about Malic Acid

[Guest guest]

,

I'm glad to hear that you want to start taking malic acid. That and

a good magnesium supplement have really helped me a LOT. And yes,

you definitely need both!

If you aren't taking it already, you need about 500mg max of a good

brand of magnesium per day (this is including what's in your

multiple, so read the labels!). There are basically 3 different

kinds of magnesium...citrate, gluconate, and oxide. Citrate being

the easiest to digest (and most likely to give you diarrhea), and

oxide being the hardest (and least likely to give you diarrhea). I

know a lot of people don't like GNC, but the best brand I found was

a blended Magnesium they had...it was a combo of magnesium oxide and

gluconate, and actually helped straighten out my IBS, strange as

that sounds! You have to be careful not to over-supplement with

mag. though. Too high levels can cause a depletion of potassium.

I'd say that if you start taking the magnesium and it gives you

diarrhea, back off until you find a comfortable dose. The 250mg

magnesium oxide/gluconate supplements from GNC come in pill form, so

they can be split.

The book I have about nutrients states that magnesium is essential

for energy production, transmission of nerve and muscle impulses,

bone formation, and in carbohydrate and mineral metabolism. A LACK

of magnesium can manifest itself as muscle weakness and spasms,

irritability, IBS, chronic fatigue, chronic pain syndromes,

insomnia, depression, and PMS.

Malic acid works hand in hand with magnesium to help ease the

symptoms. I know that since I started taking both, the amount and

severity of my muscle spasms has dropped dramatically, and my energy

level is a LOT higher than it used to be. The ideal amount of malic

acid to take is about 1200-1500mg per day, starting lower and

working your way up. There are a lot of " mixed " products out there

that contain both magnesium and malic acid, but I prefer to take

these 2 alone. Primarily because the other ingredients are usually

B-vitamins, in pretty high doses, and you have to be very careful

with those. GNC used to make a great Malic Acid, which also

contained Boswellia and Ashwaghanda, 2 very good Ayurvedic herbs for

pain and inflammation, but for some unknown reason, they

discontinued it. You really have to do some looking to find malic

acid, or just magnesium and malic acid, without all of the other

stuff!

I hope this helped you out in some way! I have a huge encyclopedia

of natural remedies, and I do a lot of research, so if you have

anything else you want to know about, please feel free to write me

any time!

Jen