Originally Posted by alienator .
Complete f'ing BS. Please, don't rely on GNC for your "facts." I have seen the data showing the difference between low magnesium levels in a patient, and the increased, normal levels in the same patient after they started taking magnesium oxide.
Please provide the data that proves that GNC's "Super Magnesium" does anything other than create a fog of BS the snows customers such that they buy it.
You might want to talk to someone who actually knows something, like a doctor, instead of relying on a GNC sales flunky or some GNC ad. It's entirely possible that your persistent cramps--that's what those "spiders" are--are the result of low levels of other electrolytes (sodium, postassium,.......). A simple blood test could reveal something.
Also a hysterical note on your claim that magnesium oxide just makes you take a dump. That "Super Magnesium" contains magnesium citrate. Guess what the most common use of magnesium citrate is? That's right: it's a freaking laxative!
Welcome to reality.
Odd that you assume I got my information from GNC, when I did not. In fact the only word I spoke to anyone at GNC was "Debit" in response to the obvious question. I did not read any of their literature. I was not looking for anything in particular other than Magnesium Not-Oxide.
I'm also not particularly happy with GNC's offering, as 2 pills is too much (stools start getting loose) but 1 isn't quite enough, and they aren't marked for cutting so I can't do 1.5.
I did get my information from the Internet, and yes you cannot believe everything you read on the Internet (although I'm reading this on the Internet, so maybe catch 22), but I found 5 or 6 corroborating sources, most of which state that the absorption rate of Oxide was only 4%, as well as several individual testimonies in forums that claimed that Mag Oxide did little to nothing for them while other forms worked much better.
No, I never talked to a doctor, because it's never been a serious problem. However, after seeing Magnesium referenced in several sports blogs and periodicals, I figured I give it a try. In the big picture it's not very expensive, cheaper than the co-pay of the Dr. visit plus the blood test and doesn't require sitting in an office for a few hours that I could be out for a bike ride. And fair or not, doctors get a reputation for not staying up with current studies in their own field, and I run afoul of that a lot being a Chiropractic patient, so I have some distrust of them. So without any danger involved a little self-experimentation seemed the logical course.
I did not try Mag Oxide. The only data point I have is that, as a frequent cramper, Gatorade, bananas, orange juice, salty things, etc, have never helped, and this so far seems to have made a difference especially with the delayed onset cramps that usually come around 2-3 in the morning. That's my reality, but I'm still gathering data.
I realize you are an excitable fellow, but it's worrisome how you get so hateful and hostile in your posts over the smallest of things. I'm not saying I'm right and you're wrong, but it's hard to have a discussion about something when you come with an attack (or two as it would seem) right out of the chute.
Now, if you would like to have a discussion, and seriously I wish you would, and would like to link your data and/or studies, I'd be interested in reading it. Do not read that sentence as a "Throw down" type sentence, read it as a genuine invitation to have a measured discussion. If you'd like, I can re-google the articles I read and cite them to present my side, but only if you want.