Health Benefits of Magnesium

By Paul Schneider Jr

The health benefits of magnesium are many. According to Dr. Mercola,

“Magnesium is the Missing Link to Better Health,
and is perhaps one of the most overlooked minerals.

This is especially important because an estimated 80 percent
of Americans are deficient in it. The health consequences
of deficiency can be quite significant.”

• Magnesium is an essential nutrient with many functions in the human body:
• It helps build and maintain bones and teeth.
• It helps maintain energy and combat fatigue.
• It contributes to normal muscle function, including the heart.
• It contributes to the health of nerve, muscle and cell membranes.
• It can help to keep some of the body's other mineral and hormone systems in balance.

According to ask.com, "Every single cell in the human body demands adequate magnesium to function, or it will perish.  Soft tissue containing the highest concentrations of magnesium in the body include the brain and the heart - two organs that produce a large amount of electrical activity, and which can be especially vulnerable to magnesium insufficiency."  

A quick search of Pub Med yields thousands of scientific studies highlighting the health benefits of magnesium compounds in human biochemistry, as well as the negative effects of magnesium deficiency.

Magnesium has clearly demonstrated enormous versatility as a healing mineral in the following areas:

Health Benefits of Taking a Magnesium Supplement

Diets with higher amounts of magnesium nutrition are associated with a significantly lower risk of diabetes, possibly because of the important role of magnesium in glucose metabolism [39,40].

Diabetes leads to increased urinary losses of magnesium, and the subsequent magnesium inadequacy might impair insulin secretion and action, thereby worsening diabetes control.

The following information is from Medline Plus.

• Magnesium is used as an antacid for acid indigestion.
  
  
• Some people use magnesium for diseases of the heart and blood vessels including chest pain, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, high levels of “bad” cholesterol called low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, low levels of “good” cholesterol called high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, heart valve disease (mitral valve prolapse), and heart attack.
  
  
• Magnesium is also used for treating anxiety, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), Lyme disease, fibromyalgia, leg cramps during pregnancy, diabetes, kidney stones, migraine headaches, weak bones (osteoporosis), premenstrual syndrome (PMS), altitude sickness, urinary incontinence, restless leg syndrome, asthma, hayfever, multiple sclerosis, and for preventing hearing loss.
  
  
• Athletes sometimes use magnesium to increase energy and endurance.

Another of the health benefits of magnesium is in the stomach. Magnesium helps neutralize stomach acid and moves stools through the intestine.

According to Sandy Simmons, 

"Magnesium in the treatment and prevention of attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is becoming more and more mainstream."

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Below are excerpts of an article by Dr. Mercola on magnesium.

Magnesium - The Missing Link to Better Health

Magnesium is perhaps one of the most overlooked minerals. This is especially important because an estimated 80 percent of Americans are deficient in it. The health consequences of deficiency can be quite significant, and can be aggravated by many, if not most, drug treatments.

In the following featured video, Carolyn Dean, a medical and naturopathic doctor, discusses the importance of this mineral.

Dr. Dean has studied and written about magnesium for about 15 years. In January, 2003, she published the first edition of The Magnesium Miracle.

Magnesium - One of Your Most Important Minerals

Magnesium is a crucially important mineral for optimal health, performing a wide array of biological functions, including but not limited to:

• Activating muscles and nerves
• Creating energy in your body by activating adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
• Helping digest proteins, carbohydrates, and fats
• Serving as a building block for RNA and DNA synthesis
• It’s also a precursor for neurotransmitters like serotonin

As mentioned, few people get enough magnesium in their diet these days. Meanwhile, calcium tends to be overutilized and taken in high quantities. This can cause more harm than good, as it's very important to have a proper balance between these two minerals.

“What happens is, the muscle and nerve function that magnesium is responsible for is diminished. If you don’t have enough magnesium, your muscles go into spasm. Calcium causes muscle to contract. If you had a balance, the muscles would do their thing. They'd relax, contract, and create their activity,” she explains.

Magnesium is perhaps critical for heart health, as excessive amounts of calcium without the counterbalance of magnesium can lead to a heart attack and sudden death. According to Dr. Dean, your heart has the highest amount of magnesium in your body, specifically in your left ventricle. With insufficient amounts of magnesium, your heart simply cannot function properly.

These are some of the health benefits of magnesium.

Pay Attention to Your Calcium-Magnesium Ratio

Over the past 30 years, women have been told to take supplemental calcium to avoid osteoporosis. Many foods have also been fortified with extra calcium to prevent calcium deficiency among the general population. Despite such measures, osteoporosis has continued to climb.

 “The myth that’s been created about calcium is that we need twice as much calcium as we do magnesium. Most of the supplements reflect this. We've got a situation where people are taking 1,200 to 1,500 milligrams of calcium and maybe a few hundred milligrams of magnesium.” says Dr. Dean.

This was misinterpreted as meaning a 2:1 ratio was an appropriate ratio, which it’s not. A more appropriate ratio of calcium to magnesium is 1:1. (One of the health benefits of magnesium is balancing out calcium.)

Dietary Sources of Calcium and Magnesium

You can typically get enough calcium from your diet by eating nuts, seeds, deep green leafy vegetables, and dairy products. Magnesium, on the other hand, tends to be a bit scarcer in our modern food supply.

“Magnesium is farmed out of the soil much more than calcium,” Dr. Dean explains.  ”A hundred years ago, we would get maybe 500 milligrams of magnesium in an ordinary diet. Now we’re lucky to get 200 milligrams. People do need to supplement with magnesium.”

I agree with Dr. Dean on the supplement issue, as industrial agriculture has massively depleted most soils of beneficial minerals like magnesium. I believe it would be highly unusual for anyone to have access to foods that are rich in magnesium, which is why I believe it is prudent to consider a magnesium supplement. (Supplementation brings with it the many health benefits of magnesium)

Signs of Magnesium Deficiency

Early signs of magnesium deficiency include loss of appetite, headache, nausea, fatigue, and weakness.

An ongoing magnesium deficiency can lead to more serious symptoms, including:

• Numbness and tingling
• Personality changes
• Muscle contractions and cramps
  
  
• Abnormal heart rhythms
• Seizures
• Coronary spasms

Beware: Many Prescription Drugs

Deplete Your Magnesium Stores

Dr. Dean warns that the more you deplete your magnesium, the more out of control your cholesterol will get, because magnesium helps balance the enzyme that creates cholesterol in your body, thereby aiding in normalizing your cholesterol levels.

Statin drugs destroy the same enzyme that magnesium balances, she says.

Magnesium deficiency is also a common symptom in diabetes, so drugs may inadvertently contribute to diabetes simply by depleting your body of magnesium.

Fluoride Very Effectively Drains Your Body of Magnesium

Of particular concern is fluoride, which is used in a variety of different drugs. Fluoroquinolone antibiotics like Cipro are the most well known for their fluoride content and its associated problems.

But fluoride is also added to other drugs, including 

• certain cholesterol medications
• anti-anxiety drugs
• painkillers for arthritis

Magnesium binds to fluoride to form magnesium fluoride, and that very effectively drains magnesium from your body.

Many drugs also tend to promote chronic inflammation. According to Dr. Dean, magnesium is an effective anti-inflammatory nutrient.

(Just another of the health benefits of magnesium ☺)

Most people could experience the health benefits of magnesium by taking a magnesium supplement. I recommend a sea mineral supplement whose daily dose contains 106% of the US RDA of magnesium.

Why? Because it also contains a nice balance of trace minerals that are missing today from most of our foods. In scientific studies on laboratory animals, these trace minerals had the magnesium took care of our constipation. We haven't had to struggle with constipation since.

(Return from Health Benefits of Magnesium to Magnesium for Constipation)