Familial aka Genetic Hyperlipidemia IE High Cholesterol; What have you find helpful

[Scott Adams]

I take a magnesium citrate supplement daily, and when I first started taking it I did notice a laxative effect so stopped taking it for a few days, then added it back a few days later. I had to repeat this for a couple of weeks but my body adjusted to it, and I haven't had any issues with it for months now.

[CMCM]

How many mg per day is effective for you?

[Scott Adams]

I’m taking 250mg per day of NatureMade, which is at Costco.

[Posterboy]

On 3/7/2021 at 8:22 PM, CMCM said:

What amounts do you find works for you?  And do you take potassium at all?

CMCM,

I recently trialed Potassium to see if it would help my blood sugar issues with Wheatwacked encouraging.....but it (Potassium) did not....just to make sure I had covered all my bases...

But, I was fortunate I learned early on that the body through the kidneys manages for Magnesium.....and you won't become low in Potassium until you also become low in Magnesium FIRST!

When you are having problems with Potassium who are already low in Magnesium...

I find/found that in the beginning you need to take more than the RDA to catch up from a Magnesium Insufficiency....

Because your body try's to retain Magnesium.....a true deficiency doesn't occur (in those terms) .....but an INadequacy  of Magnesium is fairly common especially in people with GI problems like Chron's and Celiac disease....

In divided dose (with meals) I usually (or did) take 600 to 800mg either Magnesium Glycinate or Magnesium Citrate (both as Pills or Capsules are fine).....but find I can do "ok" with less...these days....

When I started taking it.....my Leg Cramps....went away immediately....

And if I stopped Magnesium within a couple of weeks....my leg cramps would came back....

NOW I can go with out it at ALL!   but I don't because I know how much it (Magnesium) is helping me!

Magnesium for the Animal is like Chlorophyll for the plant....WE can't make energy without it!

Here is a nice overview article on Magnesium and how Celiac's get low in it...

https://www.health.com/nutrition/magnesium-deficiency

quoting from the presentation...

Slide 1

"You may not be as familiar with magnesium as you are with better-known minerals such as iron, calcium, and zinc. But magnesium is incredibly important for many of the body’s functions—it plays a key role in your immune system, nerves, and muscles, and helps keep your heart and bones strong. In all, magnesium is involved in more than 300 of the body’s biochemical reactions. But important as magnesium may be for keeping you healthy, U.S. Department of Agriculture dietary surveys show about half of all Americans are taking in less of it than they should."

This figure is for the "healthy" non-Celiac population......so it is almost a given Celiac's are low in Magnesium....because our absorption is comprised to begin with....which they note...

Slide 5

"UNLESS you have a gastrointestinal disorder like Crohn’s or celiac disease or you take certain medications, like diuretics, chances are you don’t need to supplement your intake," she said."

But being low in Magnesium shows up all over the body.....long before a Vitamin deficiency (truly) develops....like in Chronic Fatigue etc...(remember it is is involved in over 300 of the body/bodies chemical reactions.....SO it is very important we get enough of it....and body manages for it....SO it doesn't get into deficient levels' to start with....but Vitamin/Mineral Insufficiency is quite common! and doctor's don't realize it!  A common sign of a Magnesium deficiency is muscle cramps etc...

Slide 4

"Another possible byproduct of a magnesium deficiency is an electrolyte deficiency. “Magnesium maintains a balance of other electrolytes, such as sodium, potassium, and calcium,” Dr. Levine explains. “These electrolytes in turn support nerve conduction, muscle contraction, and maintain normal heart rhythm.” A blood test in your primary care doctor’s office can help assess whether or not you have an electrolyte deficiency.

The earliest signs of magnesium deficiency include nausea, general fatigue, and a loss of appetite. In more advanced cases, someone with magnesium deficiency could experience heart problems (including irregular heart rhythm), muscle cramping and spasms, weakness, trouble sleeping, seizures, and tremors. A magnesium deficiency could also cause poor memory or even anxiety, Dr. Levine says."

So I had an advanced case of a Vitamin/Mineral dependency (insufficiency) and the doctor's didn't know why because they don't study Vitamins!

In fact Magnesium deficiency has been studied and shown to be helpful in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome...

https://www.prohealth.com/library/the-epstein-barr-virus-magnesium-and-me-cfs-connection-36890

I also had the Potassium problems once and Chronic Fatigue and Charley Horses IE Muscle Spasms....UNTIL I took Magnesium Citrate for them.

I wrote a Posterboy blog post about my journey back from Refeeding Syndrome....

Maybe it will help you.....when you become low in Potassium....you have developed Refeeding Syndrome aka RFS.

Magnesium works exceptionally well when you take it with Benfotiamine the Fat Soluble Thiamine (B-1) because Magnesium is a Co-Factor for Thiamine...... and BOTH are needed for energy production in the body!

See this great summary/abstract (a little technical)  by Dr. Lonsdale that explains why this is so entitled "Thiamine and magnesium deficiencies: keys to disease"

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25542071/

A much more accessible and more easily digestible article is this one...entitled "A Guide To The Symptoms Of A Thiamine Deficiency" that explains how being low in Thiamine leads to Peripheral Neuropathy IE Tingling in Arms and Legs etc...

https://healthprep.com/articles/fitness-nutrition/guide-symptoms-thiamine-deficiency/#:~:text=Weight loss may occur in a thiamine deficiency,individuals called AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) becomes impaired

Good luck on your continued journey!

I hope this is helpful but it is not medical advice.

2 Tim 2:7 “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things” this included.

Posterboy by the Grace of God,

[CMCM]

"You won't become low in Potassium until you also become low in Magnesium FIRST!  When you are having problems with Potassium who are already low in Magnesium..".

Yes, I definitely see that now, I kind of figured it out by accident although I didn't know the part about potassium depletion being from a low level of magnesium.  Until a few months ago, I hadn't been taking magnesium at all because of how it caused such digestive upset, and I didn't realize the low level of magnesium caused the cramps.  But I did take potassium and it did "sort of" help the leg cramps.  After I read about the Slow Mag type of slow release magnesium and started taking it, I found it didn't upset my system AND it seemed to straighten out the leg cramp problem, which has disappeared since I started the Slow Mag magnesium.  This product recommends 2 tablets per day, and the two contain 143 mg. magnesium, plus it also has 416 mg chloride and 238 mg calcium.  As it turns out, I rarely manage to take two per day.  I was trying to separate the two and take one in the a.m. and one with dinner, but most of the time I just seem to end up taking one.  Sometimes I even miss a day.  In any case, this type of magnesium in this amount  (half the recommended dose) is working wonders for me.  AND....I basically don't take potassium any more, although since I have a bottle of it I will occasionally take one.

[Posterboy]

To All,

I just wanted to update this thread for all who are following it and whomever might come across it.

Eating a lot Licorice can also lower Potassium levels....

https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/articles/licorice-led-to-life-threatening-loss-of-potassium

Also on the Cholesterol Issue.....

IF Benfotaimine (B1) does  NOT help your elevated Cholesterol levels try taking some Copper.

I  have found I have been low in it too!

Here the best research I have read on the topic....

Entitled "The Role of Copper as a Modifier of Lipid Metabolism"

https://www.intechopen.com/books/lipid-metabolism/the-role-of-copper-as-a-modifier-of-lipid-metabolism

It is little on the long side but if you are suffering from NAFLD or elevated Cholesterol it worth your read....

My high iron levels are probably from a Copper deficiency going undiagnosed...

Here is their paragraph on NAFLD and Copper Deficiency.

quoting

4.3. Copper and NAFLD

"The earlier studies of copper misbalance were focused mostly on the effects of copper deficiency and resulting dyslipidemia on cardiovascular disease. The liver, however, is the central organ of copper homeostasis and, as discussed above, it is greatly affected in WD. It may also be functionally affected in copper deficiency [88]. Caloric excess associated with the modern Western diet is implicated in NAFLD, however caloric excess does not compensate for copper deficiency. Furthermore, copper deficiency can still be experienced by the liver, even when serum copper levels are maintained or increased due to factors such as dietary cholesterol.

Although numerous studies clearly link copper deficiency to altered lipid metabolism in animal models [12, 22, 24, 89-92] and human volunteers [29], only recently has low dietary copper been implicated in liver dyslipidemia pathology, including non-alcoholic fatty-liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). In a recent groundbreaking study, hepatic copper content in biopsy specimens was inversely correlated with the severity of fatty liver disease, and copper deficiency in a rodent model was found sufficient to induce NAFLD and metabolic syndrome [12]. Hepatic iron accumulation, a known consequence of copper deficiency, is also observed in NAFLD [93]. Iron accumulation likely results from the loss of holoceruloplasmin, a copper-dependent ferroxidase instrumental in iron distribution [94]. This, in turn, results in lower levels of ferroportin in copper deficient rats; coincidentally, NAFLD patients show less ferroportin expression than controls [93]. Copper supplementation has been suggested as a therapy for NAFLD based on study in which a diet-induced (high carbohydrate fat-free diet) NAFLD in rats was improved by treatment with a Cu(I)-nicotinate complex [95].

Studies of NAFLD also reflect the intersection of copper deficiency, hepatic lipid metabolism and consumption of fructose as causative agents in NAFLD. High dietary sugars, particularly fructose, have been implicated in development of NAFLD and NASH [96, 97]. As discussed above, there is evidence that dietary fructose contributes to copper deficiency [66, 69], indicating cross talk between these dietary factors. Sucrose and fructose may have similar effects, as the enzyme sucrase acts in the digestive system to convert the disaccharide sucrose into fructose and glucose for transport in the bloodstream. High dietary fructose results in decreased CuZnSOD expression [98], lowering resistance of oxidative damage. A diet of 60% fructose affects lipid metabolism as well as antioxidant status, including CuZnSOD, in the liver of rats after 13 weeks of treatment [68]. It is clear these high fructose diets induce NAFLD in rodent models, however these diets are typically 60-70% fructose and may not accurately reflect human fructose consumption (for review see [99]].

It is proposed that fructose metabolism induces oxidative stress, and this may trigger NAFLD. A copper-fructose feeding study indicated that lipid peroxidation due to copper deficiency and a 62% fructose diet could be reduced by supplementing vitamin E to 1 g/kg, however copper deficiency remained, indicating that copper deficiency with fructose feeding may not be entirely a result of oxidative stress [100]. Nevertheless, hepatic lipid peroxidation is enhanced significantly in copper deficiency with fructose feeding, supporting the role for oxidative stress in liver disease through the impairment of hepatic antioxidant systems [66]."

Some theory's speculate that the reason beer drinkers don't develop Fatty Liver disease the way non-drinkers do NAFLD is from the trace copper amounts protecting them against liver disease...

Instead of trying to find the underlying cause(s) the doctor just drain your blood instead....

My elevated white blood cells have gone since I took some copper.....proving to me anyway I was low in Copper too the way I have been low in many other nutrients...

Be careful with Copper it best taken with Zinc....it helps the body keep the proper ratios....

I wrote a Posterboy blog explaining how many Celiac's are still low in Micronutrients IE Vitamins and Minerals  on a gluten free diet but the doctor's don't know to check for them.

We don't have to be "Scrawny" Skin and bones to develop Vitamin Deficiencies....

When it happens form High Calorie consumption Malnutrition can look like obesity instead.

For example Obese people are notorious for being low in Vitamin D....because the Vitamin D being Fat Soluble is locked up in the Fat....and not available for the  blood circulating our nutrients to all the parts of the body that need it...

In fact almost 30 percent of Obese people paradoxically to the traditional way of thinking is low in Thiamine...

https://www.hormonesmatter.com/gastrointestinal-disease-thiamine/

And instead of treating the underlying causes.....the doctor's operate on your stomach instead....

It seems they will do almost anything other than admit a Vitamin deficiency might be the cause....

Or unchecked inflammation in the body that is governed, in part, by B-Vitamins.

It can be from food allergies too....I like this article recently that Scott shared....that shows unchecked inflammation in the body might also be the cause for obesity, again in part , in some people.

https://news.yahoo.com/cell-science-systems-reports-weight-213700426.html

I got to stop for now...

I hope this is helpful but it is  not medical advice.

Posterboy,

[Wheatwacked]

On 3/12/2021 at 1:40 PM, CMCM said:

"You won't become low in Potassium until you also become low in Magnesium FIRST!  When you are having problems with Potassium who are already low in Magnesium..".

 

Quote

According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, most adults should consume 4,700 milligrams of potassium each day, but a study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition2 found that the average potassium intake for adults is around 1,755 milligrams. According to the journal, fewer than 2 percent of US adults meet the daily requirement. That means that almost no one consumes the minimum amount of potassium recommended. To get there, the average adult would have to add up to eleven bananas to their daily food intake. https://blog.watson-inc.com/nutri-knowledge/what-does-4700-mg-of-potassium-look-like

100 grams of raw pinto beans is 1393 mg of potassium. They double in weight when cooked so one cup of cooked pintos (193 gm) is almost 1400 mg potassium and 175 mg magnesium. A 12 oz. glass of milk is between 500 to 600 mg potassium and 36 magnesium. One ounce (30 gm) of whole almonds has 81 mg magnesium and 220 mg potassium. Magnesium modulates the sodium/potassium cellular pumps. The FDA limits potassium Over the Counter supplements to less than 100 mg per dose due to its link to intestinal lesions.

Humans eating low choline diets develop fatty liver and liver damage.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4717871/

On 3/19/2021 at 10:54 PM, Posterboy said:

High dietary fructose results in decreased CuZnSOD expression [98], lowering resistance of oxidative damage.

Did you know that today's Original Coke is made with High Fructose Corn Syrup instead of sugar like the real original Coke I grew up on.

 

On 3/19/2021 at 10:54 PM, Posterboy said:

When it happens from High Calorie consumption Malnutrition can look like obesity instead.

I call it Biafra Baby Belly, from the modern wheat sold to the Biafra Relief Agency in the late 1960's at a better price to replace the rice supplies(which may have caused Thiamine deficiencies). At the time they blamed it on Kwashiorkor (protein deficiency). Celiac Disease would have interfered with Norman Borlaug's Nobel Prize in 1970. My son had it in 1976 and was biopsy diagnosed Celiac. I had it in 2014. My only valid regret in my life is that I did not listen to the doctors in 1976 and try Gluten Free myself (denial), it would have changed the whole trajectory of my life.

I've been off prednisone for a month. Last week I had pains (mostly wrist and shoulder) similar to the kind I had eight years ago, and that fibromyalgia was the reason I've been on prednisone. I took one 10 mg prednisone that night so I could sleep because aspirin and Advil were ineffective. I checked my intake of magnesium over the last two months and was only eating 200 mg magnesium a day since I stopped calculating my daily intakes Jan 1. Started 1 ounce mag citrate twice a day and the pain is gone without prednisone. Maybe that was the problem all along? I've had eating issues my whole life that my wife, the nurse, said was anorexia. I called it anorexia like tendencies.

Looking forward to lipid lab tests on April 12.