You can also crave things that you are allergic or intolerant to. Magnesium is only one thing in chocolate but there are other chemicals that could act like stimulants. Maybe you're right that a chocolate craving means you are deficient in magnesium but there are other ways to get magnesium if you are sensitive to chocolate like I am. If I ate chocolate before bed I would be up all night with a panic attack and shortness of breath. If I take magnesium before bed it helps me sleep. There is obviously more going on in chocolate than magnesium.

Dark chocolate is the best source of magnesium from food and you need it every day as Mg is easily water soluble . The body naturally craves Mg as it is so essential particularly for the heart. Chocolate has very little caffeine but any sugar and milk in processed chocolate is a problem

and it is so big problem that nobody should eat chocolate to get magnesium...
especially following paleo diet. Have you seen caveman eating chocolate?

Capmikee, just wanted to ask which black salt you use?

Regarding cravings: Someone on this forum suggested that if you crave a food before you eat it, and eating it makes the craving go away, then that food is good for you. If you crave a food AFTER you eat it, that's an addiction.

I crave chocolate after I eat it.

I bought my black salt years ago at the local Indian grocery store. It is in the powder form, which has a pinkish color. I don't know what brand it is.

I brought some in to the office today because I knew I was going to do a 4.4 mile run in 100 degree heat. Now I've started a collection at my desk- a jar of coarse Mediterranean salt and a jar of powdered black salt!

I like that quote and it certainly applies to me. If I'm craving fruit for instance, and I eat an apple, the craving goes away. But if I eat a piece of cheese I start craving more and more until I've put away close to a pound of the stuff.

I experienced this taking only 250mg supplemental magnesium per day. I also had a lot of heart palpitations which is sorta the opposite of what is supposed to happen. I stopped taking the supplement and everything is peachy again. Only thing I can figure is that I'm already getting plenty of magnesium in my diet. I do live in a very hard water area, so I'm sure that helps.

While it's possible the hardness in your water is magnesium it's as likely to be calcium. Just because your water is hard is not proof it contains effective amounts of magnesium. Your local water supplier may well have a website with a recent analysis of the mineral content. If not I'm sure an email will provide and answer in a few days. It's worth checking Magnesium food sources
Bear in mind most nutrition studies looking into magnesium intakes report only 10% of US adults are meeting the current low RDA intake. and most only get about 60% of the amount suggested.

Formula to Calculate Magnesium Daily Requirement-
5 to 10 milligrams per day per kilo of ideal body weight or 2.5 to 4.5 milligrams per day per pound of ideal body weight.

Example: 70 kilos or 150 pounds= 350 mg. to 700 mg. daily.

Our local water actually has fair amounts of both calcium and magnesium. It's unfortunate that people often confuse 'hard' water with 'contaminated' water when in reality hard water is quite naturally the result of percolation of groundwater through limestone deposits and such, much like our paleo ancestors would have been drinking. Nonetheless, it bears mentioning that I only have one kidney, so perhaps my own body simply did not appreciate the extra mineral supplementation. Whatever the case may be, I do best without any mineral supplementation at all. Thanks for the post.

Lately I have been having something weird happen and I have narrowed it down to magnesium. Before, I was taking mag before bed every night because it was helping with constipation and it also relaxed me. All of a sudden it stopped working for the relaxing part and then it started actually making me feel inner tremors to where I couldn't relax no matter what I tried. I haven't been constipated in a long time so idk if that effect changed or not. Anyway, I did some research as to why this might be happening and found that if your calcium levels are not high enough excess magnesium can actually cause racing and weak heart and not relax you at all. It's interested because this all started when I went 100% paleo and cut dairy out of my diet. Also, my teeth are looking kinda yellow and that is also a symptom of calcium def. I guess I just always assumed I was getting enough calcium and it was magnesium that was missing. Now I am seeing the ratio is really important.
This also goes against the idea that the worst thing that can happen if you overdo magnesium in some extra time in the bathroom. There are definitely other things that can happen.

Hi aimeejoi,

Thanks for posting this. I am sorry that you have had this negative experience with magnesium as I am probably one of the guilty parties who said that Mg could be taken with no ill-effects beyond loose stools.

Mind you, most people do eat dairy products so it would be true for most people in the westernized world. It just goes to show how careful we have to be with making drastic changes to our diets and how important it is to ensure that you have a balanced intake of minerals and vitamins.

I know I have also had negative side-effects from some of my experiments with supplements in the past. They aren't as harmless as they might seem!!!

Have you started supplementing with calcium or making bone broth to get some extra calcium?

amanda

I have been taking magnesium every night for probably 2-3 years so this is a really weird thing.

I was thinking about taking some coral calcium but I'm not sure. I would like to take as few supps as possible and I hate the thought of adding another one. I have actually started eating dairy again I just don't know how to quit or if I really should. Maybe it's okay just to eat it and take a break from it every once in a while. It really is one of my favorite foods. I like greens but I feel like too many greens is not good either. Bone broth is good but honestly I'm too lazy to always make that and I don't love it as much as I love cheese and sour cream. I don't think I'll take mag for awhile until my bathroom habits tell me I need to.

Bone broth has very little calcium.

I said a few pages ago, that what I know is that one must have a Ca/Mg combo.