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Post by newshound on Sept 7, 2004 19:27:57 GMT -5
Read somewhere (maybe here?) that magnesium is lacking in many ADHD brains. How much to supplement in a 7 yr old?
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Post by catatonic on Sept 7, 2004 20:33:05 GMT -5
Next to Omega-3, magnesium is probably the most important supplement to include. If you're interested in reading more about it, take a look at www.mgwater.comor look for the book "The Magnesium Factor" by Seelig and Rosanoff. I say this often -- TAKE MAGNESIUM! On the proper dose to take, it depends on your child's weight. A therapeutic dose is 6mg per pound of body weight. So for my 85 pound son, this is 510mg. A maintenance dose, where deficiency is not present, is half this amount, 3mg per pound of body weight. There's a simple test, pretty reliable, that you can do at home to get an idea of whether or not you are dealing with a deficiency. It's called the Cvostek test. Tap on your child's cheek with your finger, about halfway between the earlobe and the corner of the mouth. If the upper lip beneath the nose shows a twitch or jump then magnesium deficiency is likely. Try this on your whole family and your friends, if there's any question whether you're seeing the twitch. Once you see someone without a twitch and someone with one, you'll recognize it immediately. Remember when selecting a magnesium supplement to AVOID magnesium oxide. This is the most common and cheapest of magnesium supplements, and it is basically worthless because of its low bio-availability. Pick anything else and you'll probably be fine. Also remember that your target dose refers to ELEMENTAL magnesium, not the weight of the compound. Often the bottles will say on the label something like "200mg elemental magnesium from 650mg magnesium aspartate hypochloride". That takes the guesswork out of whether you're looking at compound weight or elemental magnesium weight. You also don't need to be too compulsive about precise doses. If you need 385mg, you can go with 350mg or 400mg (more common supplement weights). And since magnesium can cause stomach upset (pain, gas, even diarrhea) it's usually a good idea to start at a low dose and work up, to give the body time to get accustomed to it. If you do have mild tummy problems, they'll wear off within a couple of days, or you can back off the dose some and build up. |
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Post by rosyred45 on Sept 8, 2004 5:44:07 GMT -5
Hey Catatonic, I just did that test on my son, he says OW< WHAT"D YOU DO THAT FOR :PI didn't see a twitch though, now I'll be running around plucking people ;DJust kidding, maybe
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