I am conscious that when I take magnesium, I have to take Calcium.
And also, if I am taking Zinc, I have to balance that with Copper.
Not necessarily. Levels and needs are too different for such simplifications. It also doesn't take in account that different diets already provide these minerals at greatly varying levels.
My example for such intricate complexities. Have been consistently below normal in serum calcium when I started to supplement vitamin D3 10 years ago. After about 2 years of sufficient serum vitamin D was enough to raise serum calcium to consistently within the normal range with only little supplemental calcium.
However, the vitamin D by utilizing more magnesium, pushed me into a magnesium deficiency with very painful muscle-cramps. Which I tried to fight with gradually increasing supplemental magnesium up to 2.5 g/d of oral elemental recently (about 1.5 g/d in average), which only eased the cramps somewhat. Only since I got Mg-sulfate IVs since November last year they ceased completely.
Therefore the ratio of supplemental Mg - even including IVs - to Ca in my case was much much higher than it would be in anyone else. And don't supplement any ca now.
Same unpredictability with Cu:Zn ratio. Serum zn always at lowest end of normal and cu in the mean, I gradually increased Zn up to 60 mg/d with little success in raising serum levels. Where headaches started, easily alleviated with 1 mg/d of Copper only. Two years later serum cu has shoot up to above normal serum levels, and zn fell even below. Therefore had to stop cu completely again. Now I'm at 70 mg/d of zinc and zero cu without headaches. And serum levels are still where they been 10 years ago again.
Does anyone have any recommendation on what brand/type are best for this?
I tried all better bioavailable forms of magnesium, but found only the total elemental amount of Mg (which varies greatly in different products, see the supplement facts label) what alleviated my muscle-cramps somewhat.
