Hi Tex
Well it has been 4 months since I have had a flareup (have gurgling & slight cramping in my intestines), but I have one now, not sure maybe stress. My problem is constipation. Should I increase my magnesium (Glycinate 400mg) of 200mg twice daily? I am drinking plenty of water, but I am still drinking my one cup of coffee in the morning. I eat lots of lays potatoes chips in my diet and I just read that too much salt can deplete our magnesium intake.
Thanks
Nancy
Alaska
LC/constipation
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Hi Nancy,
400 mg of magnesium glycinate should be plenty for normal needs, but are you sure that you're actually taking that much magnesium? If you're using Doctor's Best brand magnesium glycinate, it contains 100 mg of magnesium per tablet, so you have to take 4 tablets in order to get 400 mg of magnesium.
If you look carefully at the label, it shows 200 mg per "serving", but a "serving" is 2 tablets. You have to read magnesium labels carefully, because they can be very misleading.
If you want to use magnesium as a mild laxative, magnesium citrate works better as a laxative than magnesium glycinate. However, magnesium citrate is often available with 200mg per tablet.
Yes, Lay's Potato Chips contain a lot of salt. I used to be an amateur taxidermist. Taxidermists use salt to dry out, cure, and preserve animal hides without refrigeration. I've used plain table salt to extract the moisture and preserve animal hides for weeks in the hot South Texas climate until I could get them to a freezer.
If you eat a lot of salty potato chips, you are almost surely dehydrated, and that is a primary contributor to your constipation. The reason why ordinary salt can deplete magnesium is because when the salt pulls moisture out of tissues, it will also remove any electrolytes that are suspended in the water. So you need to drink more than normal amounts of water to replace that lost to the salt, and of course some magnesium will also be lost with the water. If the magnesium loss is significant, and it is not replaced, this can lead to a chronic magnesium deficiency, which by itself tends to be constipating. But the main culprit is dehydration, due to higher than normal amounts of salt (sodium chloride) in the diet.
But to get back to cause of the flare — yes, stress may well be the reason for the inflammation causing the gurgling and cramping. The salt is probably just adding enough dehydration to cause the reaction to involve constipation rather than diarrhea. But that's just a guess, so it could easily be way off base.
Tex
400 mg of magnesium glycinate should be plenty for normal needs, but are you sure that you're actually taking that much magnesium? If you're using Doctor's Best brand magnesium glycinate, it contains 100 mg of magnesium per tablet, so you have to take 4 tablets in order to get 400 mg of magnesium.
If you look carefully at the label, it shows 200 mg per "serving", but a "serving" is 2 tablets. You have to read magnesium labels carefully, because they can be very misleading.
If you want to use magnesium as a mild laxative, magnesium citrate works better as a laxative than magnesium glycinate. However, magnesium citrate is often available with 200mg per tablet.
Yes, Lay's Potato Chips contain a lot of salt. I used to be an amateur taxidermist. Taxidermists use salt to dry out, cure, and preserve animal hides without refrigeration. I've used plain table salt to extract the moisture and preserve animal hides for weeks in the hot South Texas climate until I could get them to a freezer.
If you eat a lot of salty potato chips, you are almost surely dehydrated, and that is a primary contributor to your constipation. The reason why ordinary salt can deplete magnesium is because when the salt pulls moisture out of tissues, it will also remove any electrolytes that are suspended in the water. So you need to drink more than normal amounts of water to replace that lost to the salt, and of course some magnesium will also be lost with the water. If the magnesium loss is significant, and it is not replaced, this can lead to a chronic magnesium deficiency, which by itself tends to be constipating. But the main culprit is dehydration, due to higher than normal amounts of salt (sodium chloride) in the diet.
But to get back to cause of the flare — yes, stress may well be the reason for the inflammation causing the gurgling and cramping. The salt is probably just adding enough dehydration to cause the reaction to involve constipation rather than diarrhea. But that's just a guess, so it could easily be way off base.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Tex
I believe the potato chips are the culprit (I eat a lot of them). I will leave them alone for a while and see if that makes a difference. I try to drink at least 64oz of water daily, but some days it might be less, and just prior to my flare I was also drinking too much coffee and I understand that can cause a dehydration problem also. I am taking KAL Magnesium Glycinate 400, which states on the bottle take two daily for 400mg.
Some day I will get it right, lol
Thank You
Nancy
I believe the potato chips are the culprit (I eat a lot of them). I will leave them alone for a while and see if that makes a difference. I try to drink at least 64oz of water daily, but some days it might be less, and just prior to my flare I was also drinking too much coffee and I understand that can cause a dehydration problem also. I am taking KAL Magnesium Glycinate 400, which states on the bottle take two daily for 400mg.
Some day I will get it right, lol
Thank You
Nancy
You're very welcome. You're probably already dividing up the magnesium dose, but if you're not already doing it, it's best to divide up the magnesium scattered throughout the day (with meals) for better absorption. If we take too much magnesium at one time, much of it may be wasted because it's the kidney's job to keep the blood level of magnesium in the normal range, and taking way too much magnesium at one time can overload them (the kidneys).
Tex
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.