Low Magnesium = Autism?

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At the markets this morning I came across a stall selling Magnesium Chloride as a transdermal spray. On a list of 101 uses for their product, number 11 was Autistic Spectrum Disorder. I was very interested in how Magnesium Chloride treated Autism so I asked the stallholder for more information. She said it removes Mercury and other toxic metals from the body and relieves stress, anxiety and muscle tension and thus improves the symptoms of Autism (and apparently the other 100 conditions listed).
She gave me a pamphlet, which had a disclaimer at the bottom stating that the information provided was not verified by the TGA. Or anyone, except the stallholder.
I ended up buying some - not for my autism, but for my aching joints. I will let you know if I become any less autistic.

Perhaps you should have asked the stallholder to describe whatever experiments she has performed to determine that information.

My suggestion is that you do not take any of it without first discussing it with your doctor.

If the doctor thinks that you do need it, then he/she can prescribe a magnesium chloride to you that is clinically pure and in known quantities. You really don't know whether the magnesium chloride you bought is really magnesium chloride and what adulterants may be in it.

My opinion is that you would be very foolish to take the "magnesium chloride" that you bought from the woman.

I would think that anything sold with a list that long and comprehensive of what it is supposed to treat cannot possibly be anything but bogus.

I was given quite a few verbal testimonials. Surely, that is adequate?

NO! The plural of 'testimonial' is not 'data'.

Magnesium chloride is most commonly used for dust control and road stabilization. Its second-most common use is ice control. In addition to the production of magnesium metal, magnesium chloride also is used for a variety of other applications: fertilizer, mineral supplement for animals, wastewater treatment, wallboard, artificial seawater, feed supplement, textiles, paper, fireproofing agents, cements and refrigeration brine. Mixed with hydrated magnesium oxide, magnesium chloride forms a hard material called Sorel cement.

This compound is also used in fire extinguishers: obtained by the reaction of magnesium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid (HCl) in liquid form along with water in gaseous state. It can also be used as an effective anesthetic for cephalopods, some species of crustaceans, and several species of bivalve, including oysters.

So, do you really want to swallow fertilizer, fireproofing, and squid anesthetic? Are you really that determined to prove Charles Darwin right?

You should report that merchant to the local Health Department, if not the Police, as well. Especially since he or she is claiming medicinal properties that (1) Magnesium Chloride does not have, and (2) Magnesium Chloride is ineffective in treating.

Here is a list of what Magnesium Chloride is prescribed for:

Magnesium deficiency and hypomagnesemia.

Eclampsia. Empirical and clinical evidence supports the effectiveness of magnesium for this use. For this purpose, magnesium may act as a vasodilator, with actions in the peripheral vasculature or the cerebrovasculature, to decrease peripheral vascular resistance or relieve vasoconstriction. Additionally, magnesium may also protect the blood–brain barrier and thereby limit formation of cerebral edema, or it may act as a central anticonvulsant. MThe preparation usually used for this purpose is magnesium sulfate.

Laxative use, particularly magnesium citrate and magnesium hydroxide

Antiarrhythmic agent for torsades de pointes in cardiac arrest. Magnesium sulfate is the first-line agent for such use under the 2005 ECC guidelines and for managing quinidine-induced arrhythmias.

As a bronchodilator after beta-agonist and anticholinergic agents have been tried, e.g. in severe exacerbations of asthma.[6] Recent studies have revealed that magnesium sulfate can be nebulized to reduce the symptoms of acute asthma.It is commonly administered via the intravenous route for the management of severe asthma attacks.

Anti-contraction medication: Magnesium sulfate can also delay labor in the case of premature labor, to delay preterm birth.

THERE IS NO EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT CLAIMS OF EFFICACY OF MAGNESIUM CHLORIDE IN THE CHELATION OF MERCURY OR TREATMENT OF AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDERS.

At best, you would be wasting your money; at worst, you could kill yourself.

Don't do it.

Totally inadequate. Perhaps that is why quacks like them.

Of these "verbal testimonials", did you talk to them or did someone just tell you about them? How do you know that they were telling the truth? If you did not talk to them, how do you know that the people making these verbal testimonials even exist?

Last edited by eric76 on 07 Feb 2015, 8:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Quite right.

Too often, we see quacks misrepresent medical science to create new treatments that accomplish nothing but make them rich off of their gullible marks.

The ingredients list:

Condensed seawater
Magnesium Chloride
Potassium Chloride
Sodium Chloride
Selenium
Boron
Minerals & trace elements of seawater

Btw, it's a topical spray.

Are you trying to argue against reason, or are you just trying to justify wasting your money?

A topical spray ... My PDR shows that similar concoctions have been touted as treatments for eczema and psoriasis. Have you been diagnosed with either of these conditions? If not, then you will be taking an old-fashioned skin treatment for nothing.

And it won't cure Autism.

I've been taking magnesium citrate in a soft gel (250mg) form for several years now and it hasn't helped my autism, asthma or much else that I know of. But I still keep taking it on days when my diet is low on magnesium because I know I don't eat enough sources of magnesium in my daily diet.

From what I've heard the best way to get your vitamins and minerals is by way of a natural source like food. There are several good food sources of magnesium. A quick internet search should give you a list of them.

I've been taking a magnesium supplement 3x a day(with each meal) for two weeks because I've been constipated & I don't think it helped with that & I haven't noticed any effect on my autism stuff or anything else.

I sometimes take a magnesium/calcium supplement. It helps my muscle cramps.

I know nothing about magnesium chloride.

The supplement the OP mentioned sounds like it *at best* only helps to treat symptoms associated with autism, not autism itself. Definitely sounds far-fetched.

condensed seawater? LOL

I wasn't aware I was arguing. I don't think I wasted my money as I use magnesium as a topical ointment already (prescribed).

I've been diagnosed with both of these conditions.

I'm aware of that. This forum really needs a sarcasm indicator.

I am curious if there are any manufacturers of vitamins, mineral supplements, and herbal remedies that are honest.

For example, there is recent news about a number of herbal remedies found to contain all kinds of adulterants and with some not containing at all the herbs they claimed to contain. The worst was a brand found at WalMart.

In the past, there have also been problems with supplements containing banned drugs, prescription drugs, and even designer drugs.

The two cases of the hazardous but difficult to get Vitamin D intoxication that I know of resulted from people taking Vitamin D that were found to contain extremely high doses, at least an order of magnitude higher than what was on the label.

I wonder where you can get clinically pure vitamins. I take Vitamin D on a regular basis. The next time I'm near a pharmacy, I intend to ask them if they have any Vitamin D from reputable sources.