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Magnesium is Vital for Good Health By
Tony Isaacs author of Cancer's Natural Enemy
Very few people are aware
of the enormous role magnesium plays in our bodies. After oxygen,
water, and basic food, magnesium may be the most important element
needed by our bodies. So vitally important, yet hardly known.
Magnesium is by far the most important mineral in the body, activating
over 300 different biochemical reactions in your body, all necessary
for your body to function properly.
Magnesium protects against heart
disease and heart attacks, high blood pressure and stroke, type
II diabetes and much, much more. Magnesium is more important
than calcium, potassium or sodium and regulates all three of them.
It is magnesium that is actually most important in building strong
bones and preventing bone loss.
When we get too low on oxygen,
water or food, the consequences are serious. Yet, we often don't
realize the consequences of magnesium deficiency. The improper
use of magnesium among health professionals and the population
in general, is deeply responsible for many of the failures encountered
daily in treating chronic health conditions nationwide.
It is reported that 90% or us
are deficient in magnesium, including those who supplement (mostly
incorrectly).
What
are the symptoms of a magnesium deficiency? Millions suffer daily
from:
Insomnia
Sleep-disorders
Fatigue
Body-tension
Headaches
Heart-disorders
Low
energy
High
Blood Pressure
PMS
Muscle
tension
Backaches
Constipation
Kidney
stones
Osteoporosis
Accelerated
aging
Depression
Irregular-heartbeat
Anxiety
Muscle
cramps
Spasms
Irritability
and
the list goes on....
Magnesium
and the Heart
One
Mineral Can Make Or Break Your Heart's Rhythm
Low blood levels of magnesium
can significantly affect the way your heart pumps blood throughout
your body. And even if you think you're living a healthy lifestyle,
you may not be getting enough of it.
Magnesium, a mineral that is naturally
present in water and foods in varying amounts. The U.S. RDA for
magnesium is about 320 mg per day for women and more than 400
mg per day for men - yet studies show that most people regularly
take in about half of that. And now new research reveals that
this lack of magnesium may put your heart - and your health -
at significant risk.
(Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute
Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2002; 75:550-554)
Magnesium May Prevent Sudden-Death
Heart Attacks
Magnesium is not limited to treating
heart disease after a heart attack. A shortage of dietary magnesium
has been repeatedly shown to be associated with an increased risk
of sudden-death heart attack. Unequivocally, a shortage of magnesium
from the American diet, in particular the absence or shortage
of magnesium in drinking water, is directly related to sudden-death
heart attack. [Epidemiology 10: 31-36, 1999; Heart 82: 455-60,
1999; American Journal Epidemiology 143: 456-62, 1996] Out of
750,000 heart attacks in the USA annually, an estimated 340,000
deaths occur within one hour of a heart attack. [Journal Nutrition
Health Aging 5: 173-78, 2001]
One study showed the relative
risk of sudden-death heart attack is more than 1.5 times higher
among adults who consume on average 105 milligrams of magnesium
a day compared to adults who consume 233 milligrams a day. [Magnesium
Trace Element Research 9: 143-51, 1990]
In an animal experiment, no rodents
experienced a sudden-death heart attack when magnesium levels
were adequate, whereas 4 of 11 rodents with low magnesium levels
experienced a sudden lethal heart muscle spasm. [Journal American
Collage Cardiology 27: 1771-76, 1996]
Recently researchers reported
on the effects of slowly withdrawing magnesium from the diet of
postmenopausal women. Women began to exhibit abnormal heart rhythms
as circulating magnesium levels declined. [American Journal Clinical
Nutrition 75: 550-54, 2002]
Of the minerals removed during
water softening, magnesium is the only mineral found to be deficient
in the heart muscle of sudden-death heart attack victims. [Science
208: 198-200, 1980]
Magnesium and High Blood Pressure
Magnesium helps signal muscles
to contract and relax. And when the muscles that line the major
blood vessels contract, your blood pressure rises.
When researchers studied the diets
of 40,000 nurses and 30,000 male health professionals, they found
lower blood pressures in people who ate more magnesium.
Since 1985, at least 16 trials
have given magnesium to people with high or high-normal blood
pressure. The two largest compared 360 mg a day to a (look-alike
but magnesium-free) placebo in 285 people for six months.
Magnesium had no effect in either,"
says Frank Sacks of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston,
who headed one of the two studies.
Magnesium and Diabetes
Eating more magnesium-rich
foods, like green leafy vegetables and nuts, may reduce the risk
of type-2 diabetes, suggests a meta-analysis of observational
studies.
The analysis of prospective cohort studies, by researchers
at Stockholm's Karolinska Institutet, reports that for every 100
milligram increase in magnesium intake, the risk of developing
type-2 diabetes decreased by 15 per cent.
"Findings from this meta-analysis of cohort studies indicate
that increased intake of magnesium may reduce the incidence of
type-2 diabetes. This observational evidence should be treated
as compelling but not definitive," wrote authors Susanna
Larsson and Alicia Wolk in the Journal of Internal Medicine.
Source: Journal of Internal
Medicine (Blackwell Publishing)
Published on-line, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2796.2007.01840.x "Magnesium intake and risk of type-2 diabetes: a meta-analysis" Authors: S.C. Larsson, A. Wolk
Widespread
Dietary Deficiency
Since the turn of last century,
our depleted soils, processed foods and fast food diet lifestyles
have led to a steady increase in mineral deficiencies. Nowhere
is this more true than in Magnesium:
Progressive decline of dietary
magnesium consumption
Years
Magnesium
intake milligrams per day
1900-08
475-500
1909-13
415-435
1925-29
385-398
1935-39
360-375
1947-49
358-370
1957-59
340-360
1965-76
300-340
1978-85
225-318
1990-2002
175-225
[Magnesium Trace Elements 10:
162-28, 1997]
Supplementation Advised
Only universal magnesium supplementation
is likely to make up for such a widespread mineral deficiency.
Foods cannot easily be fortified with magnesium because it is
a bulky mineral that would alter the consistency and taste of
flour and foods. Magnesium cannot be added to tap water because
it would erode piping. Either magnesium pills or magnesium added
to bottled water would make up for this mineral deficiency. Currently,
only 5 major brands of bottled water provide a desirable measure
of more than 75 milligrams of magnesium per liter and only one
brand has a ratio of magnesium that exceeds that of calcium.
Since the same problems with soil
depletion and diet causes deficiencies in many other vital minerals,
it would be a good idea to supplement for magnesium and to also
supplement with a wide range of minerals. The very best
source of mineral supplements are plant derived minerals, because
they are more readily absorbed than mined rock minerals.
For maximum absorption, bromelain can be added. Bromelain
is an all natural compound found in the stem of the pineapple
plant and is a powerful binder that increases the absorption of
many things.
Tony M. Isaacs is the author of “Cancer’s Natural
Enemy”, “Collected Remedies”, and numerous health
articles and is a regular contributor to this newsletter.
