Magnesium - Wonder supplement?

I never used to believe in supplements and drugs to improve my life. Then again, I thought eating junk food was OK ;). After passing my 40th birthday, I started to be more conscious of my mental and physical health. At one stage I was having constant diarrhea. I thought it was just food poisoning, however the usual remedies did not stop this. After months of this (I know, I should have seen a doctor), I did some research on the net and found a suggestion that I try Magnesium. I did and the diarrhea stopped almost immediately!

I did more research about Magnesium and found out that it has lots of other benefits. Firstly, Magnesium is vital in the processing of other supplements and minerals in our body. Our diets nowadays is lacking in Magnesium because the soil nowadays do not contain much of it anymore. Most people are lacking in Magnesium. Some of the benefits of Magnesium that I have experience first hand are:

1. Diarrhea. Everytime I stop taking Magnesium for about a week, my diarrhea reappears. However taking Magnesium also makes your stool very dark and it becomes very stick and sludgy. Make sure you also take a lot of veges along with it. Now I believe I probably had IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).
   
2. Insomnia. Magnesium is a muscle relaxant. You should take it at night. It helps you relax and sleep. Not so much like a sleeping pill, just overall calmness.
3. Cramps. This really helps when you are cramping or have restless leg syndrome. I've heard that Magnesium also reduces jaw clenching and stomach muscle cramps when you take MDMA (Ecstasy).
   
4. Erectile Dysfunction. This is a new one. Lately I've not been performing as well as I want to and I've read that Magnesium is a vaso dialater, which means it helps bloodflow by dialating the blood veins. I've increased my daily dosage to 150mg (recommended daily dosage is 400mg) a day and I've found my morning hardness to have improved. Always a good sign. Placebo? I'll take anything that makes a difference :)
   

Some other reported benefits of Magnesium:

1. Headaches and migranes. My wife have had bad migranes just before her periods. She has tried everything for 20 years, from changing her pills, other medications, etc. Then she tried magnesium for a month, her migrane went away! When she forgets to take Magnesium, her migrane returns even when she is not aware she has forgotten taking it.
2. Lower blood pressure. This is a very important indicator of health. My pressure is now 120/70. Not bad for a 45 year old. No high blood pressure medication yet.

What happens when you don't have enough Magnesium?:

1. Loss of appetite
2. Nausea, vomiting, fatigue and weakness.
   
3. Numbness, tingling, muscle contractions and cramps.
4. Seizures (sudden changes in behaviors caused by excessive electrical activity in the brain).
5. Personality changes.
6. Abnormal heart rhythms and coronary spasms can also occur.

Magensium is very important to every major organs of your body especially your heart muscles and kidney. It also contributes to the absorption of most nutrients that your body needs.

Where to get magnesium? Try these:

1. Bananas
2. Nuts
3. Leafy green vegetables
4. Milk
   

Here are some good links for Magnesium... Try it, it has not much side effect apart from being dangerous is you have low blood pressure, I think. Anyway check it out and consult your doctor (this is to cover my bum legally).

NIH Fact sheet on Magnesium
University of Maryland article on Magnesium
An article linking lack of Magnesium to Asthma, ADD, Diabete, etc