On April 13, 2022, The Mosaic Diagnostics (formerly Great Plains Laboratory) hosted The Many Biochemical Influences of Magnesium webinar with Kurt Woeller, DO. Magnesium is an important mineral for many biochemical reactions in the human body. Much attention is given to its influence within the digestive system or cardiovascular activity. This lecture will explore these and other aspects of the various biochemical influences of this important mineral.
The following Q+A is a grouping of responses from Dr. Woeller’s presentation.
WEBINAR ATTENDEE Q+A
Q: Can you discuss the enemies of Mg such as glyphosate, diuretics, heavy metals and especially copper?
A: This is a great topic for a lecture. I will be discussing copper and ceruloplasmin later this year.
Q: Can you discuss how a Mg deficiency can lead to a refractory K deficiency to get the K back into the cell it needs the AT passes/pumps which is Mg dependent?
A: This was discussed in part. A broader discussion could certainly be looked at in the future. Good question for you to research too. Perhaps take what I presented in my lecture as a jumping-off point to investigate this further.
Q: How much did you increase the mag?
A: I increased my daily intake to 800mg. This is close to my weight using the 5mg/lbs in milligram daily. Please keep in mind that this is a dose I chose for myself which include magnesium from multiple sources, e.g., multivitamin. Currently, I take between 400mg to 600mg daily total. Each person needs to pay attention to symptoms of excess magnesium (discussed in the webinar lecture), and it is certainly appropriate to start low and use less for sensitive individuals.
Q: Do you think Magnesium deficiency may have a role in post-COVID fatigue?
A: Yes, absolutely. Post-covid and post Covid vaccination. Both are a major stressor on the body for many people.
Q: How much Magnesium supplementation is too high?
A: Depends on the person. I use the 5mg/lbs per day as a guide with magnesium taken orally. This is what I do, and it seems to work well. Personally, I needed to take a higher dose to help resolve some muscle spasm issues that greatly affected me. However, I make recommendations for patients based on the individual and not just as a blanket recommendation for everyone regardless of their health history. Each person needs to pay attention to symptoms of excess magnesium (discussed in the webinar lecture), and it is certainly appropriate and necessary to start lower and use less for sensitive individuals.
Q: During residency, I remembered we were told that there is a narrow safety window for Serum Magnesium.
A: It is certainly possible to get too much magnesium. Look back in my lecture for the symptoms linked to magnesium excess.
Q: Would Mg cause issues with POTS? Lowering BP.
A: Excess magnesium can lead to hypotension. However, there can be many reasons for POTS, including dysautonomia linked to mitochondria dysfunction, which can be worsened from magnesium deficiency.
Q: What lab measurement is the best indication of Mg deficiency?
A: GPL has a urine magnesium and calcium test which is useful. There are intracellular measurements too through some lab profiles.
Q: Will magnesium citrate also bind phosphate from calcium phosphate crystals?
A: Good question. I am not sure, but magnesium appears to bind to phosphate in general, so it is likely. Do some additional research on this topic specifically.
Q: Calm supplement changed from mag citrate to mag carbonate. Would you say that was a good decision?
A: I personally do not use magnesium carbonate and typically only use magnesium citrate for oxalate problems.There are better forms of magnesium for general body use that was discussed during my lecture.
Q: When is it best to take Mg Threonate, am or pm?
A: Anytime is fine and may help someone be more focused during the day. However, it can be helpful at night for sleep too. Tailor the dosing of this form of magnesium to specific needs of your patient and see how they respond.
Q: Do you recommend that we check serum Mg or RBC Mg to monitor when supplementing with Mg?
A: Only in certain circumstances in very sensitive patients or debilitated individuals on multiple medications, e.g., diuretics. However, I make recommendations for patients based on the individual and not just as a blanket recommendation for everyone regardless of their health history. Each person needs to pay attention to symptoms of excess magnesium (discussed in the webinar lecture), and it is certainly appropriate and necessary to start lower and use less for sensitive individuals. I mentioned an example of oral dosing of 5mg/lbs. (approximately), which is something I used for myself to help resolve some back issues. This dose has been appropriate for some others too with similar issues. But, it can be too high for some and may trigger loose stools, diarrhea, lethargy, etc. This is particularly the case if people are taking high amounts all at once. It is critical to be selective in recommending higher amounts of magnesium and that individuals and be followed closely. The main emphasis of my webinar was to highlight the importance of magnesium in many biochemical systems, and that it is a mineral often deficient in people with ongoing stress and chronic illness. Like everything in nutritional medicine, it does not exist or function in isolation, so individual dosing is essential.
Q: Do you know if any bioavailability issues with mg citrate gummies?
A: Not sure. However, I would presume it is the same at capsule magnesium citrate.
The material contained within this article and webinar is not intended to replace the services and/or medical advice of a licensed healthcare practitioner, nor is it meant to encourage diagnosis and treatment of disease. It is for educational purposes only. Any application of suggestions set forth in the portions of this article is at the reader’s discretion and sole risk. Implementation or experimentation with any supplements, herbs, dietary changes, medications, and/or lifestyle changes, etc., is done so at your sole risk and responsibility.
