The Magnesium Lottery

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The Magnesium Lottery

 

Magnesium deficiency is common and deadly.

Diuretics, heart conditions, exercise, and the ECA stack influence magnesium

status.

 

Contents

Page 1 A bunch of scary studies.

Page 2 Big brother to the rescue (sort of).

Dieters, athletes, and ECA.

Page 3 Diuretics and magnesium.

Page 4 The turf war.

Page 5 Safety & bioavailability.

 

The processing of food results in large losses of vital nutrients. For

example, white bread contains about 40% less magnesium than whole wheat bread.

 

In addition, since World War II, the amount of magnesium in our

food has steadily declined due to farming methods and the use of

fertilizers that only replenish nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium

(9-BK).

 

Thus, there is reason to doubt whether even the best diet can

provide an optimum amount of magnesium.

 

In light of all this, it is amazing that Big Brother actually tells

people NOT to take supplements. Lets face it, Big Brother can tell

people to eat 3,000 servings of fresh vegetables a day till he's blue in

the face, but how many people are going to choose broccoli over pizza?

Thus, most of the people who listen to the official party line about

supplements are left in the following predicament:

 

" In developed countries, the Mg [magnesium] intake [from food] is often

marginal and the Mg intake coming from drinking water represents the

critical factor through which the Mg intake is deficient or satisfactory

.. . . all [Mg studies have] shown a reverse correlation between

cardiovascular mortality [death] and the Mg level " (1).

 

Isn't that amazing? Unless you take supplements or eat an

extraordinarily good diet, you are participating in the magnesium

lottery -- gambling your life on the quality of the WATER in your town.

 

Yikes! When you hear some " expert " parroting the old line about how we

*can* get all the nutrients that we need from food, what they are really

saying -- to the vast majority of people -- is that instead of taking

supplements (the dangerous practice of " self-medication " ), we should

just hope and/or pray that there is enough magnesium in the water. If

you listen to these clowns, you are playing the magnesium lottery. And

if you get a losing ticket in THIS lottery, you die.

 

Written Aug 2000 Last Update Aug 2000

A Bunch Of Scary Studies

 

OK, now I know it's easy to criticize epidemiological studies. Actually,

there is also quite a bit of clinical and laboratory research

supporting the need for magnesium supplementation. However, since the

magnesium lottery is a global water quality game, we really should dive

in a little deeper (sorry):

 

" A consistent pattern has emerged, indicative of a global phenomenon,

which illustrates the importance of waterborne magnesium in protecting

against cardiovascular trauma and other ailments " (2).

 

Here are the lottery results from Sweden: " The odds ratios for death

from acute myocardial infarction in the groups were inversely related to

the amount of magnesium in drinking water " (4). Scientists in Taiwan

studied over 17,000 cerebrovascular deaths and found that the unlucky

people who lived in low magnesium areas were more likely to die of

strokes: " there is a significant protective effect of magnesium intake

from drinking water on the risk of cerebrovascular disease " (5).

The

scientists in Taiwan have been quite busy. They also found that low

magnesium levels in drinking water are related to the risk of death from

hypertension (6), diabetes mellitus (, and an astonishing " 42% excess

risk of mortality from esophageal cancer " (7).

 

In light of the uncertainties of the magnesium lottery, it should not be

too big of a surprise to find that magnesium deficiency has been found

in a large percentage of hospital patients (I'll spare you the joke

about hospital food) -- and this has been linked to " cardiovascular

abnormalities, ranging from cardiac arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation

to hypertension " (12).

 

In addition, low serum magnesium levels are associated with thickening of the

carotid wall and high fasting insulin levels (13).

 

The elevated insulin levels reflect an attempt to compensate for impaired

insulin receptor function caused by magnesium

deficiency (14).

 

Proper insulin function requires a LOT more than

popping a chromium pill everyday.

 

I could go on and on, but Altura et al. did a good job of summing up the

overwhelming evidence of the health problems that are related to

magnesium deficiency:

 

" It is now becoming clear that a lower than normal dietary intake of Mg

[magnesium] can be a strong risk factor for hypertension, cardiac

arrhythmias, ischemic heart disease, atherogenesis and sudden cardiac

death.

Deficits in serum Mg appear often to be associated with

arrhythmias, coronary vasospasm and high blood pressure " (15).

 

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