The Miracle of Magnesium

June 7, 2009

By Carolyn Dean, MD, ND

_http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/08/07/miracle-magne

sium.aspx_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/08/07/miracle-magnesium\

..aspx)

Magnesium deficiency triggers or causes the following 22 conditions; the

introduction of magnesium, either by a high-magnesium diet, with green drin

ks, or magnesium supplements, can help alleviate these conditions:

1. Anxiety and panic attacks

2. Asthma

3. Blood clots

4. Bowel disease

5. Cystitis

6. Depression

7. Detoxification

8. Diabetes, Syndrome X,

and Metabolic Syndrome

9. Fatigue

10. Heart disease

11. Hypertension

12. Hypoglycemia

1. Insomnia

2. Kidney Disease

3. Liver Disease

4. Migraine

5. Musculoskeletal conditions

6. Nerve problems

7. Obstetrics and Gynecology--premenstrual syndrome, dysmenorrhea

(cramping pain during menses), infertility, premature contractions,

preeclampsia, and eclampsia in pregnancy, lessens the risk of cerebral palsy

and

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

8. Osteoporosis

9. Raynaud's Syndrome

10. Tooth decay

Science and medicine have both turned their backs on magnesium. Science

opts out because the scientific methodology is defined by being able to test

one thing at a time ending up with one result. Science finds magnesium too

difficult to corral, partly because it is responsible for the correct

metabolic function of over 350 enzymes in the body. The creation of ATP

(adenosine triphospate) the energy molecules of the body, the action of the

heart

muscle, the proper formation of bones and teeth, relaxation of blood

vessels, and the promotion of proper bowel function are all under the guidance

of

magnesium.

Why Don't We Hear More About Magnesium?

Medicine has turned its back on magnesium because most of the funding for

medical research now comes from drug companies. Magnesium is not a patented

drug and therefore will not be studied by drug companies, except to try to

disprove its action.

While researching my book, **_The Miracle of Magnesium_

(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345445880/optimalwellnessc) ,** I

found that doctors

have been prescribing magnesium for heart disease since the 1930s. A review

of seven major clinical studies showed that IV magnesium reduced the odds

of death by more than half in patients suffering acute myocardial

infarction (heart attack). One study, LIMIT-2, developed a protocol for giving

magnesium as soon as possible after onset of the heart attack and before any

other drugs. If those criteria were followed, heart muscle damage was greatly

reduced, and neither hypertension nor arrhythmia developed.

Magnesium and the Heart

During and after a heart attack, people can suffer the following:

* Extension of the area of heart damage as calcium floods into the

muscle

* Blood clotting, which blocks blood vessels in the heart muscle

* Decreased blood flow as blood vessels go into spasm

* Arrhythmia as the areas where muscle contraction in the heart

originate are damaged

Magnesium is able to:

* Dilate blood vessels

* Prevent spasm in the heart muscle and blood vessel walls

* Counteract the action of calcium, which increases spasm

* Help dissolve blood clots

* Dramatically lessen the site of injury and prevent arrhythmia

* Act as an antioxidant against the free radicals forming at the

site of injury 1-4

One of the main reasons that heart drug digoxin becomes toxic is because

there is not enough magnesium in the body. 5

A drug trial called ISIS sought to disprove the effects of magnesium. In

the ISIS trial the protocol was not followed in that magnesium was not the

first drug given, and often it was not given for many hours or days after a

heart attack was well established, causing widespread damage and blood

clotting. Yet, drug reps can dutifully tell their doctor clients that ISIS

proved that magnesium is worthless for heart disease! 6 Since the LIMIT-2 and

ISIS trials, another smaller trial with only 200 people who were given IV

magnesium at the onset of a heart attack, experienced a 74 percent lower

death rate. 7

In spite of the fact that heart drugs, mainly diuretics, have the bad

habit of depleting magnesium--along with potassium and even though magnesium is

absolutely required for stabilizing heart muscle activity--magnesium is

not utilized properly by conventional medicine.

Magnesium's Role in a Healthy Body

A small group of international magnesium researchers, however, have

continued, against all odds, to prove the importance of magnesium not only as a

nutrient for thousands of body processes but also as a medicine to treat

magnesium-depleted health conditions. Drs. Bella and Burton Altura are two

hard-working magnesium heroes! They have performed laboratory research and

clinical research to the tune of about 1,000 studies over the past 40 years.

The Alturas personally confirmed that the 22 magnesium-related conditions,

listed at the beginning of this article, have a solid basis in science.

Dr. Burton Altura said that during his 40 years of research he was

appalled at the lack of attention given to this life-saving nutrient. He has

all

but given up on conventional medicine recognizing the need for magnesium in

its protocols for dozens of diseases and welcomed books such as mine to help

spread the word. Without million-dollar marketing budgets that drug

companies have for their latest drugs, nutrient research plods along--proving

over and over again their worth but never being able to get that information

out to the public.

Up to 80 Percent of Americans are Magnesium-Deficient

Another reason that Dr. Altura felt magnesium was not given its due is

because there has been no lab test that will give an accurate reading of the

magnesium status in the tissues. Only one percent of magnesium of the body

is distributed in the blood, making a simple sample of magnesium in the blood

highly inaccurate. That's why most doctors who rely on blood tests for

magnesium and not magnesium deficiency signs and symptoms and realization that

up to 80 percent of the population is deficient, will miss an important

diagnosis.

There's even more to the actual way magnesium works. It exists in the body

either as active magnesium ions or as inactive magnesium complexes bound

to proteins or other substances. A magnesium ion is a group of atoms that is

missing an electron, which makes it excitable as it searches to attach to

something that will replace its missing electron.

Magnesium ions constitute the most physiologically active fraction of

magnesium in the body; they are free to join in biochemical body processes and

are not attached to other substances. 8 Most clinical laboratories only

assess total **serum** magnesium, which mixes up both active and inactive

types.

The Alturas took it upon themselves to develop and research a method that

would test specifically for magnesium ions. It came about in 1987 and is

called the Blood Ionized Magnesium Test. Its accuracy has been confirmed

countless times with sensitive digital imaging microscopy, atomic absorption

spectroscopy and the magnesium fluorescent probe. With this test it is now

possible to directly measure the levels of magnesium ions in whole blood,

plasma and serum using ion-selective electrodes. 8 The Alturas have used the

ionized magnesium test in hundreds of research trials on dozens of different

conditions proving, for example, that the 22 conditions listed above are

related to magnesium deficiency. 9-15

Unfortunately, I*m not able to tell you that the ionized magnesium test is

readily available. The Alturas do ionized magnesium tests at their

laboratory at SUNY in New York and the testing equipment is available through

an

outside manufacturer to interested labs. (I've included the Altura contact

information, below.)

How to Get Enough Magnesium

How do I get enough magnesium is a question that I*m frequently asked. If

there is enough magnesium in the soil where green leafy vegetables, nuts,

and seeds are grown then we have a chance to obtain magnesium from our diet.

Organic foods may have more magnesium, but only if farmers replenish their

soil with magnesium-rich fertilizers. Most fertilizer used on factory farms

relies heavily on nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium to make plants grow

and appear healthy.

However, if magnesium and other minerals and micronutrients are not

introduced the plants may look good but are not packed with the nutrition we

need. Growers should be required to use top-quality fertilizers and should test

their crops for the long list of nutrients we need to stay healthy.

In general, to get as much magnesium as possible in the diet, eat plenty

of organic leafy green vegetables, nuts and seeds every day. Adding green

drinks to your menu will help you achieve a higher magnesium status. However,

if you are suffering from the following symptoms you may need supplemental

magnesium: muscle twitches, tics, or spasms **Charlie horse** (the

muscle spasm that occurs when you stretch your legs) insomnia or restless

sleep stress back pain headaches, cluster headaches, migraines stiff and

aching muscles bones and joints that need continued chiropractic treatment

weakness hypoglycemia diabetes nervousness hyperactivity high blood pressure

osteoporosis PMS constipation angina kidney stones aging depression heart

attack irregular heartbeat attention deficit disorder aggressive behavior

chronic fatigue syndrome stroke anxiety confusion, muscle weakness hiccups

high-strung exhaustion from exercise seizures

The Calcium-to-Magnesium Ratio

Supplementing with magnesium must also take into account the balance

between calcium and magnesium. Finland, which, from 1973 to 1999 had the

highest

recorded incidence of heart attack in middle-aged men in the world, also

has a high calcium-to-magnesium ratio in the diet at 4 parts calcium to 1

part magnesium. 16-17 Americans in general have a high calcium-to-magnesium

ratio in their diet and consequently in their bodies; the U.S. ratio is

3.5-to-1. Our dietary emphasis on a high calcium intake without sufficient

magnesium and because of the excessive emphasis on women taking high doses of

calcium for osteoporosis, we are creating more imbalance between the two

minerals.

Some researchers predict that the American ratio of calcium to magnesium

is actually approaching 6-to-1, yet, the recommended dietary ratio of

calcium to magnesium in the United States is 2-to-1. Current research on the

paleolithic or caveman diet shows that the ratio of calcium to magnesium in the

diet that our bodies evolved to eat is 1-to-1. 18 In order to offset the

deficiency magnesium induced by excess calcium and to treat the above 22

conditions, people may find it necessary to ingest one part magnesium to one

part calcium in supplement form for a period of months to a year.

Stabilization on a healthy diet including green drinks may be possible after

that

time.

The most commons sources of magnesium are oxide, citrate, glycinate, and

malate. People use oxide and citrate if they suffer from constipation to

take advantage of magnesium*s laxative effect. Glycinate seems to cause little

diarrhea and is the best choice for people who already have loose stools.

Magnesium malate has been promoted for people with fibromyalgia to help

break up lactic acid that seems to be part of the fibromyalgia picture.

Dr. Carolyn Dean is a medical doctor and naturopathic doctor. She is a

writer, researcher, and health advocate. She is the lead author on _Death by

Medicine_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/11/26/death-by-medicine\

-part-one.aspx) and a health advisor to yeastconnection.com

and curesnaturally.com. She has written several health books including " _The

Miracle of Magnesium_

(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345445880/optimalwellnessc) " . Her Web

site is carolyndean.com. The Miracle of

Magnesium is written for both the lay public and practitioners. It is packed

with

hundreds of journal references that will convince doctors of the importance

of magnesium and its efficacy in dozens of conditions--before reaching for

the prescription pad.

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