I have always suffered from leg cramps and restless legs, particularly when driving as a passenger in a car. I remember one long painful trip in India when my legs seemed to be on fire driving up to the Himalayas in a jeep for 24 hours. It was absolute agony. Then during my first pregnancy I started to get restless legs that would keep me up half the night along along with night-arresting legs cramps (I would literally wake up with one leg in spasm and hop around the room until I could push my foot down horizontally on the floor). Somehow my body seemed to half intuitively know what to do by drinking quarts of milk which contain the magic ingredient magnesium but not at all in the correct quantities.

When I found out I was pregnant with baby number 2, once again I found myself drawn to drinking cups of hot milk before bed, but this time round I was also taking calcium and magnesium supplements which I knew would help my legs. But something wasn’t right. 9 or 10 weeks pregnant, there I was again, walking around the house at 3AM having given up finding some rest from my restless legs.”

Fed up and exhausted, I sat on the internet and surfed for cures. Two words kept coming up. “STOP MILK!” Regrettably I realized my night time dairy fix had to stop and almost immediatley my sleep returned. These days I am taking guru kineseologist and nutritionist, Dr. Dean Raffelock’s nighttime formula which really work a treat.

Dean Raffelock, in his book “A Natural Guide to Pregnancy and Postpartum Health” (it’s available in my book section) has a fair bit to say about magnesium. He writes, ” Although its importance is not as widely acknowledged as that of calcium, magnesium plays a role in at least 300 different reactions at the cellular level. It works along with calcium and phosphorous to maintian bone health, as well as the health of the heart and blood vessels. Muscular relaxation, cellular energy production, fat and protein building, and the removal of wastes from the body all depend upon adequate magnesium levels….”

“During pregnancy, the likelihood of magnesium deficiency increases. An intravenous infusion of magnesium is the most effective treatment for preeclampsia and eclampsia, complications of pregnancy that can cause maternal or fetal death…… Restless leg syndrome, a condition characterized by uncomfortable sensations in the extrematies, usually at night, or muscle cramps during pregnancy can be soothed away with a supplement containing calcium and magnesium in a 1-to-1 ration (e.g. 400mg or calcium with 400mg of magnesium). Magnesium supplementation may also help you sleep - take it in the evening if you have trouble winding down enough to get a good night’s rest - and it helps to relieve constipation.”

“Given that magnesium is required for more than 300 metabolic pathways, anyone with a chem screen result of anything less than 2.0mg/dL should take magnesium supplements. It is a safe bet that you need some magnesium whether or not your levels have been tested since 75-95% of people who are tested are shown to be magnesium deficient.”

“As with calcium, the form of magnesium you take is important. We recommend taking 350 - 500mg of magnesium citrate, magnesium glycinate, or magnesium aspartate daily. There is some debate as to whether calcium and magnesium should be taken together. Intracellular testing of these two minerals shows that they both do get absorbed into the cells when ingested together.”

On that note, I thought you might want to know which foods are rich in magnesium (but I would not rely on just food to get a sufficient quota of magnesium because of the ratios to other nutrients which may in fact hinder absorbption). Foods especially rich include dairy products, fish, meat, and seafood. Other good sources include apples, apricots, avocados, bananas, green leafy greens (you’ve gotta love ‘em!), peaches, tofu, sesame seeds, and brown rice (”our evolutionary counterpart in the plant world”…. Aveline Kushi in a “Complete Guide To Macrobiotic Cooking”).

Some additional notes made by Phyllis Balch in her bible “Prescription for Nutritional Healing” (also available from my reading list) suggest the consumption of alcohol, the use of diuretics, diarrhea, and the presence of fluride, and high levels of zinc and vitamin D all increase the body’s need for magnesium. Also, the consumption of calcium, vitamin D and protein decrease magnesium absorbption. Fat-soluble vitamins also hinder the absorbption of magnesium, as do foods high in oxalic acid such as almonds, chard, cocoa, rhubarb, spinach and tea.

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January 23rd, 2007 | Permalink