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The Vitamins That Cured My Chronic Fatigue: https://www.felixharder.net/vitaminlist
Liver Detox Guide: https://www.felixharder.net/liver
► *My Programs*
Chronic Fatigue Recovery & Practitioner List: https://www.felixharder.net/program
Detox Masterclass: https://www.felixharder.net/detox
Copper Toxicity Masterclass: https://www.felixharder.net/copper
► *Health Products I Use*
Mineral Hair Analysis: https://www.felixharder.net/offers/h89hK5oz
Favorite Magnesium: https://rnareset.com/products/remag-liquid-magnesium?ref=kjcjymfp (code FELIX10 for 10% discount)
VNS device: https://www.nurosym.com/FELIX81950 (link includes 5% discount)
Sauna (Europe): https://redlightsauna.eu/product/near-infrared-sauna-panel/ (code FELIX10 for 10% discount)
Sauna (US): https://theelevateinstitute.com/product/near-infrared-sauna-2/?affiliates=7 (code FELIX10 for 10% discount)
► *Timestamps*
00:00 Introduction
00:58 Vitamin D
02:23 Calcium & Sodium
04:36 Creatine
05:58 Vitamin B & Iodine
07:59 Best Magnesium Sources
Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician.
Let’s talk about supplements that have the potential to tank your magnesium levels. A lot of people are already walking around with a magnesium deficiency and the symptoms that come with it include things like fatigue, heart palpitations, muscle cramps, and constipation. In such a case, you might not realize that some supplements are making things worse. That doesn’t mean these supplements are bad, per se, just that the way they work in your body means that you need to be extra careful and definitely keep your magnesium intake in mind when taking them. And that’s because magnesium is one of the most important electrolytes out there. You need it for energy, muscle movement, nervous system relaxation, heart rhythm, and fluid balance. It helps balance other electrolytes. And like I just said, many people are not reaching the recommended daily intake. So chances that your magnesium is already low are pretty high. Often this is due to a diet low in whole grains, too much stress, and high doses of the supplements that we will talk about now. Let’s start with the most important one, which is vitamin D. This one is a classic magnesium drainer. Here’s the thing that most people don’t know. Your body can’t activate vitamin D without magnesium. The main activation steps happen first in the liver where it’s converted into calcidiol and then in the kidneys where it’s turned into the active hormone calcatriol. Both of these steps are enzyme driven and require magnesium as a co-actor. So without enough of it, these enzymes will slow down and your body will use up more magnesium to try to keep the activation going. The more vitamin D you take, the more pressure you put on these pathways and the more magnesium your body burns through to keep up. So, if you’re taking vitamin D regularly, you’re definitely increasing your demand for magnesium and definitely need to supplement it along with it. That’s because vitamin D also boosts calcium absorption from your gut. And when calcium goes up, magnesium goes down. More on that in a second. So, what you end up with is a double whammy. You use more magnesium to activate vitamin D and you also absorb more calcium which then pushes magnesium out even more. The result will be low magnesium symptoms like insomnia, cramps, anxiety, muscle twitching or fatigue. Ironically, the very same symptoms that most people are trying to fix with their vitamin D supplement. So again, always take vitamin D with magnesium. This is key. Next are calcium and sodium. These two are both direct magnesium antagonists. So, I’m grouping them together. Let’s start with calcium. You probably know calcium is important for bones, but it also competes with magnesium in a big way. Both calcium and magnesium are needed for your muscles to contract and relax. But if calcium levels get too high, it overstimulates your muscle cells and your nervous system. On a cellular level, calcium sits mostly outside your cells and magnesium sits mostly inside. They need to be in balance. And if you supplement calcium without enough magnesium to counter it, you shift that balance. And when there is more calcium than magnesium, it pushes magnesium out of your cells and messes with how your body uses it. Next is sodium. This is often overlooked, but it’s also a big deal, especially if you’re into electrolyte drinks or salty foods. Like calcium, sodium is a magnesium antagonist. That means the more of it you ingest, the more magnesium you need to balance it. They also have an inverse relationship in the kidneys. So when sodium levels are high, your kidneys tend to waste more magnesium in your urine. If you’re taking a lot of sodium through things like salt tablets, sports drinks, or just your diet, then your body is more likely to lose magnesium through peeing it out. All of this will be made worse by stress. During stress, your adrenal glands release aldoststerone, which is a hormone that tells your body to hold on to sodium and dump potassium and magnesium. In general, and this is the best way to understand this, is that you always want to look at your four main electrolytes. Calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium together. Most people have too much calcium and sodium and not enough magnesium and potassium to balance them. This creates kind of an electrical imbalance in your body because again, calcium and sodium sit mostly outside of your cells while magnesium and potassium are supposed to be inside. When the outside electrolytes are too high and the inside ones too low, then your nerves, muscles, and even hormone system can start to misfire. This again will show up in things like fatigue, cramps, anxiety, high blood pressure, and water retention. Just something to keep in mind when you’re analyzing your electrolytes. Let’s continue with creatine, which you probably didn’t connect to magnesium. Now, creatine doesn’t directly deplete magnesium in the same way that vitamin D or sodium and calcium do. But here’s what most people don’t realize. Creatine works by boosting ATP. So, your body’s main energy currency. And ATP has to bind with magnesium in order to be active. In fact, ATP is almost always found in the body as a magnesium ATP complex. Without magnesium, your cells can’t even really use that ATP to begin with. So, when you take creatine and increase your ATP levels, you’re also increasing your need for magnesium. Your body needs more magnesium to stabilize all that extra ATP floating around. On top of that, people who take creatine are usually working out more, so they’re lifting weights, sprinting, or doing highintensity training. All of that uses up magnesium, too. When you exercise, you lose magnesium through your sweat and urine. And intense training also puts stress on the body, which we just talked about as another factor that lowers magnesium. So, creatine may not be a direct magnesium depleter, but it raises your magnesium demand. If you’re using it, chances are very high that you also need to supplement magnesium, especially if you’re training very hard. It can make a big difference in how well your creatine works and how fast you will recover. And the last supplements I want to talk about are the ones involved in energy metabolism. So things like highdose vitamin B or iodine. These don’t directly deplete magnesium, but they crank up your internal engine. When your body speeds up, your need for magnesium increases massively because magnesium is involved in almost every part of your cellular energy production. Like we just said in the case of creatine, it’s actually the mineral involved in the most enzyme reactions in your body. not just for ATP activation, but also to synthesize proteins and regulate blood sugar. So, when you take something that stimulates your metabolism, like vitamin B supplements or iodine, you’re essentially stepping on the gas pedal. But magnesium is the fuel that keeps the engine from overheating. B1, B2, B3, B6, and B12 all act as co-enzymes in the mitochondria, so where your energy is actually made. And almost all of those reactions also need magnesium to work properly. So the more you increase B vitamin intake, especially in supplemental form, the more your body draws on its magnesium reserves to keep the metabolic gears running. Same goes for iodine because it supports your thyroid, which controls the speed of your overall metabolism. If your thyroid hormones increase, your entire system runs faster, including your heart rate, digestion, detox, and energy output. That sounds great, but every step of that process costs magnesium. If you don’t raise your magnesium along with the iodine, you can start feeling wired but tired, anxious, twitchy, or even completely burned out. So, what I want you to understand is that anything that boosts your metabolism or your energy levels is going to boost your magnesium demand. And unless you consciously make up for that, you could slowly be draining your reserves without realizing it. To wrap up this video, the takeaway is really that there are quite a few supplements that directly or indirectly use up magnesium, which is also why almost everyone needs more of it. Foods that are high in magnesium include dark leafy greens, pumpkin seeds, almonds, avocados, and whole grains. But to be honest, most people don’t hit their daily needs through food alone, especially if they’re taking the supplements that we just talked about. That’s why almost everyone benefits from a magnesium supplement. Start slow and build up. A good starting dose is anywhere between 200 to 400 milligs, sometimes a little more depending on how you react to it. If you take very high doses of vitamin D or calcium supplements, you will probably need more because those are the ones that most directly lead to magnesium loss. Other co-actors that benefit magnesium retention would be things like boron, potassium, and normal doses of B6. So, not the super high doses that we talked about before. Also, don’t forget the stress factor because chronic stress depletes magnesium faster than almost anything else. You literally pee it out within seconds. And one more thing, if you’re dealing with symptoms like chronic fatigue, insomnia, tight muscles, or anxiety, and suspect that low magnesium is part of the picture, check the description for my recovery program. It walks you through the exact steps that I use to fix my energy, balance my electrolytes, and recover from burnout. It also shows you how to test your magnesium levels properly and how to avoid the most common mistakes that people make with supplements so that you don’t waste your time or feel worse in the process. You can find it under my programs. Just open the description for more info.
