Why Lynn and I Decided to Take Magnesium, Potassium & Vitamin B50 Complex

I write so you share. Thank you.

**Disclaimer: speak to your doctor/qualified practitioner/nutritional therapist if you’d like to take supplements. This entry post is about our personal experience and it’s meant to be an informative article only!**

Lynn and I have been taking magnesium and potassium supplements together with a vitamin B complex for a while now.

We decided to take it separately funny enough. I’d read in The Lifetimes When Jesus and Buddha Knew Each Other: A History of Mighty Companions (aff link) by Gary Renard that taking magnesium together with potassium was good if you had high blood pressure. The last time I checked my blood pressure I was told it was a little bit high. Lynn had been mentioning for quite a while she wanted to take magnesium for our menopausal symptoms so I thought it was time for me to get started on both magnesium and potassium (the book recommends both for high blood pressure).

Let’s Start with MAGNESIUM

Magnesium Tablets for Menopause Symptoms

So, after Lynn told me magnesium was good for menopause I decided to do some research on this.

Magnesium is a mineral. It is the fourth most abundant mineral in our body.

Benefits of Magnesium in the Body

– keeps bones healthy
– good nerves function
– good for muscle function
– keeps your heart healthy
– regulates calcium in the body
– needed for the hormones
– needed for sleep
– keeps your blood pressure levels
– keeps you looking/feeling young

Lack of magnesium / Low Magnesium Levels

– interferes with sleep
– causes low mood
– can cause depression
– can cause muscle and joints aches and pains
– fatigue
– food craving
– brain fog
– night cramps
– nausea
– low thirod issue
– high blood pressure
– weak hair, split nails
– trigger migraines, headaches

Getting it into your diet:

– nuts and seeds (sesame seeds, chia seeds, etc)
– dry fruit
– avocados
– dark green leafy veg
– brown rice
– lentils
– cocoa beans (careful!)
– wholegrain

Magnesium Dosage / Magnesium Daily Dose / Magnesium Daily Intake

In the UK, the daily recommended allowance is 270mg a day. You can start at 200mg and go up to 400mg if you’re going through your menopause. Be aware of taking too much magnesium because it can cause diarrhoea.

As I’m writing this I’m double checking our magnesium supplement tablets (see pics). Lynn and I have had ‘soft stomachs’ lately, as I politely call it, and I’m thinking now it’s been due to the amount of magnesium we’ve been taking.

I’m reading the label on the magnesium tub/package and I’m not clear about the amounts we’re taking to be honest. I thought it said 600mg per tablets (which I can now see it’s too much as daily intake!) but there seems to be different information regarding the amount of mg on different parts of the label.

This is really confusing me and even though I’ve researched online further, I can’t seem to get a straight answer on the amount of mg this particular magnesium supplement has. On one side of the label it says take 2 tablets a day. Then it references the amount to 275mg (below the ‘take 2 tablets a day’). If you turn it around the label says there’s 536mg per tablet (??), and when looking at yet another area of the label it states ‘100 600mg tablets’.

Confused.com!!

Disappointed with the fact that at the herbal store we were never told that 600mg was too much magnesium as well as being sold a tube that states 3 different mg amounts (didn’t they know at the herbal store that taking 2 tablets of 600mg would be way too much as daily allowance??)

I hope the smaller mg amount is the correct one, I’ll find out soon!

Here’s where I got the information from regarding magnesium, the video is very good!

Magnesium Supplement Tablets

Start at 200mg:

[amazon box=”B000BV1O26″]

And, if you like, work your way up to 400mg:

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Next in Line: POTASSIUM

Potassium for High Blood Pressure

Potassium, also a mineral, is an electrolyte that counteracts the effects of sodium helping to maintain consistent blood pressure. According to heart.org, “Foods that are rich in potassium are important in managing high blood pressure (HBP or hypertension) because potassium lessens the effects of sodium. The more potassium you eat, the more sodium you lose through urine. Potassium also helps to ease tension in your blood vessel walls, which helps further lower blood pressure.”

In this video, Dr. Eric Berg explains how potassium helps

We’re taking 300mg of potassium a day each.

Benefits of Potassium Supplements

For information on potassium benefits you can also have a look at WebMD. Here are some benefits listed (from organicfacts)

– stabilizes blood pressure
– stimulates neural activity
– stabilizes blood sugar
– reduces muscle disorders
– prevents cramps
– enhances bone health
– regulates neural function
– strengthens muscles
– boosts metabolism
– reduces anxiety & stress
– boosts heart health
– maintains water balance
– regulates the level of fluids

Lack of Potassium / Low Potassium Levels

Some of the below from medicalnewstoday.

– risk of high blood pressure
– heart disease
– stroke
– arthritis
– cancer
– digestive disorders
– infertility
– malaise and fatigue
– weakness and muscle pain all over the body
– constipation

Extremely low potassium levels can cause:

– severe muscle weakness and paralysis
– respiratory failure
– painful obstructions in the gut
– tingling, crawling, numb, or itchy sensations main felt in the – hands, feet, legs, or arms
– intermittent muscle spasms

Getting it into your diet:

– bananas
– avocados
– white beans
– nuts (like almonds and peanuts)
– citrus fruits
– leafy, green vegetables
– milk
– potatoes

Potassium Dosage / Potassium Daily Dose / Potassium Daily Intake

Through several trusted sources I found out that the daily recommended amount is: 4,700mg a day!

Mayoclinic says “because lack of potassium is rare, there is no RDA or RNI for this mineral. However, it is thought that 1600 to 2000 mg (40 to 50 milliequivalents [mEq]) per day for adults is adequate.”

and:

“The total amount of potassium that you get every day includes what you get from food and what you may take as a supplement.”

So, it looks like 2,000mg of potassium a day for an adult is ‘adequate’ then.

We’re taking 300mg potassium supplements each every day. Hopefully this pushes our potassium intake a little bit, although I suspect at some point I’ll have to evaluate what we eat a little more careful to assess exactly how much potassium are we taking on a weekly basis and what dosage would ‘cap’ it nicely if you see what I mean (maybe we need less/more/same amount of potassium supplements as what we’re taking to level potassium intake to the ‘adequate’ 2,000mg Mayoclinic recommends).

Potassium and Sodium

We need 5 times as much potassium as we need sodium. This is bad news for Lynn and I: we put A LOT OF SALT into our food. I’m not sure if it’s menopause related, but since we started the menopause we also suddenly started needing more salt in our diet. There was never enough salt.

Researching into potassium has made me think twice about this problem – I’ll try to reduce our salt intake gradually from now on.

When I went to the doctor and I found out I had high blood pressure (it was bordering, so not an alarming amount) she never said to cut down in salt though (she didn’t ask me about my diet, just told me to lose weight).

According to the above mentioned video, potassium is a relaxer and calms the nervous system, softening the arteries. It can prevent leg cramps, constipation and strokes.

Potassium Supplement Tablets

Potassium 99mg

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Potassium 550mg:
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Finally, Our VITAMIN B50 COMPLEX

I’ve spent quite some time now researching the above minerals so I’m not going to spend too long on our Vitamin B complex. Just to say that Lynn wanted it because she gets badly bitten by mosquitos and heard that taking Vitamin B helped.

Here’s what Livestrong wrote on Oct 17 regarding this:

“Even uninfected mosquitoes are nearly universally reviled as they irritate us with their itchy bites. So it’s understandable when people reach for easy ways to repel these blood-sucking insects. Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin or cyanocobalamin, is one such easy solution”

But, straight away, they claim that:

“Unfortunately, there’s no evidence that it works.”

Bummer.

I’m out of Livestrong. Let’s check The Guardian… Ok, mixed feelings. Some say the recommended dosage is 100mg a day. We’re taking 300mg a day (50mg B1, 50mg B2, 50mg B3, 50mg B6, 50mg B5, 50mg B12). Not the ‘recommended’ 100mg, but… we haven’t been stung since taking it and we’re not using any anti-mosquito device…

You make of it what you like. As, for us, we’ll still be taking it. Being on the menopause we probably need it anyway.

Til next time!

Vitamin B Complex

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