Thu, Aug-21-03, 08:07
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Senior Member
Posts: 11,512
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Plan: IF +LC
Stats: 287/165/165
BF:
Progress: 100%
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Ouch Dedare, I feel for you. The numbness and the cramping is a definite sign of severe magnesium deficiency. The good news is once you start taking both calcium and magnesium you will feel better almost immediately.
Your dose of cal/mag is not enough, however. RDA for Calcium is between 1000-1500 mg, depending on your age and sex (women require more than men, the elderly require more as well). Calcium can be safely tolerated up to 2000mg, but you don't need that much.
The RDA for magnesium is 400-600, again it varies by age/sex. Often when cramping is severe a little more is a good idea. It's also a good idea to get the doseage of both combined in one pill as the two minerals work in tandem. Taking several pills throughout the day is also best, your body can only use so much at a time, so excess is wasted.
Potassium has no RDA, but while LCing it is agreed that 400mg is best.You can take pills or you can use a product like "NuSalt" or HalfSalt, and sprinkle it on your food in place of talbe salt - it's a potassium substitue. The only warning here being that potassium can interefere with blood pressure meds and some heart meds, so if you're on either see your doctor first. Always make sure you're well hydrated when taking potassium.
If you take one of your cal/mag pills before bed you'll notice a huge improvement in your sleep, along with a cesation of any night cramping - it really works well.
make sure your calcium is a citrate or a malate, you do not want calcium carbonate from oyster shells - it's a lot harder to absorb and doesn't do near as good a job as the others.
Hope you're feeling well soon!
-Nat
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