Key Takeaways...
Have you taken magnesium for restless leg syndrome and it hasn’t worked? If that’s you, you need to read this article to learn how to get it inside the cell in order for it to work for this condition and leg cramps. Both of these can either wake you up or keep you awake at night.
I’ve always been a huge fan of using magnesium for restless leg syndrome, but it has to be the right kind of magnesium. And it has to get inside the cell. Magnesium concentrations should be roughly 16x to 43x higher inside the cell than outside the cell.
So if your magnesium isn’t getting inside the cell, you can take all you want and you’ll just pee it out or poop it out.
The first step to measure intracellular magnesium levels is from a cheek swab with an ExaTest.
That test will show you what your intracellular magnesium concentrations are. Once you know this data, then we can work on activating the “magnesium pump” that is responsible for getting that magnesium inside the cell where it can do its magic.
But first let’s talk about just how important magnesium is for restless leg syndrome and its overall health benefits.
The Power of Magnesium
First let’s talk about the most necessary mineral of all 92 minerals. There is one that stands alone in its power and that is magnesium. Magnesium is the first mineral lost due to stress. Who alive is not stressed every single day?
We know that oxidation (a form of stress called oxidative stress) is the cause of all disease. When the body is stressed, minerals are summoned (mostly magnesium) to deal with that inflammatory response. I don’t know about you but I’m stressed every day. I stress about the kids, finances, work load, my parents health, the dogs we have, my relationships and commitments.
It’s been said that the average person living in the Western world experiences 100x more stress in one day, than a person did in their entire lifetime, 500 years ago. I have no way of knowing that but I wouldn’t hesitate to say that it’s true.
We need more magnesium than ever today. I’m going to list a few bodily functions that require magnesium to work.
- Convert inactive thyroid hormone (T4) to active thyroid hormone (T3) in the liver
- ATP production – Who doesn’t need more energy?
- Detoxing heavy metals
- Converting 7-dehydrocholesterol to pre-vitamin d hormones (lumisterol etc) to storage D (25 OHD), to 1,25 D (active vitamin d) –> VDR –> 1500 gene expressions
- Creating bile
- Managing stress
- Muscle contraction
- Nerve function
- Protein synthesis
- DNA synthesis
- RNA synthesis
- Blood pressure regulation
- Bone development
- Heart rhythm maintenance
- Glucose control
- Immune support
- Depression
- Calcium balance
- Neurotransmitter release
- Enzyme activation
- Sleep regulation
- Stress response
- Antioxidant defense
- Hormone regulation
- Blood sugar regulation
In fact magnesium runs a staggering 42% of your entire metabolic function. That comes out to 3,751 of your 9,000 enzymes.
“…the total number of human proteins for which we can assign putative Mg binding sites is 3,751. With our BAR-hMG, 251 clusters including 1,341 magnesium binding protein structures corresponding to 387 sequences are sufficient to annotate some 13,689 residues in 3,751 human sequences as “magnesium binding”.
Magnesium Applications
Magnesium needs to get inside the cell as we mentioned above. If I had restless leg syndrome I would get an intracellular magnesium test with ExaTest. Then I would find a doctor in my area skilled and knowledgeable in natural medicine to get a series of either 1 to 3 injections of magnesium.
Your Magnesium Pump is Broken
The magnesium pump is an intracellular intermembrane system that regulates magnesium inside the cell. This pump brings in magnesium inside the cell. But if this pump is broken, then magnesium will not be able to pass through the pressure gradient of the cellular membrane. This is what the ExaTest will determine.
The goal is to get magnesium inside the cell to a higher concentration to eliminate restless leg syndrome.
How do you reactivate the Magnesium Pump?
If the pump is broken, no amount of magnesium taken through a supplement can help. To activate this pump, you’ll need to do either magnesium injections or magnesium IVs. This essentially floods the body with so much magnesium that it manually “forces” the pump to work again.
Any natural doctor will be able to do this for you. I like to get a series of them done (usually 1 to 2 each “series”) at least once per year if not twice. I like doing it in the Fall and Winter to support my immunity as well. It just feels good to me.
How did the pump get broken?
Mineral deficiency. This is why I add minerals to all the water I drink and I take extra minerals through supplements and mineral rich foods.
Generally I don’t go above 500mg of magnesium supplementation per day.
A quick note is that Vitamin B6 helps magnesium get inside the cell and boron helps keep magnesium inside the cell. These are two supplements I personally would consider to help with magnesium absorption.
Other applications of magnesium I recommend.
- Transdermal with a cream or spray. I prefer the magnesium cream. I do this 2x per day.
- Transdermal with a bath salts before bed (helps with restless leg syndrome and sleep)
- Transdermal float tanks
- Water – I use this powder and these drops to my water
- Foods (Almonds, Spinach, Cashews, Pumpkin seeds, Black beans, Dark chocolate, Avocado, Swiss chard)
What Is Restless Leg Syndrome?
According to our friends over at Oxford Dictionary, restless leg syndrome is…
I have never had restless leg syndrome but I know people that have. I’ve been able to help most of them with great success. From the way they describe it, it sounds really terrible.
What Causes Restless Leg Syndrome?
The conventional medical establishment has no ideas as to the cause of restless leg syndrome. But I have some that are worth exploring.
- Mineral deficiency
- Low dopamine
- Impaired circadian rhythm
- Blue light toxicity
- Kidney issues
- Parathyroid issues
- Parasites
- Iron dysregulation
- Copper and zinc levels
- Lifestyle issues like smoking, obesity, hypertension & other calcification type diseases.
Natural Remedies for Restless Leg Syndrome
My number one approach would be to get the ExaTest done, then find a natural doctor to do a Magnesium IV to re-activate the intracellular magnesium pump. This will help get magnesium inside the cell to that 16x to 43X concentration. Then I would take a 1oz shot of a full spectrum mineral supplement before bed and upon waking.
Then I would supplement this magnesium with both lunch and dinner along with boron and Vitamin B6 to help get magnesium in the cell. After that I would apply magnesium oil on my skin in the morning and afternoon. Before bed I would get some magnesium flakes and soak for 20 minutes minimum in a magnesium bath.
It might take you a week to get the ExaTest and another week to get the results. In the meantime I would schedule a magnesium IV and start taking magnesium both transdermal and in supplement form like I mentioned.
During the same time I’m doing all of the above I would consider the options below as “supplemental” to help with restless leg syndrome.
- GABA – Study (this study says gabapentin which works on the same metabolic pathway but that molecule is not found in nature!)
- Tonic water (Quinine) – Study
- L-Taurine – I use this if GABA isn’t well tolerated
- Mucuna (which contains L-DOPA) – Study
- L-Tyrosine – Study
- Electrolytes – Study
- Potassium – Study
- Vitamin E – Study
- 5-HTP – Study
- Vitamin D – Study (I don’t recommend taking Vitamin D as a supplement but only getting it from light)
What to Avoid
You want to avoid anything and everything that is causing ANY kind of physiological stress to the body. That could be work and career issues, relationship issues, extreme diets, nnEMF, blue light exposure and indoor living.
From a dietary and medication perspective you’ll want to avoid caffeine, alcohol (these both dehydrate you) and medications like antidepressants, Benadryl, and other antihistamines may trigger RLS symptoms.
You could also get a parathyroid ultrasound as there are some studies that suggest a connection between insufficient parathyroid function and restless leg syndrome.
Conclusion
If this were me and I had restless leg syndrome I would start with the ExaTest, getting a magnesium IV, and then working on doing the supplementation orally and transdermally for 30 days. If that didn’t work, i would probably get another magnesium IV, keep doing the magnesium supplementation and then start adding in (one at a time) the items in the bullet list above starting with GABA and working my way down.
Magnesium for restless leg syndrome can be extremely healthy and helpful but it needs to get inside the cell for it to work. Hopefully I’ve shared some ways to do it and this article helps you!
Questions
- Did you know about intracellular vs intercellular magnesium?
- Did you know about the magnesium pump?
- Have you tried magnesium and what were your results?
Comment below!
