What is the ratio of Calcium to Magnesium?  I usually take 400 mg of Mg a day with Calcium, 2- 600 mg pills with Vit D3, plus extra vit D3.  I'm like you with the calcium .... I don't take it if I get a lot of calcium in my diet during the day.  I also take a multivitamin, most days.

Melissa.

There are a few options based on several books/expert's suggestions:

1 to 1, which is what I sometimes do if my pain from muscle spasm has inflamed.  TMI alert!  It makes me go to the bathroom, like, 4 times or so on those days, but my pain goes down a notch or two (Plus I happen to eat tons of fiber, so I usually go twice a day, every day!).  I'm talking about 1,000mg calcium and 1,000mg or ever-so-slightly less magnesium.

2 to 1.5, calcium to magnesium.  So I guess this would look like (if you're taking 1,200mg a day of calcium, it would be 900mg magnesium). Again, this amount of magnesium could cause you to go to the bathroom a few times a day!  I sometimes do 1,000mg calcium and take 700-750mg magnesium.

2 to 1, calcium to magnesium.  So if you take 1,200mg calcium, you could take 600mg magnesium.  This is the minimum ratio that experts suggest.  On some days I might take in 1,00mg calcium and 500mg magnesium.

So as you can see it varies, and I vary my intake too, depending on the foods I've had, if I'm in pain, if I'm low on my supply, etc.  But I always try and keep my daily magnesium at 500mg minimum.

Hope this helps!

Helpful Articles:
1) Ca+2 (NIH):   http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Calcium-HealthProfessional/
2) Magnesium and how it helps to regulate calcium levels, as well as copper, zinc, potassium, vitamin D, and others (U of MD):
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/magnesium-000313.htm#ixzz2HzdSw31p
3) Metals, minerals & vitamins (Co State Med Ctr):
http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/digestion/smallgut/absorb_minerals.html
4) Dietary Supplements (NIH):
http://ods.od.nih.gov/Health_Information/Dietary_Reference_Intakes.aspx

It's great that you to want to learn about supplements, but suggesting your theory as to how Ca+2 & Mg+2 work in the body is not a safe approach to relaying information.  I am a pharmaceutical biochemist (degrees in chemistry & biology), & really think you should look for health information in professional science articles rather than Vitamin companies. A vitamin website may be a start, but only rely on comprehensive, accurate information, which may be found at the NIH, the Mayo Clinic or other hospital or University websites. Supplements are not Federally regulated & those companies can say almost anything they want to sell a product.

There’s a lot more to it than blood levels when a muscle contracts. Muscles contract by way of a Ca+2, K+  & Na+ ion gradient.  The nerve signal to that muscle stimulates depolarization (rush of ions across the cell wall). The gradient is set up by selectively pumping the ions to the outside or inside of the muscle cell. The muscle uses energy to pump the ions back to set up the gradient again. Problems arise when these ions go out of balance (eg, intravenous Lasix to treat edema must be titrated; if given a dose that's too high/too quickly it can kill a patient because it also can excrete ions used for cardiac contraction).

K+ is only absorbed through the lg intestine, & if you get diarrhea there is the potential for K+ (and H2O) loss.  Chronic diarrhea from too much Mg+2 can be a problem. If you sweat heavily, you primarily lose Na+, Cl- (salt) and H2O. The kidney is the primary regulator of Na+ and H2O. Calcium is absorbed in the sm intestine.  And this is only the beginning…I’ll add articles in the next post.

LLiholz, I am the first person to say not to look to vitamin companies for information!  I know they want to make money, just like the pharmaceutical industry, the dairy industry, etc.  I don't know what gave you that impression, maybe because I was recommending some reputable supplements at the bottom?  These were just my recommedations based on my research and personal use of them. 

I have gotten my info on vitamins and minerals through many, many books and articles. 

Here's an article which cites numerous scientific studies and states in their Magnesium Supplement Suggestions near the bottom,"Traditionally, it's been recommended to take calcium and magnesium in a ratio of 2/1, as that is the ratio of the RDA of calcium and magnesium.  However, magnesium is often poorly absorbed, so many doctors believe the ratio should be closer to 1/1."

Here are other books that I've read:

The Magnesium Solution for Migraine Headaches by Jay S. Cohen, MD

The Magnesium Miracle by Carolyn Dean, MD, ND

Your Bones by Lara Pizzorno, MA, LMT and Jonathan V Wright, MD 

The Real Vitamin and Mineral Book by Shari Lieberman, PhD, CNS, FACN

All of these books and countless others that I haven't mentioned have given their opinion on the calcium to magnesium ratio, so I stand by my previous post.  A simple solution for diarrhea caused by too much magnesium, recommended by the MD authors and others, is to cut back on the amount until you don't experience that anymore.  One can also slowly build up to a higher amount, like I did.  It is very helpful for my muscle spasms and tachycardia condition, and I am careful to not overdo it...the last thing I want to do is lose precious potassium.   

Also, I do not claim to be an expert.  I even explain more in my profile about this.  My goal is to make people aware of things so that they can do further research on their own, talk with their doctor or nutritionist, and make up their own minds.  

Here's the article I mentioned that I forgot to add!

http://web.mit.edu/london/www/magnesium.html