Know the Importance of Taking Enough Magnesium with Your Vitamin D

http://www.naturalnews.com/029195_magnesium_vitamin_D.html
(NaturalNews) As more people begin to realize the amazing health benefits that Vitamin D has to offer, more people are naturally beginning to get more vitamin D, either through supplements or sunshine. The downside of this increased intake, however, is that more people are having adverse reactions from Vitamin D. What most people are not aware of, though, is that most of these so-called 'Vitamin D Side Effects' are not problems with taking the vitamin itself, but are actually problems with not getting enough magnesium.
Most importantly, vitamin D requires and 'uses up' magnesium to convert from supplements or sun into its active form in the blood. As such, it is a big mistake to simply take large doses of Vitamin D without taking the need for magnesium into consideration. Yet this is exactly what is happening in most cases and it is causing a lot of people to have problems that they believe are due to side effects of Vitamin D- or even worse they believe they are experiencing an overdose. Such a huge number of people have subtle magnesium deficiency that some researchers and doctors are calling magnesium deficiency an epidemic, and anyone with even a mild or 'subclinical' magnesium deficiency will have this deficiency amplified when Vitamin D is taken. This is creating some uncomfortable 'Side Effects of Vitamin D' that are actually symptoms of an induced magnesium deficiency! Some of the magnesium deficiency symptoms being attributed to Vitamin D are:

Headaches
Insomnia
Jitteriness
Muscle Cramps
Anxiety
Heart Palpitations
Constipation

Vitamin D Absorption Problems

Conversely, it's also true that taking Vitamin D may not raise blood levels in those who are magnesium deficient. In many cases, both the Vitamin D deficient person and their doctor believe that they are having 'absorption' problems. This lack of knowledge about the need for magnesium ends up causing serious issues.

This leaves many people still low in Vitamin D and believing that they are toxic or allergic to Vitamin D. This belief is being encouraged by practitioners and websites that are unaware of this intimate connection between these two nutrients and who don't have a solution for those who are suffering. Unlike drugs, nutrients are interconnected with one another and rarely does someone have only One nutrient deficiency completely in isolation. But as Vitamin D testing is becoming more common, people are being treated with large and sometimes massive doses of Vitamin D without taking into consideration their need for other nutrients. In particular, the need for sufficient magnesium is critical to avoid some of the uncomfortable problems that are often falsely attributed to being Vitamin D side effects or overdoses.

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=332321220632&topic=16465 Elaine Fleeman
Basically, if you take vitamin D, you need magnesium.
I have had a bad experience with vitamin D because I did not know that I was magnesium deficient. I had severe muscle spasms to the point where I could not walk one day and even sitting or walking was painful. I had heart palpitations, memory loss, anxiety attacks, high blood pressure, changes to my bones and numerous other scary signs. It took a lot of research to figure out that the vitamin D was making the magnesium deficiency problem worse.

What is scarier is that magnesium deficiency can cause hypertension which in turn can cause strokes, heart failure and heart attacks. It can also cause irregular heartbeat (cardiac arrhythmia- also potentially life threatening), anxiety, osteoporosis (even if you have plenty of vitamin D and calcium) , headaches, muscle spasms, generalized pain and fibromyalgia like symptoms, depression, insomnia, and has been linked to diabetes and asthma. There are numerous other signs, as magnesium is found in nearly every tissue in the body, though most is in the bones and muscles. It is involved in over 300 biochemical reactions in the body. Every organ in the body -- especially the heart, muscles, and kidneys -- needs the mineral magnesium. It also contributes to the makeup of teeth and bones. Most important, it activates enzymes, contributes to energy production, and helps regulate calcium levels as well as copper, zinc, potassium, vitamin D, and other important nutrients in the body.

Unfortunately, if you do not know you are deficient and take large amounts of vitamin D, you can potentially have some serious medical problems the way I did. Don't get me wrong - vitamin D is great stuff. You just have to be very careful with it because it increases calcium uptake from the intestines and the calcium magnesium balance in the body can be severely upset, especially if you were magnesium deficient to start with. Unfortunately, serum magnesium doesn't tell the doctor much because most magnesium is inside the cells. The tests that tell more, like a magnesium loading test, are more expensive and time consuming. They may be worth it if you are having some bad symptoms however.

Also, magnesium supplements are not created equal. The most common ones on the market are magesium oxide, which is pretty worthless, as it does not dissolve and is thus not available to the body. I am taking magnesium malate, which seems to help, though I have heard that magnesium lactate and citrate also work well.

Also, understand that you lose more magnesium under certain conditions, such as when stressed or have been exercising quite a bit. Some medications, such as diuretics, can also make you lose more magnesium. You may need to take more than the 400 mg. per day that is normally recommended. Some now beleive that taking vitamin D also increases the body's need for magnesium.

I just want to caution all those taking vitamin D to talk to your doctor about having your magnesium checked,and also eat magnesium rich foods (like nuts, beans, seeds, leafy vegetables) and possibly take a magnesium supplement as well.
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/magnesium-000313.htm
Dietary Sources:
Rich sources of magnesium include tofu, legumes, whole grains, green leafy vegetables, wheat bran, Brazil nuts, soybean flour, almonds, cashews, blackstrap molasses, pumpkin and squash seeds, pine nuts, and black walnuts. Other good dietary sources of this mineral include peanuts, whole wheat flour, oat flour, beet greens, spinach, pistachio nuts, shredded wheat, bran cereals, oatmeal, bananas, and baked potatoes (with skin), chocolate, and cocoa powder. Many herbs, spices, and seaweeds supply magnesium, such as agar seaweed, coriander, dill weed, celery seed, sage, dried mustard, basil, cocoa powder, fennel seed, savory, cumin seed, tarragon, marjoram, poppy seed.
Available Forms:
Magnesium is available in many forms. Recommended types include magnesium citrate, magnesium gluconate, and magnesium lactate, all of which are more easily absorbed into the body than other forms. Time-release preparations may improve absorption. Ask your health care provider.
Other familiar sources are magnesium hydroxide (often used as a laxative or antacid) and magnesium sulfate (generally used orally as a laxative or in multivitamins, or added to a bath). Some magnesium can be absorbed through the skin.
It is a good idea to take a B vitamin complex, or a multivitamin containing B vitamins, because the level of vitamin B6 in the body determines how much magnesium will be absorbed into the cells.
Dosages are based on the dietary reference intakes (DRIs) issued from the Food and Nutrition Board of the United States Government's Office of Dietary Supplements, part of the National Institutes of Health.
Pediatric
Do not give magnesium supplements to a child without a doctor' s supervision.
• Infants and children up to 3 years of age: 40 - 80 mg daily
• Children 4 - 6 years of age: 120 mg daily
• Children 7 - 10 years of age: 170 mg daily
Adult
• Adolescent and adult males: 270 - 400 mg daily
• Adolescent and adult females: 280 - 300 mg daily
• Pregnant females: 320 mg daily
• Breastfeeding females: 340 - 335 mg daily
A person' s need for magnesium increases during pregnancy, recovery from surgery and illnesses, and athletic training.