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Tag Archives: magnesium

How Does Magnesium Help With Weight Loss?

Posted on July 23, 2018 by

Magnesium is a mineral and everyone needs it. Is it a “magic bullet?” Maybe not quite but just about everyone can benefit from taking it. Most people don’t get enough magnesium. It’s very likely that if you got your blood levels checked your magnesium would be normal.  It’s not your blood that needs magnesium.  You need it in your tissues. Magnesium plays an essential role in over 300 bodily functions.

-You can’t produce ATP (energy) without magnesium. It’s essential to build strong bones.
-It also helps the formation of insulin-like growth factor, which is very important in muscle growth.  So, we need it for growing muscles.
-It also helps improve stress hormones.
-It increases serotonin levels which helps with better sleep.
-It helps with overall relaxation and helps improve mood.
-It is very important for muscle relaxation. If you’re prone to muscle cramps or if you have a hard time going to sleep and can’t relax, magnesium can help.
-It’s also important in regulating blood sugar.
-It decreases inflammation, improves immune function, and improves and relieves constipation. -Magnesium is the working ingredient in Milk of Magnesia.

One of the things that can decrease your overall magnesium is caffeine.  Phosphoric acid decreases magnesium.  It’s in almost all sodas and steals magnesium so it’s not available in your tissues. Alcohol and chronic stress also steal magnesium.  Some things we can avoid but others we can’t completely avoid.

The bottom line is that almost everyone can benefit from extra magnesium. So, how much or what should someone take?  I encourage people to start with 500mgs a day. You may want to slowly increase that, especially if you’re prone to muscle cramps and tight muscles. You can take massive doses of magnesium as long as you have decent kidneys.  So if you have kidney problems or poor kidney function then you do have to be careful with magnesium.  If you don’t have kidney problems you can take big doses because your body will get rid of it if you get an excess.  The way it gets rid of it is—well it relieves constipation! If you do have constipation just start taking 500 mgs of  magnesium  a day and just start increasing that.

Each day you can slowly go up. You’ll get to a level that keeps things regular for you. If you take too much, you’ll get loose bowl movements but that’s about it. I take about 1000 mgs of magnesium every day. If I stop taking it for a few days or I miss a few days I’m really prone to muscle cramps. If you’re prone to muscle cramps you know what I’m talking about.  It’s misery! Magnesium probably isn’t the cure-all but it does help with better sleep, better mood, lowers stress, improves energy, improves flexibility, and prevents cramps.  What’s not to like!?

And yes, we carry it in the Nutritional Store here at CFWLS!  You can pick it up the next time you’re here or order it at: Mag-Potassium Aspartate – 100 Tabs

Will I Need to Take Vitamins and Supplements After Weight Loss Surgery?

Posted on June 11, 2018 by

I Can & I WillYes, you will need to take vitamins.  Supplements are helpful but not a requirement.  Actually, whether or not you have weight loss surgery, you should be taking vitamins.  Supplements can be helpful as well, especially if you are trying to lose weight.  You should also make sure your vitamins/supplements are pharmaceutical grade so that the quality of their content is monitored and guaranteed.  The nutritional store at the Center for Weight Loss Success only carries such vitamins and supplements and our patients love them.  (www.cfwls.com)

The common vitamins that will likely be recommended for you (may vary depending upon the surgeon) include the following:

Multivitamins: Taking vitamins will be a lifelong commitment for all patients who have had weight loss surgery.  In the beginning, you should take two chewable complete multivitamins each day.  At one month after surgery, you may be able to progress to taking two regular vitamins daily.  We recommend two vitamins each day during the first year when your weight loss is most rapid.  After the first year, you should continue to take one multivitamin a day.  Women may want to consider a prenatal vitamin if pre-menopausal.

B-Complex: Usually around 1 month after surgery, we recommend that you also add one B-Complex vitamin each day (or even 2 per day).  The B vitamins assist in muscle and nerve functioning and have been shown to increase a person’s energy level over time.  You cannot overdose on B vitamins.  If you take in more than you need, you will simply rid yourself of any excess through your urine.  It is common for B vitamins to cause your urine to be darker or a brighter yellow.  This is normal.  If you prefer, B-Complex is also available as an injection at the office as appropriate.

Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s):  Take them – they’re just good for you.  By taking fish oil supplements, Omega-3 fatty acids are ingested in their biologically active form.  They can be directly used to support cardiovascular, brain, nervous system, and immune function.  The mini-soft gels are smaller and have a natural lemon flavor to prevent a “fishy” after taste.  Our product is ultra-filtered to guarantee removal of mercury and other possible contaminants.  Most people should take 2-4 soft gels per day.  They are also helpful to prevent constipation.

Magnesium-Potassium: During weight loss your body will tend to waste both magnesium and potassium.  Both of these minerals are essential to normal muscular and cardiovascular function.  Magnesium is involved in over 300 biological reactions throughout the body.  It can help prevent/treat fatigue.  If you are prone to muscle cramps – you need to add this supplement.  Typical doses are 1-4 tablets daily with food.

Dr. Clark’s Jump Start Diet – Day 10

Posted on May 17, 2017 by

Dr C with tie croppedI’m updating you on the two-week Jump Start Diet. I’ve been doing these video’s every other day, keeping people updated. I’ve gone public with this whole thing.  I’m doing this Jump Start Diet which anyone can do. I talked in more detail about what’s involved in the diet. I’m on day 10 of the two weeks. So, the end is in sight.

Day 10 and I’m down 11 pounds. It slowed down some which is not unexpected at all. I want to make a couple of comments about things that I’ve noticed and that have come to mind over these last couple of days.  Overall the diet is going great. I actually feel really well.  I thought I’d get tired out.  I want to talk a little bit about fatigue.

There are two kinds of fatigue. Number one is diet fatigue. That means you get tired of the diet. It can get old.  Five shakes a day is the diet. But like I mentioned last time there are different flavors. I don’t deny I get tired of drinking the shakes but I still like them. If you ate your favorite meal every day it would get old too.  We have different flavors and ways to modify this diet.

The second type of fatigue is something I alluded to a couple of times on these videos. I’ve been continuing exercise the same way I always have.  So that hasn’t changed a whole lot. I mentioned I might feel fatigued doing my exercise. I hadn’t noticed this until yesterday.  Yesterday was Monday and typically my hardest exercise day because I’m usually done in the operating room by early afternoon. I don’t actually go to the office so I can get a really good workout in. So I typically spend about  1  1/2 hours on my workouts  on Mondays. I mix cardio with weight training. I’m partial to Mondays doing the P90X workouts. P90X is a great workout plan by Beach Body. I’m partial to the chest and back workout.  It’s one of my favorites.

What I found is, typically when I do these workouts I feel energized doing them.  Yesterday towards the end of the workout I started noticing that I was struggling where I normally wouldn’t. I couldn’t get quite the reps in that I normally would. I started thinking about what was causing the fatigue.  I think I’m seeing that fatigue because I’m salt deficient. It can be because it’s a bit low calorie for me.  But I think it’s more salt deficiency.

When we go on aggressive weight loss plans we tend to waste salt, especially if it’s a low-carb plan. Carbohydrates make insulin levels go up.  Insulin makes you retain salt. So, when carb levels are low, insulin levels drop.  When insulin levels drop we no longer retain sodium.  Typically that’s why with low carb diets you lose weight those first few days fairly quickly. It’s because the insulin levels drop and you no longer retain sodium, which means you don’t retain water either. You’re wasting sodium that you normally wouldn’t waste.  Once your body wastes some sodium one of its resources to fall back on so you don’t get sodium depleted is to waste potassium and magnesium.  They won’t drop below normal lab values, but below tissue values. It’s the tissue levels that we need.  So subsequently if the sodium, potassium, and magnesium levels start dropping off we feel fatigued.  So, what do you do about that?  An easy way to do that is to get a bouillon cube and put it in a cup of water.  I had a beef bouillon yesterday.  I think the salt actually stalled my weight loss for a day. But part of it is because I probably needed the extra salt. The nice thing about the bouillon cube is it actually reduced some of my cravings for meat.  I’m a carnivore at heart.  When I think about my first meal when this diet is over, it’s going to have something to do with meat.  My energy level popped up too after drinking the bouillon. Today I felt good working out. I don’t work out as hard as Monday, but I had no problems.  I didn’t get that fatigue today so the bouillon helped.

My last comment is about will power. Will power is like a muscle. We need to practice will power, and if we practice it our will power will get stronger. I often have people tell me they have no will power at all and can’t do this. Everyone has will power but you have to practice utilizing it.

 

Weight Loss Surgery Success – Supplements to Help Curb Cravings

Posted on September 17, 2014 by

Why Do I Need Vitamins?

Posted on August 04, 2014 by

No matter how well you eat, vitamin supplementation is not only helpful, but recommended for nearly everyone.  We want to help you sort out the key vitamins recommended throughout your weight loss and weight maintenance journey. This is an extensive topic so we will just discuss the ones we feel are most important at this time.  These include Multivitamins, Magnesium-Potassium, B-Complex, Essential Fatty Acids, Calcium and Vitamin D.    It is also important to note that the vitamins you choose should be pharmaceutical grade (meeting the most stringent standards in the industry) and designed for ease of digestion and superior absorption.  Quality does matter when it comes to vitamin supplementation and these are the only type of vitamins we sell at CFWLS.  Besides, why take a vitamin if it doesn’t contain what it is supposed to and/or isn’t properly absorbed?

There is no doubt that vitamins and minerals are essential for life.  Without certain vitamins, deficiency diseases like beriberi (lack of thiamin) or scurvy (lack of Vitamin C) may still prevail.  These diseases, however, are not a concern in western societies (with RDA allowances), nor the reason that CFWLS recommends certain vitamin supplements.

We realize that individuals have unique food likes and dislikes so obtaining the essential vitamins and minerals from foods may not always happen.  Adding multivitamins to your daily regiment is a nice ‘safety net’ to assure you are getting a well-rounded intake of the most important substances your body needs.

Multivitamins:  Everyone should take a good multivitamin.  It is amazing to me how  common vitamin deficiencies are.  Remember that the RDA is the absolute minimum required to prevent deficiency diseases for most people.  The RDA has nothing to do with optimum amounts for best health.  Since the FDA does not oversee over-the-counter vitamins or mineral and herbal supplements, using pharmacy grade vitamins are your best bet on bioavailability of the product in question (and sometimes even if it contains what the label claims).  A typical dose is usually on the bottle – usually 1-2 per day.

B-Complex:  B-vitamins are often referred to as “energy vitamins” since they are important        cofactors for many of your body’s energy producing biochemical equations.  They tend to make these energy producing steps run more efficiently.  Vitamin B-12 is often considered the most important, but all of the B-vitamins are essential to our overall health and well-being.  Activated B-vitamins are already in a form the body can use immediately and therefore –    bioavailability and use is more efficient.  A typical dose is 1-2 tablets per day.

Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s):  Take them – they’re just good for you.  By taking fish oil         supplements, Omega-3 fatty acids are ingested in their biologically active form.  They can be directly used to support cardiovascular, brain, nervous system, and immune function.  The mini-soft gels are smaller and have a natural lemon flavor to prevent a “fishy” after taste.  Our product is ultra-filtered to guarantee removal of mercury and other possible contaminants.  Most people should take 2- soft gels per day.

Magnesium-Potassium: During weight loss your body tends to waste both  magnesium and potassium.  Both of these minerals are essential to normal muscular and    cardiovascular function.  Magnesium is involved in over 300 biological reactions throughout the body.  It can help prevent/treat fatigue.  If you are prone to muscle cramps – you need to add this supplement.  Typical doses are 1-4 tablets daily with food.

Calcium: We think of calcium as essential for those young growing bones.  However, it is     essential for all stages of life.  Yes, 99% of our calcium intake is dedicated to our bones and teeth but that additional 1% is required for cellular functions.  It helps regulate muscle       contraction and nerve transmission, as well as cellular permeability.  Too little calcium and you set yourself up for osteoporosis, the weakening of your bones, predisposing you to fractures.  But it also may be linked to rising blood pressures. Calcium is absorbed in the small intestines. Not all calcium we consume will be absorbed.  The amount is dependent on acidic condition in your intestines, Vitamin D level, estrogen level and the type of calcium supplement. Make sure that your supplement has the “USP” on the label indicating that the pill meets the US        Pharmacopeia’s standards.

An adequate intake of calcium through the combination of foods and supplements are age    dependent.  Your best food sources are sardines, yogurts, cheeses and milk as well as tofu, salmon, broccoli, turnip and collard greens.  Sesame seeds and almonds are also additional sources.  To maximize your calcium supplement one should take no more than 500mg at a time, accompanied with Vitamin D and taken with meals.

Vitamin D is appropriately called the “Sunshine Vitamin” due to your natural ability to produce it in response to sunlight.  Vitamin D is actually a hormone that your body can manufacture on its own.  However, as you age, your ability to produce it declines as well as your aversion to soak up mid-day sun.  In addition to your need for Vitamin D’s presence to absorb calcium, more and more studies have found the importance of this vitamin for your immune system.  Recent studies have also shown that those people that are overweight or those with diabetes have a higher rate of Vitamin D deficiency.  Most people need to take about 2000 units per day.  Having your Vitamin D levels checked is being more accepted and recommended by health care providers.  You should know your Vitamin D levels.

 

Essential Vitamins for Weight Loss

Posted on January 15, 2014 by