Posted by metric on April 25, 2009, at 18:51:54
In reply to Magnesium for depression - Does it work long term?, posted by Trotter on April 18, 2009, at 4:55:42
Long-term? I've never even noticed any *short-term* mood-elevating properties of magnesium.
I do take supplemental magnesium and I think it's a good idea for most people to do so as well (as part of overall good nutrition), but I wouldn't expect it to have any significant effect on depression, unless perhaps you're severely deficient. If you notice such an effect, count yourself lucky. It might have some protective effects against stress. It's been a while since I looked at the literature on magnesium, so I won't say much else. Take a look at "Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease" by Shils. It's the most definitive text on nutrition that exists.
A tip on buying magnesium: in the U.S. you can obtain pharmaceutical grade (USP) magnesium sulfate cheaply OTC as Epsom Salt, packaged in milk-carton-like containers. How much to use is an individual decision, but you probably don't want to take the amount recommended on the package, which is the recommended dose for use as a laxative (unless of course, you're using it as laxative). If it produces a laxative effect, reduce the dose and/or divide it into separate doses.
poster:metric
thread:891371
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090416/msgs/892777.html