glutamate

- m. lactate

- m. malate

- m. pidolate

 

have a greater probability of causing the runs because the absorbibility of these forms depends on their solubility in water. If you end up taking too much, the body expels extra (as Vian mentioned) in the urine and feces.

 

On the other hand, amino acid chelates depend on protein pathways for absorption into the body, so they rarely cause the same laxative effects as the above-mentioned forms. Examples of chelates include

 

- m. glycinate

- m. lysinate

- m. orotate

- m. taurate

 

Note, that the amino acid chelates are usually 2 - 3x more expensive than are the forms of magnesium bonded with an acid, but their absorbability in the body is much higher.

 

Finally, if you don't want to take Mg internally, you can get Mg gels, oils, or lotions that are applied topically. These are great because they 1) completely bypass the GI tract and therefore there is no chance of GI distress, and 2) they can be applied to any body part thus providing immediate relief to that part first, and then, through absorption throught the skin, be absorbed into the body (to provide additional benefit elsewhere). Note that there may be a slight burning or itching sensation when first using magnesium lotion/oil/gel. I have found that it goes away over time, so that now, when I apply the gel, I don't get any itching or burning at all.

 

Hope that provides some clarity!