CPAPtalk.com

roster wrote:You may want to rethink your ability to get sufficient vitamin D from sun exposure.

According to one study of 93 residents of Hawaii with sun exposure of 29 hours per week, 51% of this population had low vitamin D status.

http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/conten ... /92/6/2130

How many of them wore sunscreen?

sleepyred wrote:I emailed the vitamin d council and received a very nice response - but what now?

"Vitamin D3 itself is biologically inert (its metabolic product, calcitriol, is what acts in the body) and so there are no side effects caused directly by the vitamin D itself.
However, excessive thirst can be a symptom of magnesium deficiency, which rising vitamin D levels have been known to exacerbate.
Make sure to receive adequate magnesium when supplementing with vitamin D. If your thirst persists, you should discuss it with your doctor as it may be a symptom of an unrelated condition."

My blood work also showed a slightly elevated calcium level (told this was because of vitamin D supplements?- so how do I get D3, magnesium without calcium? I some how thought you needed calcium to absorb magnesium? Help please! Looks like I am getting somewhere here!

Thanks so much!

Actually its the other way around. You need magnesium to absorb calcium. Magnesium is just as crucial to bone health as calcium but for some reason it just doesn't get the press. Ironically, most Americans are deficient in Magnesium as it burns off quickly when food is cooked. Best sources are beans, nuts and seeds, leafy greens. The best supplementary magnesium is magnesium citrate (but too much can cause loose stools) or magnesium glycinate. Stay away from Magnesium oxide--although it is cheaper, it only about 5% is absorbed.

Magnesium deficiency is implicated in a lot of modern disease. In raw foods, magnesium is found one to one ratio with calcium. When we cook foods, that ratio is thrown off. Most Americans get about 250 mg per day but we need 400 or more. I currently take about 800 mg a day.

M.D.Hosehead wrote:Does anyone know whether you can absorb magnesium from epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) externally? I mean in a bath or a wet hotpak.

Yes, you can. But don't overdo it or you can get diarrhea from it. Check out the book, The Magnesium Miracle for more details about Magnesium and the different forms you can take. As I said in my last post, Magnesium Oxide is difficult to absorb, but the other forms, Magnesium citrate and glycinate are not difficult to absorb. If you think you could be extremely deficient, Mg oil can be used, but you have to use an awful lot to get anywhere and I found it to make me feel very uncomfortable in the summer heat--it feels salty on the skin like you have been sweating. At least it does for me. I didn't care for it. Maybe it will be better in the winter.

Natural Calm is a great drink powder that is magnesium citrate and people swear by it. It is probably the most easily absorbed thru the oral route. Again, you have to be careful not to overdo it because of diarrhea, but if you are constipated it could be just what the doctor ordered.

WearyOne wrote:Well, got the results back. And although higher than usual, it's still only 21.9. That's after about a week on 2,000 IU Vit D3 (and overnight fasting for the test) but I have no idea how long it takes for supplementation to start making a difference (I was thinking a few months). Guess I'll bump it up to 4,000 now that I know I'm definitely low, then check again in a few months.

Some docs are now recommending everyone take 10,000 units a day which is commonly available in gel caps. I take 2000 a day now, but I also try to get sun everyday.

Did you know that your body converts CHOLESTEROL to vitamin D. I find that so fascinating. I have to wonder if a daily dose of sun like God or Mother Nature or evolution expects us to get will actually decrease cholesterol naturally. Someone ought to do a study on that.

This craziness about slathering on sunscreen is just incredible. Sunburns cause skin cancer, not sun exposure in normal amounts. And some of us get melanomas where the sun don't shine--explain that one, sunscreen manufacturers. I got a BUNCH of displastic nevi on my upper buttocks/lower back. I'm telling you--sun never saw those parts! I've never been a sun worshiper and got only one or two burns in my youth. Someday they are going to realize it is our diet and lack of exercise--not the sun.

Also, have you ever looked into what is IN sunscreen. I saw a news piece about endocrine disrupters in that crap. I think I'll take my sun in moderation rather than slather that crap on me, thank you very much.

socknitster wrote: Natural Calm is a great drink powder that is magnesium citrate and people swear by it. It is probably the most easily absorbed thru the oral route. Again, you have to be careful not to overdo it because of diarrhea, but if you are constipated it could be just what the doctor ordered.

Probably TMI, but that's exactly why I take a decent dosage every night, if anyone knows what IBS-C is! That's the only thing that's helped.

Thanks for all your posts...very informative! I'll have to check out which mag I'm taking. And this Natural Calm sounds good, too. Oh, this is interesting. I just looked it up and the one I found at Vitamin Shoppe has Stevia in it. I've been thinking about looking into Stevia as a sugar replacement.

WearyOne wrote:

socknitster wrote: Natural Calm is a great drink powder that is magnesium citrate and people swear by it. It is probably the most easily absorbed thru the oral route. Again, you have to be careful not to overdo it because of diarrhea, but if you are constipated it could be just what the doctor ordered.

Probably TMI, but that's exactly why I take a decent dosage every night, if anyone knows what IBS-C is! That's the only thing that's helped.

Thanks for all your posts...very informative! I'll have to check out which mag I'm taking. And this Natural Calm sounds good, too. Oh, this is interesting. I just looked it up and the one I found at Vitamin Shoppe has Stevia in it. I've been thinking about looking into Stevia as a sugar replacement.

Stevia is a great sugar substitute, but incredibly concentrated--it takes tiny amounts to sweeten things. I like it best in tea, when used by itself--not so much in coffee. For all around everyday sweetening I make up my own custom mix--erythritol (which is expensive, but a perfect sugar substitute), small amount of xylitol, small amount of stevia and about 1/4 total volume of table sugar just to round out the taste. This way I have a sugar "substitute" that tastes just like sugar (to me) but is much lower glycemic and has a small health benifit too--the xylitol is good for oral health. Studies have shown xylitol toothpaste to be more effective than regular over the counter toothpaste at preventing cavities--in a very large study done on children. So, chew spry gum after a meal if you can't brush! After I read that study, I ordered some spry toothpaste. Xylitol should only be consumed in small amounts though--tummy trouble will ensue otherwise.

I'm sorry I posted so many separate posts last night but I was on my ipad which I haven't completely figured out yet--I don't know how to get it to scroll. . . makes it difficult to compose a long post.

I'm glad the magnesium is helping you. Taking it at bedtime is good too because it can help you relax to sleep.

Jen