Key Facts about Magnesium, Calcium & St. John’s Wort

Title says it all. Just a quick review of some common supplements. Good to have a reminder of things like this once in a while.

When we run a routine blood test, we check magnesium levels. Magnesium is one of the few things we can measure and control with just diet and/or supplements. Calcium, for example, doesn't work that way due to many factors that affect your blood levels. That means that high or low calcium on your blood test doesn’t necessarily tell you anything about your dietary intake.

This is a brief rundown of why you need healthy levels of magnesium.

Helps to convert food to energy

Helps to create new proteins from amino acids

Helps with DNA and RNA repair and maintenance

Helps regulate neurotransmitters

More specifically, magnesium:

Helps with conversion of 5-HTP to serotonin

Helps with conversion of L-dopa to dopamine

Helps with conversion of methionine to SAMe

Helps with conversion of quinolinic acid to niacin

Helps with conversion of linoleic acid to GLA 

Magnesium also helps inhibit glutamate NMDA receptor to help reduce depresssion, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. 

Most of our main brands have a magnesium citrate formula. A good place to start is: NuMedica Magnesium Citrate Extra Strength 120vc

If you prefer a powder, try DaVinci Laboratories Effervescent Magnesium Citrate 516g

We often recommend taking a zinc supplement several times per week. 

Low zinc has been tied to problems with brain health especially depression. Often, people with a diagnosis of depression have lower zinc levels than controls. Zinc also seems to work well together with SSRIs as studies have found lower levels of depression in those taking zinc plus the SSRI as  opposed to people taking the SSRI with a placebo.

I generally use Karuna Zinc Picolinate Plus 60vc. The plus is for the added copper as too much zinc can drive down copper levels.

St. John’s Wort has been used for some time to help brain function. It works much like an SSRI helping to keep serotonin in the neuron synapse making it available longer. Some studies indicate that it can help with GABA modulation.

Some studies have show St. John’s Wort to be more effective than prescription meds without most of the side effects.   Vitanica St. Johns Wort 90 vegan capsules

To summarize uses of St. John’s Wort uses:

Mild to moderate unipolar depression

PMS-many sources report a 50% decrease in these symptoms

Menopause-especially helpful if combined with black cohosh.  Vital Nutrients Black Cohosh 250mg

In case you were wondering, St. John’s Wort grows originally in Northern Africa, Western Asia and Europe. It tends to bloom about June 23, also known as mid summer’s eve and the plant was used to ward off evil spirits on June 24, the feast day of St. John the Baptist in many cultures.  Wort means plant in old English. St. John’s Wort has been introduced to the Americas and Australia. 

Serotonin Toxicity Syndrome

Like most things, a little might be good but too much is not. Same is true for serotonin. If you take SSRIs, you will need to be more cautious with 5-HTP and St. John’s Wort. Neurotransmitters require a balance and too much of one can inhibit another.  People land in the hospital from promoting too much serotonin. 

A few signs to look for are:

Increase bleeding (menstrual and other)

Increase in mental instability that can be an increase in psychosis, mania, ADHD etc

Again, the symptoms can be quite severe and may require treatment from a health professional.