RedFox said:
Speaking of lack of minerals, I'd started to get dry flaky skin (as mentioned by others in the thread)...only it wasn't flaking so much as just dry.
I tried out a few things and hit the jackpot with zinc as I had a tonenail that was slightly white/brittle (on an empty stomach away from food) - i started flaking like crazy and is now replaced with new skin. My energy and mood have vastly improved too, so much so it was like putting rocket fuel in the tank. I did have a few days of chocolate/nut cravings (copper and other trace minerals perhaps) which then went away. My body seems to be distinctly in repair/growth mode right now.
That's really interesting. I've also had dry red skin with a tendency to flakiness on the backs of my hands. I'll try taking zinc and see what happens.
My big problem at present is muscle twitches in my calves, and sometimes cramps usually in my right calf in bed at night, and sometimes in my feet and left calf, all of which can be quite agonising.
I've been experimenting with various mineral and other supplements and my current mode of treatment is 900mg magnesium citrate divided into three doses daily ; calcium citrate complex (calcium citrate and calcium carbonate) 1500mg divided into three doses daily; chelated potassium 99mg three times daily. This combination seems to be helping and I have had an occasional night during which I have not had any cramps or twitches. So I'm thinking that I'm on the right track here.
Carolyn Dean states (if I recall correctly) that muscle twitches and cramps are invariably caused by a magnesium deficiency but I have not found this to be entirely true. Other information I've read has pointed to the interaction of magnesium, calcium and potassium, hence my current protocol. I think that my viral illness last year most likely depleted my body's magnesium and it does take a long time to replace – up to a year according to Dean.
I'm also taking a
tissue salt, Magnesium Phosphate, which seems to be helping the cramp/twitching issue, although the tissue salts work quite slowly and subtly and I've only been taking the Mag. Phos. for a couple of weeks. I've been taking Ferrous Phosphate (tissue salt) for a couple of months now and it has worked wonders for my circulation and for restoring my energy after my bout of post viral fatigue.
Homeopathy-Help said:
TISSUE SALTS from DR SCHEUSSLER
NUTRITIONAL micro supplementation, occasionally homeopathic
One of Hahnemann's early disciples, Dr Wilhem Schüessler, was an early adapter of this new system of medicine. At first, he used the full range of homeopathic medicines in his practice, but gradually he narrowed them down to the use of inorganic substances and developed a range of homeopathic medicines based upon twelve of the most common mineral tissue salts found in the human body and critical for health maintenance.
Dr Scheussler devised the tissue salts as nutritional therapy. He noted that when there was a deficiency of certain 'tissue salts' then sypmtoms would be produced. He concluded therefore that that fastest way to resolve these symptoms was to reintroduce these substances into the body by taking them in the 6x dilution where they could be absorbed directly in the mouth. So tissue salts are used as a nutritional supplementation, according to symptoms.
Tissue salts are not prescribed homeopathically but nutritionally. For the homeopathic prescribing picture of the same substances see the A-Z links at the top of the normal materia medica. Instead of the dilution having the ratio of 1:99 as in homeopathic remedies, the Tissue salts are prepared to the ratio of 1:9, which means that they still contain physical quantities, although minute, of the original substances. Rather than treating "like with like" though these tissue salt remedies treat ailments by correcting imbalances or deficiencies in the body's cell nutrition.
I'm also having butter tea twice a day, made with lots of butter! I've had to reduce my magnesium intake to the amount I mentioned earlier, and my vitamin C intake to a maximum of two grams a day taken in four doses, as my stools have been and still are really loose. I suspect my consumption of large amounts of butter plays a role in that, and I'll be experimenting with eating less butter to see what happens. It's a shame though as I love the butter tea. Even just a spoon or two of butter with some xylitol mashed into it makes a delicious snack, taking care of any cravings. I don't want to reduce my magnesium any further as I want to replace my body's stores.
I think it was you, RedFox, who mentioned that you interpreted a carb craving as a need for energy and ate some fat which took care of the cravings. I've followed this principle and I find that eating some butter when I'm noticing a craving is really effective. I think that this type of craving is simply a mental habit. Our minds are so used to having our hunger needs satisfied by carbs that any need on the body's part for energy automatically triggers a mental vision of carbs.