Are you dealing with chronic pain or muscle cramps and spasms?
Chronic pain can literally suck the joy out of life and I see it in my clients who experience not only muscle tightness and pain, but cramps and spasms. No amount of body work can correct a muscle cramping issue that is due to a mineral imbalance. You have to correct it by working from the inside out.
One of the greatest mineral imbalances that our population is dealing with today is between calcium and magnesium. We are experiencing an excess of calcium and a deficiency of magnesium. When calcium builds up too high in the soft tissue, we can get what is called a “calcium shell”, which is something that will only show up on a hair tissue mineral analysis.
There are many reasons for this imbalance. First, we have very depleted soil. Next, we have calcium fortified foods, which have been around for many decades, yet nothing has been done to correct our magnesium deficient soil, water and food. This creates an imbalance in the calcium and magnesium ratio in favor of calcium. This is not a good thing for our bodies. Calcium is regulated and controlled by magnesium.
Magnesium is a key mineral for muscle health and performance. It aids in the relaxation of muscles, protein synthesis for muscle recovery and repair, and it helps to prevent lactic acid buildup.
Calcium to magnesium ratios in the body should be 1:1 for optimum health, not more calcium to magnesium like we've heard over the years. However, because magnesium is excreted every 12 hours, and the body is unable to excrete excess calcium, the ratio very easily becomes imbalanced.
Excess calcium is often stored in the muscles, causing tension, tightness, cramping, and spasm. This is true even when it comes to our body’s most important muscle, the heart.
We should NOT take calcium without magnesium, in fact, I don't recommend taking a calcium supplement before tracking your dietary intake. Most people can get enough calcium dietarily, but not enough magnesium. Magnesium, on the other hand, can be supplemented daily, even without a calcium supplement. Calcium is one of the most misunderstood minerals thanks to the supplementing craze over the last decade or so. Supplementation of calcium can have some pretty serious side effects. Here's a great article on why I use caution with calcium supplementation.
Muscle cramps and spasms in the muscles are likely a direct result of excess calcium. That’s because cramping of the muscles is often caused by calcification or a build-up of calcium in the muscle and soft tissues. Without sufficient magnesium to balance calcium, calcium will rush into the cell and flood it, causing a constant state of tension and rigidity. This manifests as muscle cramps, spasms and pain. Symptoms of a calcium excess include: chronic pain, fatigue, joint and muscle pain, depression, and apathy/emotional numbness.
An overwhelming majority of my client hair tissue mineral analysis graphs display this calcium to magnesium imbalance. Once the magnesium reserves get built back up and balanced with their calcium intake, their muscles relax. I've even had clients tell me they don't need to go to the chiropractor as much.
When people pay more attention to the magnesium and calcium balance in their diet and add a magnesium supplement, their muscles issues disappear. BUT....they are also staying well hydrated with filtered water and electrolytes, as well as getting enough movement in daily.
How do you balance calcium & magnesium? If you were to track these two minerals in your diet, you would quickly see it's far easier to get plenty of calcium than it is magnesium. Plus, many people take calcium or a multi vitamin that has double the calcium to magnesium. And, many people are mega dosing vitamin D. Vitamin D's job is to regulate calcium in the blood, so it will force the calcium out of the blood and into tissue or bone. By the way, vitamin D and calcium both require magnesium to be properly regulated and utilized in the body.
Any excess that can't be used has to get deposited somewhere so it ends up as a calcium deposit in the body. Besides depositing in the arteries, excess calcium is causing gall stones, kidney stones, heel spurs, fibromyalgia calcification and breast tissue calcification.
This mineral pair is one to really focus on to avoid muscle cramps, spasms and SO much more!
HTMA is the only test that will tell you exactly what is going on with your main minerals and what you need to do to properly balance calcium levels. You can read all about HTMA here! Hair tissue mineral analysis is my favorite tool to address your mineral deficiencies and excesses. By testing, we can know exactly what you need to get nutrients back in balance, instead of just playing more of the “guessing game”.
Healthy Blessings,
Karri, FNTP
P.S. Are you looking for more wellness resources? Get my Guide on 3 Essential Steps to Improve Your Health! Sign up HERE and you will also receive my newsletters to support you in your healthy lifestyle, delivered directly to your inbox.
Supplements: FULL SCRIPT. While my dispensary catalog is open for you to search everything offered from Fullscript, if you go to Favorites from the menu, there are categories within Favorites. Favorites are my preferred brands - the brands that meet my quality standards. If you are looking for my preferred magnesium supplements, they are in the Minerals category under Favorites. There is also an autoship option from the main menu, in case you have certain supplements that you would like delivered at a certain frequency.