The FastDay Forum

[carorees]

I don't really know but I think the article Dominic referred to in another thread mentioned 400mg and the study on blood pressure said more than 370mg but I'm not sure if that is elemental magnesium our the compound....Perhaps Dominic knows? The tabs I've got are 500 mg of magnesium citrate but they only give 80mg of elemental magnesium so perhaps they're not high dose after all!

The recommended daily dose should be printed on the bottle.

You're right TML, brighter than the average bear! Label says 300mg is 80% so RDA = 375mg. Also they contain magnesium oxide, presumably this is ok? Anyway, next lot I get will be higher dose I think and I feel happy to take this.
Taurine I am a bit more circumspect about. The only animal protein I eat is fish and that's most days, in theory I should be getting enough this way?
As to the 5-HTP, I hadn't come across this until Dominic added it to my post and I think I'll leave that be for now.
Always best to keep things simple, though I do take cod liver oil, vitamin D, rosehip tablets in the morning and magnesium and ginkgo biloba tablets in the evening; all recommended for this ageing female to sustain vital signs of life for another couple of decades without decaying too badly on the way!

Try to not take the same vitamins all year round. Vitamins are like face cream and shampoo, if you use the same, your body/face/scalp gets used to them. Try stopping something for 2 months, take something else, you know... rotation.

Will do, squadron leader. Actually I think I probably do this as I take a comprehensive multi vit/mineral through the winter then ramp up the fruit intake as they come into season in summertime. The others are for arthritis, brain, life etc :0)

OK, got to ask, which ones are for arthritis???

the RDI for Mg is about 300mg, so as you get some from food that should cover it.

Rosehip for arthritis; ginkgo biloba for brain function; cod liver oil for omega3 - brain and joints. I give them a rest when I run out but feel the difference so it motivates me to re-order. I have been taking glucosamine, as recommended by my doc, at 1500mg a day for joint pain, for 10 years on and off but, having taken this as a mix with the rosehip I thought I'd change to just rosehip as there's better results in tests now.
Anyhow, two grandson day has left me pooped so goodnight and may your god go with you :>{@

Rosehip... never heard of it, thanks so much for the tip!!!

BTW, the best way to get all benefits from glucosamine is to take the hydrochloride and not the sulphate and to combine it with chondroitine.

I take 2-4 X 500ml. Mag orotate - these are the instructions on bottle - over 50 says 4 tabs - I pretend I am under 50 and it makes no difference to my sleep. In fact I find I don't need to take it every day now (read: sometimes I forget ;>)

Just to give an initial report back on my experience with magnesium and 5-HTP to help with sleeping (I haven't tried again with taurine BTW). I wrote before that taking both 5-HTP and magnesium I felt I slept deeply and felt drowsy in the morning unlike my normal buzzy self. And I am quite glad of that drowsy feeling actually because waking at 5am every morning buzzing, but still exhausted through the following day, is not such fun - nor healthy IMO.

Well I have since tried one night of 5-HTP only and woke up early and buzzy, and then had several nights of magnesium only (I am taking 400mg magnesium + 200mg calcium, I read that it is good to take them in this 2:1 ratio?), and had that drowsy feeling and generally slept much better. Even if I did wake early I was drowsy and able to go back to sleep.

So my initial finding is that it is the magnesium that is helping me. I've also started using a sleep mask - at least until we can do something about the light penetration through the curtains., and I think that has helped a lot too...

Thanks very much for your follow-up, dominic.

My own experience is that magnesium has just about eliminated muscle cramps during sleep hours and otherwise has helped somewhat, not hugely, with sleep.

If you try adding taurine to the equation, I hope you'll let us know how it goes.

My pleasure Natasha, I'm glad you find it interesting.

I could take some taurine with the magnesium, but of course my normal diet may not be deficient in taurine anyway since I am not vegetarian/vegan. I read about taurine here but I can't see if all the claims made for it are accurate. A scientific study extract is here.

Re 5-HTP, it is an amino acid and a serotonin precursor. Serotonin is meant (among other things) to induce feelings of wellbeing, hence the logic of helping you sleep. Wikipedia here.

For the next few days I will keep on with just the magnesium+calcium and see if it continues to work for me.

[carorees]

Is that 400mg of elemental magnesium or the compound? I'm taking 2 x 500mg of magnesium citrate which provides 160mg of elemental magnesium. I think it had helped my sleep but perhaps I need to increase it further?