Magnesium - Does Anyone Remember This?

[Guest guest]

Hi all -

 

Three or four weeks I read something here about magnesium, and another

supplement which, when taken with magnesium, would make the magnesium much more

available for absorption, thus improving a situation of magnesium deficiency.

The point was that without this other thing, it is extremely difficult to

reverse magnesium deficiency.

 

Does anyone remember seeing this? I can't find it again!!

 

Thanks,

Deb

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Is this what you are looking for?

 

Cynthia Kersh, RMT

Pathway To Healing

www.pathwaytohealing.net

 

Calcium and Magnesium--Should They Be Taken Together in the Same Supplem JoAnn

Guest Jun 17, 2005 13:44 PDT

 

This article was written by Richard Conant, a nutritionist and

consultant to Doctor's Best.

 

" Make sure you take magnesium with your calcium, because you need

magnesium to absorb calcium! "

 

This often-repeated nutritional advice has led some Doctor's Best

customers to ask why we offer separate calcium and magnesium

supplements: High Absorption calcium and High Absorption Magnesium. " Why

don't you have one product that gives me both the calcium and magnesium?

Don't you need to take them together to absorb calcium?

 

The answer is: you do not need to take magnesium and calcium together

in the same supplement to absorb calcium. The confusion arises from

misunderstanding the difference between metabolism and absorption. The

body needs magnesium to properly use calcium, in other words to

metabolize calcium.

 

But this has to do with what happens to calcium after it has been

absorbed, not with calcium absorption itself.

 

Absorption is the process by which a nutrient crosses the intestinal

wall and passes into the bloodstream. Calcium absorption is complex and

depends on a number of factors. However, the simultaneous presence of

magnesium in the gut is not a requirement for calcium absorption.

 

Magnesium is a crucially important essential mineral, and Doctor's Best

has always advocated magnesium supplementation as a high priority, since

nutritional surveys consistently show that the average person consumes

less than the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI).

 

Magnesium plays many roles in human physiology, including calcium

metabolism. Magnesium deficiency impairs secretion of PTH (parathyroid

hormone) the hormone that increases absorption of calcium in the gut by

activating vitamin D.1 (PTH also triggers release of calcium from bone

when the blood levels of calcium fall too low to meet the body's

physiological calcium requirements.)

 

At the same time, activation of vitamin D3 requires magnesium, because

the enzyme that catalyzes this activation needs magnesium to work.

 

Calcium is important for cellular functions, but excess calcium inside

the cell can be harmful.

 

Magnesium prevents excess calcium from accumulating inside cells.

 

Interestingly, when cells contain too much calcium, the blood may not

have enough.

 

Low blood calcium, know as " hypocalcemia, " is a known consequence of

magnesium deficiency.2

 

So, the importance of magnesium cannot be understated. The bottom line

is that we need magnesium to make proper use of calcium.

 

In fact, taking calcium supplements may increase the need for magnesium

by increasing the proportional intake of calcium relative to magnesium.

 

Many people, especially seniors, consume less than the RDI, as shown in

nutritional surveys.3 Taking 1000 mg of or more of calcium in

supplements, as is widely recommended, may raise the calcium to

magnesium intake ratio too high, unless magnesium is also supplemented.4

 

Calcium absorption is a complex process that is regulated primarily by

the amount of calcium present in the blood at any given time.5

 

When blood calcium drops below a certain level, the parathyroid glands

sense this and secrete PTH. PTH then activates vitamin D.

 

Vitamin D triggers synthesis of a specialized protein that grabs onto

calcium in the gut and carries it across the wall of the duodenum, the

upper part of the small intestine. This process is called " active

transport. "

 

Calcium can also cross the walls of the lower parts of the small

intestine-the jejunum and ileum-by simple diffusion, a " passive " process

that needs no carrier protein. It follows that calcium absorption

depends on adequate supplies of vitamin D.

 

Calcium absorption and excretion can be influenced by various dietary

factors, including high protein intakes, phytates (substances in grains

and legumes that bind calcium, making it unavailable for absorption),

intakes of fat, alcohol and coffee, along with lifestyle factors such

as smoking, exercise and exposure to sunlight.

 

But there is no evidence that magnesium is needed in the gut along with

calcium in order for calcium to be absorbed.

 

On the contrary, when the gut contains large amounts of calcium and

magnesium at the same time, the two minerals may compete for the same

absorption sites.6

 

Taking a supplement that contains both calcium and magnesium might

actually reduce absorption of one or the other.

 

This is true for supplements that contain calcium and magnesium in the

form of mineral salts, such as carbonates and citrates.

 

These mineral forms release the calcium and magnesium as " ions, " which

are largely absorbed as isolated, charged particles by the active and

passive transport systems described earlier.

 

Some mineral ions are picked up by amino acids-products of protein

digestion-in the gut.

 

This process is called " chelation " and it allows minerals to be

absorbed along with the amino acids.

Of course, this can only occur if the right amino acids are in the gut

at the same time as the mineral, which is by no means a certainty.

 

Mineral supplements in the form of amino acid chelates solve this

problem by delivering the minerals to the gut already bound to amino

acids. For this reason, Doctor's Best has chosen amino acid chelates for

High Absorption Calcium and for High Absorption Magnesium.

The chelates in these products are " dipeptides, " meaning each mineral

atom is bonded with two amino acid molecules.

 

Pioneering research on mineral chelates suggests that dipeptide

chelates are the best-absorbed amino acid chelates.7 In a landmark study

of seven different calcium sources, including sources commonly found in

calcium supplements such as calcium carbonate and calcium citrate,

calcium bisglycinate--the form of calcium in High Absorption

Calcium--was by far the best absorbed.8 ( " Bis " means " two. " Calcium

bisglycinate is one calcium atom bonded to two glycine molecules.)

 

Why not then produce one supplement that combines chelated calcium and

magnesium?

 

The answer is simple: Chelated minerals take up a lot of room in the

tablet, due to the amount of amino acid needed to create a genuine

chelate that contains 100% of the mineral in chelated form.

 

In order to supply a meaningful amount of each mineral in a single

supplement, the tablets would either need to be horse pill size, or the

customer would be required to consume 8 or more tablets a day of such a

combination product. So, Doctor's Best has elected to keep High

Absorption Calcium and High Absorption Magnesium as separate products.

 

Moreover, keeping calcium and magnesium as separate products allows

customers to adjust their intakes of calcium and magnesium according to

their individual needs, for example, upping the magnesium dose without a

concomitant increase in calcium.

 

This flexibility is important; there are good reasons why customers may

want to take magnesium alone, e.g. for its relaxing benefits, without

adding more calcium.

And the reverse is also true; there are times when we may need to

increase our calcium intake without adding extra magnesium.

 

In summary, it is Doctors Best's position that absorption of calcium

and magnesium does not require taking both minerals simultaneously.

There is no advantage, from the standpoint of absorption, to combining

calcium and magnesium in one supplement.

 

And there are significant advantages in having calcium and magnesium as

separate supplements.

 

References:

1. Paunier, L. Effect of magnesium on phosphorus and calcium

metabolism. Montasschr Kinderheilkd 1992; 140(Suppl): S17-S20. 2.

Cashman, K. Optimal nutrition: calcium, magnesium and phosphorus.

Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 1999; 58:477-87. 3. Morgan, K.e.a.,

Magnesium and calcium dietary intakes of the U.S. population. Journal of

the American College of Nutrition, 1985. 4: p. 195-206. 4. Celotti, F.

Bignamini, A. Dietray calcium and mineral/vitamin supplementation: a

controversial problem. The Journal of International Medicinal Research

1999; 27:1-14. 5. Bronner, F., Pansu, D. Nutritional aspects of calcium

absorption. J. Nutr 1999; 129:9-12. 6. Toba, Y., et. al. Effects of

dietary magnesium level on calcium absorption in growing male rats.

Nutrition Research 1999;19(5):783-793. 7. Ashmead, H.D., Graff, D.,

Ashmead, H., Intestinal Absorption of Metal Ions and Chelates. 1985,

Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. 8. Heaney, R. Recker, R.

Weaver, C. Absorbability of calcium sources: the limited role of

solubility. Cacif Tissue Int 1990; 46:300-304.

This article was written by Richard Conant, a nutritionist and

consultant to Doctor's Best.

 

**A note from Don Goldberg: While it is true that taking calcium and

magnesium together may not enhance their absorption, it certainly does

not hinder it. There is no reason, in my opinion, why you could not take

High Absorption Calcium and High Absorption Magnesium at the same time

if that is convenient. Using separate products allows you to tailor the

calcium magnesium ratio to your specific needs.**

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

DietaryTi-

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

, Drharrity@a...

wrote:

> Hi all -

>

> Three or four weeks I read something here about magnesium, and

another

> supplement which, when taken with magnesium, would make the

magnesium much more

> available for absorption, thus improving a situation of magnesium

deficiency.

> The point was that without this other thing, it is extremely

difficult to

> reverse magnesium deficiency.

>

> Does anyone remember seeing this? I can't find it again!!

>

> Thanks,

> Deb

>

I'm not sure which reference you had in mind although this diagram

from Hans Nieper's research may help explain various mechanisms of

action in regards to the way that they interact within the cells.

It would depend of course on your health concerns, as well.

http://www.mwt.net/~drbrewer/cell_lg.jpg