I have never regularly taken supplements but have just been away with friends who swear by magnesium, fish oil etc..
Do you take supplements and if so what and why?

Fish oil - for the Omega 3 because I don't have enough opportunity to eat oily fish

Kelp - for the iodine because I don't eat iodised salt

Vit D3 - for bone health, mood and immune system

Magnesium - to help with sleeping

Oh yes it was Vitamin D that my friends were taking as well.
I bought magnesium today although I don't have trouble sleeping but sometimes get restless legs.
Will try the Vit D.

I know fish oil is good but I have been completely put off it a few years ago when one of my children started smelling like a sardine after taking fish oil for a week or so. I think she must have something that prevents her from metabolising the oil, it hasn't happened since then but at the time it was very distressing. I bathed and bathed her but she just smelt like a clean sardine for quite a few days. Her hair and skin just oozed fish aroma.
There is a condition whereby some people have this problem and not just with fish. There was a girl at school with me who I am sure must have had it as no matter how often she showered she still smelt of fish.
It would be very debilitating to have and I hope that my little urchin doesn't develop this as she grows.
Sorry that was a long rant to explain my fear of fish oil.

Magnesium - for sleeping and to prevent leg cramps. It works for me.

A multivitamin - on my GP's suggestion.

A high strength joint care formula - as suggested by a GP several years ago. He said "don't wait until you have reached the older years to start taking it".

I believe some of the fish oil tablets cause less 'fishy taste and smell' than others but you would need to make enquiries from a trusted source.

I do eat a balanced diet.

Vitamin D because I don't get outdoors enough and my darker skin means that I would have to stay outside longer to get the benefits. I've found it's really helped my immune system since I've taken it.
I take an eye supplement as I'm predisposed to eye issues and they're the one part of my body that I'm really paranoid about.
Chromium because my pharmacist recommended it for helping with insulin sensitvity and glucose control for my type 2 diabetes. There is conflicting research about that so I'm gojng to stop once I've finished the bottle. It doesn't seem to have made any difference so far. The research is ongoing so I'm going to keep monitoring it.

Magnesium - apparently its hard to get the required amount as our soil has been depleted of it so its not in vegetables in large enough quantities. I also read that blood testing for magnesium is not that accurate.

I was going to start on selenium, but read that a couple of brazil nuts has all you needs, so am doing that instead.

I am a little scared of magnesium for now.I had suffered terrible leg and foot cramps during the night and didn't sleep well.I went to my doctor before Christmas and told her this and she said yes you will have it's the chemotherapy tablets your on.She advised me to buy Magnesium tablets.I chose the high strength which I thought would stop the cramps faster but I got very sick.The pain in my stomach was terrible and it spoiled my Christmas.I battled on but forgot to take one and felt a little better the next day.I decided to stop taking them and I am now pain free.The night cramps are back but I am thinking that if I wait a little longer then buy a low strength type it might work for me.Could anyone tell me the strength of magnesium they are taking please?Thanks.

Look for chelated magnesium, there are various kinds. I first tried Magnesium oxide and it gave me the runs. I now take Doctor's Best Magnesium glycinate 200mg each night with no ill effects.

Here's a useful link.

[www.livestrong.com]

For those deficient in magnesium, are you eating enough of these delicious foods:
Spinach — 1 cup: 157 milligrams (40% DV)
Chard — 1 cup: 154 milligrams (38% DV)
Pumpkin seeds — 1/8 cup: 92 milligrams (23% DV)
Yogurt or Kefir — 1 cup: 50 milligrams (13% DV)
Almonds — 1 ounce: 80 milligrams (20% DV)
Black Beans — ½ cup: 60 milligrams (15% DV)
Avocado — 1 medium: 58 milligrams (15% DV)
Figs — ½ cup: 50 milligrams (13% DV)
Dark Chocolate — 1 square: 95 milligrams (24% DV)
Banana — 1 medium: 32 milligrams (8% DV)

Other foods that are also high in magnesium include: salmon, coriander, cashews, goat cheese and artichokes.

Here's the link to the whole article:
[draxe.com]

Lorna I eat almost all of those foods regularly but I have found that a magnesium supplement makes a noticeable difference to my ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Thank you for the link Lorna and thankyou TPANDAV for sharing the name of the magnesium that you take.My doctor warned me about the problems with diarrhea but I thought that must settle and I'd rather that than cramp.I took 400mg straight off and obviously I should never have done that.I like the sound of your capsules tpandav and the fact that you take them at night time.I will try those as soon as I am sure that I am over the last ones.Thanks again.

I agree about taking magnesium at night, I found it works better for me if I take it before going to bed.

Started taking mine before going to bed from reading this thread.....fantastic nights sleep.

and yet we tried Magnesium (brought from a Health store), and we explained our sleep problems - and it made no difference! We purchased a bottle each, and persisted to the end, having it at bedtime and our sleep patterns were exactly the same

Separate beds might fix it, Irene!

Lorna Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Separate beds might fix it, Irene!


Hahaha Lorna, that could be the answer. We've had separate rooms for some years now. My husband says that I snore terribly, which is of course a lie! However, we both have slept much better since we made the decision to have separate rooms. I don't wake up because I am being prodded and he can sleep right through the night. Also, I enjoy reading in bed and usually drop off mid-sentence. Bliss!

I've been taking magnesium for just over a week, for leg cramps, and I've been sleeping so well! I actually wake up when I should, not 2 - 3 times a night (not for the bathroom), and actually feel refreshed - woohoo!

Heather F that sounds great.Tpandav gave me the name of what supplement she takes but I haven't bought any yet as the website I buy supplements off don't sell that type.Also I overdosed obviously so I'm back to getting my night cramps.Are you able to tell me the type and strength you are using please?

Hi Marylew - sorry just seen the post.
It's call Wagner Magnesium Forte Daily, a 300 capsule pack, each capsule contains 400mg elemental magnesium and I don't recall where I bought it, but I see it's made in NZ!

Thanks Heather F very good of you.

I brought Healtheries magnesium 400 mg High Strength. One a day.They would be fine for anyone but they were too strong for my weak stomach.They were capsules,but had they been tablets I could have halved them.I will try again but it will be a very low dose.

marylew Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I brought Healtheries magnesium 400 mg High
> Strength. One a day.They would be fine for anyone
> but they were too strong for my weak stomach.They
> were capsules,but had they been tablets I could
> have halved them.I will try again but it will be a
> very low dose.


I looked those up and they are mainly magnesium oxide, which is notorious for creating diahorrea. Try chelated magnesium, either glycinate or citrate, which are much less hard on the digestion. And try 200 mg - I have found that any more gives me the runs.

Thanks TPANDAV.I have just crawled out of bed after another night of cramps,and lack of sleep is annoying.It tends to make the day useless.Thanks you for finding out that info for me,I am not great at finding my way around a computer so this helps immensely.I will follow your advice it sounds good.

A site like HealthPost is good for seeing many available kinds of magnesium and being able to read their ingredient lists
[health.healthpost.co.nz] If you click on a product, that product's page has blue tabs headed Overview, Ingredients, About, Help & Ordering. Clicking on the Ingredients tab gives you the type of magnesium that's in the product (plus any other ingredients). You can then decide on the product you want and either buy it from HealthPost or from your local supermarket or health shop, etc. You can also search for magnesium on the Countdown online supermarket website [shop.countdown.co.nz] and they have Ingredient/Nutrition info you can click on, or if no info you can often go to the manufacturer's website and find the info there [www.redseal.co.nz]

Magnesian for leg cramps and period pain and mental sanity!! lol

Fish Oil (the strong stuff) for skin and hair

TPANDAV, I have just bought the doctors best ones to try since I needed some more. Can you tell me how many hours before bed you take it, or do you just take one immediately before?

Thanks in advance.

I take the magnesium before I go to bed, but I don't think it actually matters when you take it; it is not like a sleeping pill that knocks you out, it is more to boost your overall magnesium level and relax you. I found it took a couple of days before I noticed much effect.

I take two of the Doctor's Best tabs, a total of 200 mg.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/2017 06:04AM by TPANDAV.