There is a cure for epilepsy...

[Zoe]

Hi Bernard,
I just looked at that link you posted. Cool. It blew my mind when I started looking and realized how much the things I drank, coffee, teas, could flush out the minerals and lower the seizure threshold. Herb teas too, can be a problem.

[RobinN]

Hi Zoe, I have also been reading about Vit D's role in this saga.

[Bernard]

Most foods/drinks can be a problem to most people when taken in excess. Some people can't handle some foods/drinks in smaller quantities.

Anyone that suspects mineral deficiences can ask their doctor to get a blood test done. They can measure the amount of calcium, potassium, magnesium and sodium in your system and whether it is too high or low.

[speber]

Zoe, you got me wonderin' now?....

I used magnesium and it seemed to help the very chronic ringing in my ears.

Hmmmmm?.......I mentioned somewhere I let my Magnesium supplement slip for a awhile. I ALSO have been having a 'ringing' sensation in my (right) ear...but it's more like 'pulsing' (but with no consistent rhythm) and I've been chalking it up to maybe high blood pressure? Keeping a close eye on it.

[Bernard]

Did a search for magnesium tinnitus and came across this interesting page:

Magnesium also protects the nerves in the inner ear and is a powerful glutamate inhibitor.

Magnesium, the Calming Mineral

[speber]

That's a great article.

To the point, and easy to read...with a good supply of footnote/reference/contributors at the end for further researching.

I'm sold on Mg now...it's a permanent addition to the diet...not going to let it wane again. Happy to find it actually MIGHT be the cause of my ear problems of late!

Good stuff...

Way to go Bernard!

[RobinN]

My only confusion with magnesium, is which type is the best for what we are dealing with.
Also should it be distributed throughout the day?

Bernard, why do you suppose these tests are not routine? Also, would the results change at different times of the day? I am going to double check Rebecca's blood work to see if it has ever been done. I guess you would want to take it fasting and perhaps at the start of the day.

Can you believe I have yet to be told that her current med could bring on a sodium deficiency?

[vtsammy]

Would you say just taking a daily pill like centrum would sufficient?

[RobinN]

I am sure you should check with your doctor about this...
but with that being said, For a healthy human being that is getting most of their vitamins in their diet, It can't hurt. I personally don't think the amounts are generous enough when there is a deficiency.

For me, research has been a requirement. Checking to see if there are any interactions with meds (such as.. anti-epileptic drug's can be a problem with any item with Grapefruit products). I search for foods with that particular vitamin, mineral, or amino acid. I also check for toxic side effects if I were to administer this to my daughter. I also check for the positive benefits, and weigh my options.

I keep a chart and calendar to write down observations, changes, patterns. I find this extremely helpful. If it was for myself I would be able to make note of every tingling sensation that occurs. However, when you are dealing with a child or loved one, you only have their good intentions to go by. Who knows if that day you thought a reaction was to a vit/mineral, when really a soda had been consumed. (for example only).

I have far greater concern about prescription drugs than I do about vitamins and minerals.

[Bernard]

My only confusion with magnesium, is which type is the best for what we are dealing with.
Also should it be distributed throughout the day?

The kind that the body can digest. One site I was reading (and I don't remember where) suggested that chelated formulas were better absorbed than others. I have no idea if that is true though.

Bernard, why do you suppose these tests are not routine?

That depends on the doctor. Stacy's GP is a real diamond in the rough IMO. He really looks to find answers instead of just prescribing meds to mitigate symptoms.

Also, would the results change at different times of the day?

Possibly (especially after heavy exercise I would think), but Stacy's doc never put any special conditions on her prior to drawing blood for the tests.

@Sam -> I don't know what Centrum has in it, but many of the commercial multi-vitamins use inorganic/synthetic substances instead of more natural forms and the body doesn't absorb/assimilate them as well as better quality stuff.

[RobinN]

The Journal of the American College of Nutrition published an article by Burton B. Silver, Ph.D., in which he makes his point very well concerning the inability of current methodology to measure magnesium levels within the body. Measuring serum magnesium is inaccurate because only 1% of the total body magnesium is found there. According to Dr. Silver, these measurements (serum levels) are of little use because they don't give an accurate status of magnesium levels needed within the body for health benefits. Accurate magnesium levels must be measured in intracellular spaces to attain true levels of magnesium that will then show superior benefits.

Knowing the above information from Dr. Silver is accurate, is another reason we are convinced nano particle ionic magnesium is the best source of magnesium because it is in the form the body uses without biological manipulation before ingestion into cells takes place. Other forms of magnesium not in ionic from must be manipulated into ionic form to go intracellular and into ion channels of cells. Nano particles allow for more particle absorption and increased speed at which these magnesium particles get absorbed.

One concern we should all have when taking life critical minerals, is making sure the proper transit time is observed. If products do not get absorbed they will be excreted.

In the journal Headache, March 1996, researchers reported that patients with clustered headaches had their acute headache aborted by magnesium therapy. "In clustered headaches, people suffer up to 20 bouts of pain daily in a single siege that can last for months. A single infusion of magnesium has ended those clustered headaches with some relief in 2 to 7 days. Among those who recovered the fastest were those taking ionic forms of magnesium."

Obstetricians: have found the developing placenta and fetus drain maternal stores of magnesium and the bad part is, low levels of magnesium may contribute to cardiovascular problems during pregnancy. In Europe, magnesium therapy is becoming a routine part of obstetric care.

Chocolate: cravings for this delicious treat are associated with low levels of magnesium. Magnesium is a mineral lost during menstruation. Women who can't control their weight have found it easier to do so when they can nix the chocolate cravings. Test yourself with the chocolate test. Here it is. On Monday, do not take any magnesium and then eat a piece or two of chocolate and see how it tastes. On Wednesday, take a fair amount of magnesium right before eating the chocolate and notice the difference in how your tasted buds react to the taste of chocolate.

Sorry if this reads like an ad:
http://www.ionicmagnesium.com/index.html
Read down the page

[RobinN]

From his book Holy Water, Sacred Oil, the Fountain of Youth, Norman Shealy, MD, Ph.D., states the following: "Every known illness is associated with a magnesium deficiency," and further states, "magnesium is the most critical mineral required for electrical stability of every cell in the body. A magnesium deficiency may be responsible for more diseases than any other nutrient."

...the problem of measuring accurate amounts of magnesium in the body is difficult because intracellular magnesium is what needs to be measured.

Symptoms of low levels of Magnesium.
The following is a list of things we can watch for concerning low levels of magnesium in humans:

1. Sleep disorders
2. Insomnia
3. Fatigue
4. High Blood pressure
5. Tensions of the body
6. PMS
7. Kidney stones
8. Bone Spurs
9. Osteoporosis
10. Muscle cramps
11. Irregular heartbeat
12. Backache
13. Headache
14. Irritability
15. CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, partial in many cases complete)
16. CVND ( Cardiovascular Nutritional Deficiency)
17. Depression
18. Constipation
19. Lack of mental acuity
20. Accelerated aging
21. Eye and facial Tics LMR (low magnesium relationship)
22. Tourette's syndrome LMR (low magnesium relationship)
23. Heavy metal poisoning due to low magnesium levels
24. Oxygen deprivation due to LMR
25. Compliment to Omega 3-6-9 fatty acids acting as anti-inflammatory being denied due to LML (low magnesium levels)


It is not completely clear what long-term damage is being done to the body by having low levels of magnesium.

[Zoe]

Hi Robin,
Vitamin D deficiency is often overlooked. I'm sorry to hear about Rebecca's seizure this week. Did you ask her what she had for lunch, what she ate and drank? That may give a clue to a possible trigger. Are you keeping a seizure log to look for patterns to her seizures?
It is so frustrating, and frightening when we don't know what is seeting off the seizures. How is your doc search going?

[Zoe]

Well, I was doing a google search on tinnitus and magnesium and it turns out that B12 is also linked to tinnitus, so check it out. That was a problem for me too. I would get such high pitched and constant ringing I sometimes wondered if I was the victim of mind control experiments-so distracting!

[Bernard]

Robin, please post links when you quote something. It's important to see the source. Is this something based upon peer reviewed studies, or someone's personal opinion?

[execwife2002]

Ronibn,
I remember when my son had one of his day seizures out in the quad during lunch time. His friends were there and knew what to do. One of the AP's there was well aware of his situation and the AP had at one time been a Paramedic. He took great care of my son as did the friends and 911 was called (protocal of that H.S.). I met my son at the hospital. That was the last day he drove his car. He still hasn't driven as he needs to be 6 months seizure free (day and or night). I know how you feel. It's times like those that make you more upset as a mom.
Marian

[RobinN]

Sorry Bernard, I tried to retrace my steps tonight, without luck. I understand if you need to delete it. I was jumping all around the sites today. I will be more careful in the future.

Marian - yes Rebecca occasionally has her seizures in the quad too. This week she hit her head on the concrete, which had me worried. Luckily they do not call 911 for each one any more. Only the ones that appear different, like status seizures or ones longer than 5 min. She begs to go back to class, which I admire in her. I would be hiding under my covers.

I am glad to hear that your son has good friends, and helpful admin. I do feel the same way as well. Though the friends are beginning to turn their back on her. I try to tell her those are not friends she would want long term anyways. I feel so helpless, so I deal with it by trying to understand it better.

[Bernard]

I spent some time researching the info Robin posted above (quote without a source). It came from a site that is selling magnesium supplements and it didn't offer any citations for it's claims either. However, I was able to track down the source (Dr. Burton M. Altura of the State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn):

Ironically, though most of the severe headache sufferers initially had low concentrations of ionized magnesium in their blood, their bodies’ total magnesium levels fell within the normal range. Additional studies have shown a similar pattern among other types of patients. For instance, Altura notes, stroke victims with a history of high blood pressure, including diabetic hypertension, "had the lowest level of ionized magnesium when they stroked out." Yet in some cases, their total magnesium concentrations had been within the normal range.

Diet also fails to predict who will tend to have low ionized magnesium concentrations in blood and tissues, Altura has found. In a study 4 years ago, he and his colleagues recruited 18 healthy young men to take different magnesium supplements for 6 days at a time. Although the volunteers had started the trial with normal total-magnesium concentrations—suggesting their diet had contained the RDA of this mineral—a number of the men still had below normal concentrations of the mineral’s ionized form. However, once these men were placed on diets containing four to five times the RDA of the mineral, the proportion of ionized magnesium in their blood climbed into the healthy range—despite no change in total magnesium concentrations.

...

To enrich the diet naturally with this mineral, look to nuts, legumes, and unmilled grains. Removing the germ of cereals and the outer seed husks eliminates 80 percent of any magnesium present in the whole grain. Green vegetables and bananas are also relatively good sources of the mineral. You won’t find much, however, in other fruits or fish, meat, and milk.

Can you get too much? Except in persons with kidney disease, "there is no evidence that large oral intakes of magnesium are harmful," according to the RDA handbook, published by the National Research Council. However, people can develop diarrhea when they take large quantities of these synthetic forms of the mineral; many supplements provide the mineral in the same oxide form that serves as the basis of common laxatives.

Magnesium: We don't appear to be getting enough

The advice on dietary sources of magnesium seems contrary to what is advised on the GARD diet.

[Bernard]

I'm trying to source some of the claims in this article from another vitamin retailer (emphasis mine):

Maximizing Absorption––Chelated Minerals Explained Mineral absorption occurs mainly in the small intestine. Like any mineral, magnesium may be absorbed as an "ion," a mineral in its elemental state that carries an electric charge. Mineral ions cross the intestinal membrane either through "active transport" by a protein carrier imbedded in the cells lining the membrane inner wall, or by simple diffusion. The magnesium in mineral salts is absorbed in ionic form. However, absorption of ionic minerals can be compromised by any number of factors, including: 1) Low solubility of the starting salt, which inhibits release of the mineral ion, and 2) Binding of the released ion to naturally occurring dietary factors such as phytates, fats and other minerals that form indigestible mineral complexes [18].

A second absorption mechanism has been discovered for minerals. Experiments have shown that minerals chemically bonded to amino acids (building blocks of protein) are absorbed differently from mineral ions. This has given rise to the introduction of "chelated" minerals as dietary supplements. Mineral amino acid chelates consist of a single atom of elemental mineral that is surrounded by two or more amino acid molecules in a stable, ring-like structure.

Unlike mineral salts, which must be digested by stomach acid before the desired mineral portion can be released and absorbed, mineral chelates are not broken down in the stomach or intestines. Instead, chelates cross the intestinal wall intact, carrying the mineral tightly bound and hidden within the amino acid ring. The mineral is then released into the bloodstream for use by the body. Research by pioneers in the field of mineral chelation and human nutrition indicates that the best-absorbed chelates consist of one mineral atom chelated with two amino acids. This form of chelate is called a "di-peptide." Compared to other chelates, di-peptides have the ideal chemical attributes for optimum absorption [19]. Dipeptide chelates demonstrate superior absorption compared to mineral salts. For example, a magnesium di-peptide chelate was shown to be four times better absorbed than magnesium oxide [20].

Consumer Alert! Not all "amino acid chelates" are true chelates. In order for a mineral supplement to qualify as a genuine chelate, it must be carefully processed to ensure the mineral is chemically bonded to the amino acids in a stable molecule with the right characteristics. The magnesium bis-glycinate/lysinate in High Absorption Magnesium is a genuine di-peptide chelate ("bis" means "two"). It has a molecular weight of 324 daltons, considerably lower than the upper limit of 800 daltons stated in the definition of "mineral amino acid chelates" adopted by the National Nutritional Foods Association in 1996 [21].

Magnesium

Epsom salts, Jualsy's original suggestion, is a magnesium mineral salt. It isn't clear if chelated forms of magnesium are ever broken down into an ionic form once in the bloodstream. I'm guessing they aren't.

So, if Dr. Burton M. Altura is correct about ionic forms, it would appear that epsom salts or an expensive ionic magnesium liquid suspension are the best way to supplement a diet (assuming you aren't eating enough fresh/whole foods containing magnesium).

[RobinN]

yes that is my understanding Bernard. But somewhere I read that our soils have become depleted of magnesium. So who is really testing what we are getting from the food source?