Marilyn Farms Blog » magnesium

Depression and Sugar

Jessica Forbes MS, CCN — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 02:08:11 +0000

The holiday season is considered to be the peak time of depression each year, which is usually attributed to the lack of sunlight in most areas, the stress of shopping for gifts, and attending (or not attending) family and work gatherings. A third factor that I think is equally as important—if not more important for some people—is the fact that sugar intake tends to spike around the holiday season. Here are a few facts to consider regarding sugar:

The body requires B vitamins to metabolize sugar. The body also requires B vitamins to make brain hormones such as serotonin—the feel good hormone. Many people find it helpful to take a B vitamin supplement to help brain hormone production during times of eating sugar.
In addition to B vitamins, the body also uses up stores of minerals, especially magnesium to metabolize sugar. Magnesium deficiency is one of the most common deficiencies in the United States, and has been linked to mood disorders including depression and anxiety.
The average American consumes 125 pounds of processed sugar each year. For most people this is hidden in processed foods and drinks that are also deficient in B vitamins and minerals.
Sugar intake during the last trimester of pregnancy and the months following birth may be linked to susceptibility to post-partum depression. To help prevent this, new moms should prioritize healthy fats and protein in their diet and try to curb any sweet cravings with fiber-rich, whole food sweets such as fruit or sweet potatoes.

To help prevent sugar overload during the holiday season, try to limit your overall intake of sweets. If you are invited to bring something to a holiday potluck choose to bring a savory item such as a vegetable platter with dip, deviled eggs, or spinach and artichoke dip!

Serotonin and Depression

Elizabeth Wagner, RD CCN — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 03:01:48 +0000

Thanksgiving is six weeks away, but it is my favorite holiday so I’m already thinking about it. I love that the weather is cooler, family snuggles into home for at least half a day, the leaves change color, plus it’s my wedding anniversary and so many of my favorite foods are served all in one meal. I look forward to it for months every year. Although I have so many reasons to adore Thanksgiving, the best reason is the boost of serotonin I receive from the entire holiday.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter found in the gut (90 percent) and brain (10 percent). Although it is in higher quantity in the gut, we associate serotonin with happiness or depression rather than digestion. Serotonin is the neurotransmitter most antidepressants target to increase levels of in order to decrease symptoms of sadness. Antidepressants do this by increasing the amount of time serotonin stays in the space between nerves where it actively promotes happiness rather than being broken down by enzymes in the body.

If you are trying to promote happiness (and most people like to be happy!) you may want to start at the beginning. Serotonin is produced from the amino acid tryptophan. Tryptophan is found in many foods, but the most common highly abundant food is…turkey! Once tryptophan is eaten and absorbed, it must pass through the blood brain barrier. The blood brain barrier protects the brain against bacteria, but also meters nutrients across based on availability. The higher amounts of amino acids get across easier than the amino acids that are not as common in your diet. To sway your body into thinking there is more tryptophan and less of the other amino acids, you can eat something rich in carbohydrates such as mashed potatoes or sweet potato pie.

Now the tryptophan is in the brain and ready to make you happy! All you need are a few vitamins and minerals to help the process along. Magnesium and B-complex should do the trick. B vitamins do many jobs inside the brain, but making serotonin is a big one. It is important to note when you are under high amounts of stress that your body increases its use of B vitamins. Therefore, when serotonin production is not given enough of the B complex vitamins the feelings of sadness and carbohydrate cravings increase.

If you are starting to experience sadness:

Increase foods rich in tryptophan such as turkey, chicken breast, grass fed beef, and salmon.
Make sure you are taking magnesium every night.
Each morning take B-complex when you wake.

NOTE: This blog is not intended to replace the advice of a qualified healthcare practitioner. If you are under the care of a physician or are on prescription medications, please consult with your physician prior to making dietary or lifestyle changes or taking nutritional supplements.

Coffee as a Mood Elevator?

Elizabeth Wagner, RD CCN — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 04:02:06 +0000

Last week a study was published associating increased caffeinated coffee consumption to a decreased risk of depression. As this study was not testing causation, caffeinated coffee has not been shown to actually prevent depression but to be associated with a decreased risk. The benefits started with those who drank half of a Starbucks tall coffee and increased as the coffee consumption increased. Everything I had read before always reported caffeinated coffee to increase anxiety and depressive symptoms. This new information made me start thinking about caffeine and its effects on brain health.

Below are some of the side effects of caffeine:

Caffeine is a central nervous stimulant (irritability, anxiety, restlessness)
Gives a boost of energy (the shakiness is the proof)
Increases the body’s use of Magnesium, Calcium and B- Vitamins
Increases urination and can promote dehydration.

Below are the signs and symptoms of depression that caffeine may affect:

Appetite or weight changes: We tend to eat differently when drinking coffee which may offset the depressive changes. Also, coffee consumption for many people is a social interaction which decreases depressive symptoms.
Sleep changes: Coffee helps us get motivated and sleep less if we are over sleeping due to depression.
Anger or irritability: Coffee may make this symptom worse.
Loss of energy: Anyone who has had their first cup of coffee can attest to the fact that it gives at least a little boost of energy.
Concentration problems: As energy is increased it becomes easier to concentrate and get things done.

(List taken from this helpguide link)

So what does all this mean for you? Coffee has both benefits and disadvantages, as much of the research has shown. Some of the disadvantages include increased side effects of chronic diseases while one advantage coffee offers is to increase amounts of dietary antioxidants. If you choose to drink coffee, it should always be organic. When it comes to caffeinated coffee and depression, there is no link to preventing depression so do not start drinking coffee for this reason. If you are a coffee drinker the best results for decreasing the risk of depression were found for those who drank one grande Starbucks coffee or similar each day. To help mitigate some of the negative effects of coffee make sure you drink extra water and increase the amount of magnesium and B-complex vitamins taken per day.

Headache Relief Drink Recipe

Jessica Forbes MS, CCN — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 01:24:26 +0000

When I get overstressed or overtired, I’m prone to headaches. The recipe below is a drink that I make when I feel a headache coming on, and it (plus a nap, if possible) works 9 times out of 10. The biggest key for me has been to take the drink at the first sign that a headache is coming, before it has taken hold. The recipe has evolved over time, so this is the most current version. I hope it helps you like it has helped me!

In a blender, combine:
4 ounces ice
4 ounces water
4 ounces orange or pineapple juice
½” piece fresh ginger (slice thinly if the “hairy” texture of ginger bothers you)
2 tablespoons Body Bio Balanced Oil
2 Marilyn Farms Mag Calm tablets (if you have a Vitamix blender you can toss these in whole, but with other blenders you may need to chop them finely with a knife first)
2 droppersful Marilyn Farms Pain Formula

Blend to desired consistency, drink, and lie down for a minute if you can!

Magnesium and Fatigue

Jessica Forbes MS, CCN — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 03:07:45 +0000

In honor of Chronic Fatigue awareness month, I wanted to share a few fun facts about magnesium and fatigue with you. Enjoy!

Magnesium acts as a spark plug for mitochondria, the energy producing parts of cells.
Magnesium is a key ingredient in over 300 enzyme systems in the body, including production of energy. This is especially important for people who are under significant amounts of stress, since magnesium is involved in adrenal hormone production.
Chocolate craving (especially if it is associated with PMS for women) may signify a need for magnesium, since chocolate contains magnesium.
The recommended daily dosage for the average person who is experiencing fatigue is about 400 mg. One heaping scoop of Essential Calm supplies approximately this amount.
Magnesium is best absorbed at night, and may help to create a restful night’s sleep.
Foods rich in magnesium include leafy green vegetables, kelp, almonds, sesame seeds, peas, beans, brown rice, and oats.

NOTE: This blog is not intended to replace the advice of a qualified healthcare practitioner. If you are on prescription medication or are under the care of a physician for a specific medical problem, please consult with them prior to adding magnesium or any other nutritional supplement to your routine.

Five Natural Ways to Fight Fatigue

Jessica Forbes MS, CCN — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 01:51:04 +0000

March is Chronic Fatigue awareness month. While Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is an actual medical disorder, many of us suffer from varying levels of fatigue on a daily basis. Here are five natural ways to help fight fatigue.

1. Stay hydrated. Mild dehydration can be a major factor in fatigue, especially fatigue that occurs in the afternoon. The basic rule is that a person should drink the amount of water in ounces that is equal to their body weight in pounds divided by two. This means that a person who is 150 pounds needs around 75 ounces of water daily. This number may change based on individual needs and activity level.

2. Eat enough protein. Protein is the building block for muscle, as well as for many of the hormones involved in keeping energy levels balanced throughout the day. Protein also helps to stabilize blood sugar levels, which prevents the fatigue associated with low blood sugar. An easy way to calculate the minimum amount of grams of protein that you should aim for is to divide your body weight by 2.75 (use your ideal body weight in this calculation if you are significantly over or under weight). For example, a 150 pound person needs about 55 grams of protein to maintain that weight. Athletes, pregnant or breastfeeding women, and people who are healing or are under stress usually need more protein.

3. Eat every two to three hours. Skipping meals or leaving too much time between meals can lead to low blood sugar which may create a drop in energy levels. Eating regular, balanced meals and snacks has the added benefit of helping your body to conserve hard earned muscle tissue. If you need help, try incorporating one of our Essential Meal products as a meal or snack replacement up to twice daily. Each serving of Essential Meal provides 15 grams of protein as well as a balanced profile of other necessary nutrients.

4. Exercise. Exercise in any form helps the body to detoxify and builds muscle tissue—both of which help to keep energy levels up. If you don’t exercise regularly, it’s best to start with gentle forms of exercise such as walking or mild yoga and gradually build your way up to a more challenging workout. Overexertion during exercise can actually contribute to fatigue!

5. Sleep. This may seem like a really obvious way to fight fatigue, but many of us tend to push sleep to the bottom of the priority list. This is especially true when we are under stress, which is unfortunate since times of stress are when the body needs the most rest! If you are fatigued, make it a priority to get eight uninterrupted hours of sleep each night (starting before 10 p.m., if possible). If your schedule allows, also give yourself at least 10 or 15 minutes in the afternoon to lie down and rest even if you don’t actually fall asleep. This practice is healing and restorative to the adrenal glands, which are responsible for your stress response. If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, consider adding a daily dose of a magnesium supplement such as our Essential Calm to your evening routine.

If you’ve found other ways to help fight fatigue, please share them in the comments section of this blog!

Magnesium and Sleep

Jessica Forbes MS, CCN — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 04:50:06 +0000

This month we are running a special on two of our products that may help with sleep. One of these is Mag Calm, a magnesium supplement that contains a highly absorbable form of magnesium. Magnesium has a wide range of benefits and is vital to over 300 different enzyme systems in the body, so I thought it would be important to share a little more information on how magnesium affects sleep. Enjoy!

Magnesium deficiency is thought to be involved in the nervous tension that prevents many people from falling asleep.
High carbohydrate diets and physical or emotional stress increase the body’s need for magnesium.
A high magnesium diet has been shown to help with overall sleep quality and uninterrupted sleep. Foods rich in magnesium include green vegetables, kelp, almonds, cashews, wheat bran, blackstrap molasses, and brewer’s yeast.
Over 80 percent of Americans are deficient in magnesium due to the lack of magnesium in processed foods!
Magnesium supplements have been found to induce restful sleep for most people in doses of 250 mg—the amount found in 2½ Mag Calm tablets.
Magnesium is involved in the transmission of brain hormones responsible for sleep, including serotonin (a hormone that regulates sleep) and GABA (a neurotransmitter that helps to calm the nervous system).

Electrolytes for Everything

Jessica Forbes MS, CCN — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:47:19 +0000

I’ll start this blog by freely admitting that I tend to go overboard on things I like, especially if they’re related to health, but I have to tell you how excited I am about our new product – Essential Electrolytes! It’s a lemon-lime flavored powder that supplies several electrolytes, including magnesium. For a complete list of ingredients you can click here .

I’ve been testing this product for a few months prior to us bringing it into our product line, and I wanted to share with you some of my experiences:
• One night I was having terrible foot cramping for no apparent reason, so I took a dose of Essential Electrolytes (I’ll abbreviate as EE from here on as a special treat to acronym lovers out there) dissolved in a big glass of water. Within 30 minutes, the cramps that had been happening on and off for over an hour went away!
• Last month I had a dull headache that lasted for several days which I realized on day 3 was most likely due to not drinking enough water. I increased my water intake and also took 3 or 4 doses of EE over the day and by the afternoon the headache was gone.
• A chiropractor I work with gives a dose of EE to her patients before adjusting them and has found that it helps them hold the adjustment and not suffer any “detox” reaction from being adjusted. I have started taking it before I go to have any kind of body work (massage, acupuncture, or chiropractic) done, so I get the most for my money!
• A horse trainer I know who is an outdoorsy type (as most horse trainers are) was feeling very fatigued, and he remembered a conversation we’d had about electrolytes in the past so he went to Marilyn Farms and bought a bottle of EE. He said that after incorporating it into his routine he feels “back to his old self” and has joined me on the bandwagon of promoting electrolytes.
• When I started writing this blog I had a slight headache at the base of my neck (you know, the kind you get after sitting at a desk staring at a computer all day long) so I took a scoop of EE in a small cup of water and now I feel so good I think I’ll stare at my computer all night, just for fun! Okay, I’m kidding about that but I do actually feel better and it’s only been 5 minutes since I took it.

So are you convinced? If not, that’s okay. But if so and if you have a story to share about electrolytes I’d love to hear it! Please post it in the comments section. I’m getting better about responding to those – really.

Magnesium and Sleep

Jessica Forbes MS, CCN — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:22:10 +0000

The weather has been kind of stormy here lately which always makes it harder for me to sleep. Over the past few years I have found that I sleep much better and feel happier overall if I take a dose of magnesium before I go to bed. I usually alternate between 2 or 3 tablets of Marilyn Farms Mag Calm and 1 scoop of Marilyn Farms Essential Calm in a small glass of water. Either choice provides about 300 mg of magnesium in a very absorbable form (chelate, glycinate, and citrate are the best – avoid magnesium carbonate and oxide if possible). This dosage puts me right to sleep and I wake up feeling pretty good (though I would feel better if my early bird husband would sleep a little later so I could enjoy my rest without feeling guilty).

The best way to figure out what dosage of magnesium works for you is to start with a small dose (about 100 mg) and gradually work your way up over the course of a few days. You’ll know you’ve had enough magnesium when you start to have loose stool. When that happens, just reduce your dosage back to whatever you were taking the day before you had loose stool (for example, if 400 mg gives you diarrhea, go back to 300 mg) and take that for maintenance. Needs for magnesium will vary based on stress and activity levels as well as how much you’re getting in your diet.

For more info on magnesium as well as a list of foods that contain magnesium, see this website:

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/magnesium/
NOTE: This blog is not intended to replace the advice of a qualified healthcare practitioner. If you are being treated for impaired kidney function, you should not use magnesium supplements without the consent of your physician.

Magnesium – A Magical Mineral?

Jessica Forbes MS, CCN — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 02:33:05 +0000

Last week I attended a 4-day conference in Chicago on nutrition and chronic disease. The conference itself was fantastic, but I’m writing this blog to tell you of my 4-day love affair with the free samples of magnesium glycinate (the same form of magnesium found in our very own Mag Calm and Essential Calm) that were provided at the conference. You see, the conference was sponsored by a supplement company that wanted to make sure the practitioners in attendance knew all about the wonders of their supplements so they had open bottles of their entire product line for us to sample.

Magnesium is commonly used for the nutritional treatment of a diversity of issues including osteoporosis, pre-menstrual syndrome, fatigue, fibromyalgia, arthritis, insomnia, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, arrhythmia, and diabetes. I personally experience none of the above but since an estimated 80% of the US population doesn’t get enough magnesium in their daily diet I thought I’d take advantage of the free samples.

After just one day of taking about 400 milligrams of magnesium I found myself sleeping better, waking up easier, and just generally feeling relaxed and refreshed – which is not usually how I feel when sitting in a chair for 8 hours a day listening to scientific lectures. The dosage I took is slightly above the RDA of 310 mg/day for women but magnesium is hard to overdose on when taken orally – if you get too much your body will eliminate the extra via the bowels (translation: if you find yourself running to the bathroom, you took too much). The only exception to this would be if you have inadequate kidney function or are on medications that alter your metabolism of magnesium.

As I write this blog I’m staring at my own bottle of Mag Calm, which I keep by my computer to remind me to keep up the experiment I started at the conference. It’s been a week and I’m still feeling energetic and waking up refreshed and happy in the morning which is highly unusual for me when it starts getting cold outside!

Magnesium has so many amazing qualities that I couldn’t do it justice in one blog so I wanted to also provide you with a link to one of my favorite reference websites on nutrition – the Linus Pauling Institute. Here is the link to their page on magnesium. Enjoy!
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/magnesium/