The Calcium Magnesium Dance The Magnesium/Calcium Connection & Help from Magne

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The Calcium Magnesium Dance

 

Calcium and magnesium share equal importance in our bodies. Newton's law

says that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and calcium

and magnesium dance within this law. Neither can act without eliciting

reaction from the other.

 

At the biochemical level, magnesium and calcium are known to act

antagonistically toward each other. Many enzymes whose activities critically

depend on a

sufficient amount of intracellular magnesium will be detrimentally affected

by small increases in levels of cellular calcium. Growth of cells, cell

division, and intermediary metabolism are also absolutely dependent on the

availability of magnesium, which can be compromised if excess calcium is

present.

 

To understand how you can create a calcium/magnesium imbalance in your own

body, try this experiment in your kitchen. Crush a calcium pill and see how

much dissolves in 1 oz. of water. Then crush a magnesium pill and slowly stir

it into the calcium water. When you introduce the magnesium, the remaining

calcium dissolves; it becomes more water-soluble. The same thing happens in

your

bloodstream, heart, brain, kidneys, and all the tissues in your body.

 

If you don't have enough magnesium to help keep calcium dissolved, you may

end up with calcium-excess muscle spasms, fibromyalgia, hardening of the

arteries, and even dental cavities. Another scenario plays out in the kidneys.

 

If there is too much calcium in the kidneys and not enough magnesium to

dissolve it, you can get kidney stones.

 

All muscles, including the heart and blood vessels, contain more magnesium

than calcium. If magnesium is deficient, calcium floods the smooth muscle

cells of the blood vessels and therefore may create higher blood pressure,

arterial spasm, angina and heart attack. A proper balance of magnesium in

relation

to calcium can prevent these symptoms. Calcium excess, stimulating the cells

in the muscular layer of the temporal arteries over the temples, can cause

migraine headaches.

 

Excess calcium can constrict the smooth muscle surrounding the small airways

of the lung, causing restricted breathing and asthma.

 

Finally, too much calcium, without the protective effect of magnesium, can

irritate delicate nerve cells of the brain. Cells that are irritated by

calcium fire electrical impulses repeatedly, depleting their energy stores and

causing cell death.

 

The Calcium Distraction The irony of the calcium-magnesium story is that

without magnesium, calcium will not work properly. Both our current diet and

tendency to over supplement with calcium, however, make getting enough

magnesium

almost impossible. Research shows that the ratio of calcium to magnesium in

the Paleolithic or caveman diet--the ancient diet that had evolved with our

bodies--was 1:1, compared with a 5:1 to 15:1 ratio in present-day diets. With

an average of ten times more calcium than magnesium in our current diet,

there is no doubt about widespread magnesium deficiency in modern times.

 

The emphasis on calcium supplementation has diverted our attention from any

other mineral, even though all minerals are crucial to the proper functioning

of the body.

 

In our society we tend to look for the best, the most important, the star,

and forget that it takes a team and teamwork to get anything accomplished,

including body processes. Calcium, because it is the most abundant mineral in

the body, became the star. Even though research has accumulated on magnesium

over the past four decades, it has never been adequately publicized and

discussed.

 

Dr. Mark Sircus, Ac., OMD International Medical Veritas Association

_http://www.imva.info_ (http://www.imva.info/)

_http://www.magnesiumforlife.com_ (http://www.magnesiumforlife.com/)

_http://www.winningcancer.com/_ (http://www.winningcancer.com/)

Email: _director_ (director)

 

 

 

The Magnesium/Calcium Connection

 

Though there's been an enormous amount of media hype about calcium, very few

people realize that without its partner, magnesium, calcium doesn't serve

the body nearly as well as it should. In fact, too much calcium can actually

impede the magnesium's uptake and function, creating further imbalance. When it

comes to building healthy bones, magnesium is as important as calcium and

vitamin D.

 

Magnesium and calcium are designed to work together. For example, magnesium

controls the entry of calcium into each and every cell -- a physiological

event that happens every time a nerve cell fires. Without adequate magnesium

(which is also a natural calcium-channel blocker), too much calcium gets inside

the cell. This can result in muscle cramping, blood-vessel constriction,

migraine headaches, and even feelings of anxiety.

 

Magnesium also keeps calcium dissolved in the blood so that it won't produce

kidney stones. In fact, taking calcium without magnesium for osteoporosis

can actually promote kidney stone formation.

 

Magnesium Deficiency on the Rise: In 1997, the National Academy of Sciences

found that most Americans are deficient in magnesium. There are a number of

reasons for this:

 

Food processing depletes magnesium,

and the vast majority of Americans eat mostly processed foods. When wheat is

refined into white flour, 80 percent of the magnesium in the bran is lost;

98 percent is lost when molasses is refined into sugar. Similarly, magnesium

is leached out of vegetables that are boiled in water or frozen. Additives

such as aspartame and MSG, as well as alcohol, also deplete magnesium stores.

 

Indigestion and antacid use:

Insufficient stomach acid impedes magnesium absorption. Unfortunately, a

refined-food diet is a potent recipe for indigestion. Antacids -- the number

one

over the counter drug in the U.S. -- further deplete hydrochloric acid in

the stomach.

 

Farming practices:

Magnesium and other minerals have been depleted from much of the soil that

we grow today's produce in.

 

Medications:

Many drugs -- including common diuretics, birth-control pills, insulin,

tetracycline and other antibiotics, and cortisone -- cause the body to waste

magnesium.

 

Help from Magnesium

 

Anxiety and Panic Attacks:

Magnesium helps keep adrenal stress hormones under control and maintain

normal brain function. in her book The Magnesium Miracle, Dr. Carolyn Dean

points

out that the rate of depression has gone up every decade since World War II.

It's quite possible that this is related to magnesium depletion.

 

Asthma:

Magnesium helps relax the muscles of the bronchioles in the lungs.

 

Constipation:

Magnesium helps keep bowels regular by maintaining normal bowel-muscle

function. Milk of Magnesium as been used for decades to help.

 

Diabetes:

Magnesium helps insulin transport glucose into the cell. Without this,

glucose builds up in tissue causing glycemic stress and damage.

 

Heart Disease:

Magnesium deficiency is common in those with heart disease. The mineral is

an effective treatment for heart attacks and cardiac arrhythmias.

 

Hypertension:

Without adequate magnesium, blood vessels constrict and blood pressure

increases.

 

Insomnia:

Magnesium helps regulate melatonin, a hormone that's essential for normal

sleep cycles.

 

Nerve Problems:

Magnesium helps eliminate peripheral nerve disturbances that can lead to

migraines, leg and foot cramps, gastrointestinal cramps, and so one.

 

Osteoporosis:

Without magnesium, calcium may actually contribute to osteoporosis.

 

Christiane Northrup, MD

 

 

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