The Calcium Magnesium Dance

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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.

 

 

Selected Foods Rich in Magnesium

(In mg per 100 grams [3-1/2 oz] servings)

· Kelp 760

· Wheat bran 490

· Wheat germ 336

· Molasses 258

· Dulse 220

· Almonds 270

· Peanuts 175

· Collard greens 57

· Cooked beans 37

· Tofu 111

· Millet 162

In general, organically grown whole grains and vegetables are rich in

magnesium, as are good quality sea salt and sea vegetables (such as kelp,

dulce, or sea lettuce).

1Eisenberyg, M. J., 1992. Magnesium deficiency and sudden death. American

Heart Journal124:2:544–549; also Turlapaty, P. D., and Altura, B. M.

Magnesium deficiency produces spasms in coronary arteries: relationship to

etiology of sudden death ischemic heart disease. Science 208(4440):198–200;

also

Altura, B. M., 1979. Sudden death ischemic heart disease and dietary

magnesium intake: Is the target site coronary vascular smooth muscle? Medical

Hypotheses 5(8):843–848.

2Levine, B. S., et al. 1984. Magnesium, the mimic/antagonist of calcium.

New England J. Medicine 310:188–193.

3Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intake for Calcium, Phosphorous,

Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Flouride. National Academy Press, Washington,

D.C.. 1997.

 

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