Posted by JLx on November 6, 2003, at 9:23:01
In reply to Re: Calcium:Magnesium ratio - osteoporosis JLx, posted by Nickm on November 5, 2003, at 15:34:58
> My wife has osteoporosis, and major depression. I'm trying to get her to take magnesium, and perhaps Sam-E, and fish-oil. She takes Oscal daily, 500 mg of calcium. The magnesium tablets I bought are for 200 mg or magnesium carbonate and magnesium oxide. She already takes 100 mg daily from a multivitamin tablet. Is she taking enough magnesium to affect depression, or does she need to take more. I've read calcium reductions maybe necessary, but...with osteoporosis, can she really reduce calcium?
If she already has osteoporosis -- a serious condition -- then it sounds like her situation might be best advised by a physician. Maybe a naturopath as well as a traditional doctor will give you a more complete picture as to which supplements might help both her osteoporosis and depression without one remedy being to the detriment of the other.
With that caveat, 500 mg of calicum sounds low to me. And she's probably not actually getting much magnesium from that combo that includes magnesium oxide. That is a cheap form for the manufacturer to put into a tablet, so when it says "and magnesium oxide", I'm suspicious that it's actually MOSTLY magnesium oxide, which is not very absorbable. To be in the safer side, I would go with a more abosorbable form of magnesium such as magnesium glycinate. (I recommend Carlson's brand.)
One book worth reading on magnesium -- and it's a quick read -- is "The Miracle of Magnesium" by Carolyn Dean, who is an M.D. AND a naturopath. From this review: http://www.naturopathyonline.com/newsletter/newsletter03_04.htm
"Dean points out that a influx of calcium without a balance of magnesium will lead to a new host of problems....She therefore recommends 800mg of calcium and 600 mg of magnesium daily to treat or prevent osteoporosis - as well as a diet rich in vegetables, beans, grains, nuts and seeds."
Here is an excerpt from the book with some good info:
http://www.randomhouse.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=0345445880&view=excerpt
"While women and men seem equally susceptible to magnesium deficiency, women may become deficient faster than men ... Osteoporosis, which affects more women than men, is evidence of a deficiency of both calcium and magnesium. ... More recent research indicates that calcium enters the cells by way of calcium channels that are jealously guarded by magnesium. Magnesium allows a certain amount of calcium to enter a cell to create the necessary electrical transmission, and then immediately ejects the calcium once the work is done. Why? If calcium accumulates in the cell, it causes toxicity and disrupts cell function. Too much calcium entering cells can cause symptoms of heart disease (such as angina, high blood pressure, and arrhythmia), asthma, or headaches. Magnesium is nature's calcium channel blocker.12,13,14
About 60-65 percent of all our magnesium is housed in our bones and teeth. The remaining 35-40 percent is found in the rest of the body, including muscle and tissue cells and body fluids. The highest concentrations are in the heart and brain cells, so it is no wonder that the major symptoms of magnesium deficiency affect the heart and brain."
The RDA in the U.S. is usually just listed as 350-400 for "an adult". The comparable recommendation in Canada is 600 mg. Since RDAs are notoriously low compared to what many people feel that actually need, it sounds like your wife could at least be taking as much magnesium as she is calcium, 500 mg, in a good, absorbable form which may help both her depression and her osteoporosis.
> Anybody know about Sam-E. My wife takes Effexor, and she's still on 75 mg a day. Does Sam-e, or magnesium, fish oil, etc., interfere with Effexor or cause side effects in combination with it?If you don't get a response on this, you might also check the archives. There's been lots of discussion on the other medication board, I'm sure, about possible interactions of any number of things with certain meds.
Off hand, I would say that fish oil and magnesium would do no harm (and might help) as they are both things that a person might ordinarily have more or less of due to dietary choices, but SAMe is a different story being as it is a somewhat manipulated substance.
poster:JLx
thread:274864
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20031104/msgs/277109.html