Common Conditions That May Result from Low Magnesium Levels

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Common Conditions That May Result from Low Magnesium Levels

_http://www.ctds.info/5_13_magnesium.html_

(http://www.ctds.info/5_13_magnesium.html)

 

 

Magnesium (Mg) is a trace mineral that is known to be required for several

hundred different functions in the body. A significant portion of the

symptoms of many chronic disorders are identical to symptoms of magnesium

deficiency. Studies show many people in the U.S. today do not consume the

daily recommended amounts of Mg. A lack of this important nutrient may be a

major factor in many common health problems in industrialized countries.

Common conditions such as mitral valve prolapse, migraines, attention deficit

disorder, fibromyalgia, asthma and allergies have all been linked to a Mg

deficiency. Perhaps not coincidentally, these conditions also tend to occur

in clusters together within the same individual. A magnesium deficiency as a

root cause would provide a logical explanation of why some people suffer

from a constellation of these types of problems.

 

 

Many of the following conditions commonly occur in conjunction with each

other and all have been linked to a Mg deficiency.

 

 

Contents:

 

 

 

_Allergies, Chemical Sensitivities_

(http://www.ctds.info/5_13_magnesium.html#magnesium_allergies)

_Anxiety and Psychiatric Disorders_

(http://www.ctds.info/5_13_magnesium.html#anxiety)

_Aorta Strength_ (http://www.ctds.info/5_13_magnesium.html#aorta)

_Asthma_ (http://www.ctds.info/5_13_magnesium.html#magnesium_asthma)

_Attention Deficit Disorder_

(http://www.ctds.info/5_13_magnesium.html#add)

_Calcification of Soft Tissue Including Heart Valve_

(http://www.ctds.info/5_13_magnesium.html#calcification)

_Diabetes_ (http://www.ctds.info/5_13_magnesium.html#diabetes)

 

 

Also see:

 

 

_Magnesium - Part Two_ (http://www.ctds.info/magnesium.html) - Covers

the links between magnesium deficiency and diverse conditions such as

fibromyalgia, hearing loss, migraines, menstrual cramps (dysmenorrhea), mitral

valve prolapse, muscle cramps, nystagmus, osteoporosis, pectus excavatum, TMJ

and more.

 

 

 

Allergies and Chemical Sensitivities

 

In the book Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, the authors note that food

allergies are usually associated with low hydrochloric acid levels and poor

digestion. The authors' rationale for this is that low stomach acid

leaves food undigested and fermenting in the intestinal tract. This

fermentation causes gas, bloating and stomach upset, the symptoms of _irritable

bowel

syndrome_ (http://www.ctds.info/ibs_treatment.html) .. Undigested and

fermented food causes the body to raise histamine levels, which produce

allergic reactions. This is why people take antihistamines for allergies, to

lower histamine levels. Interestingly, Mg is needed to reduce histamine

levels.

 

 

Low stomach acid levels reduce levels of beneficial intestinal bacteria

which is needed for absorption of magnesium. When lab rats are deprived of

magnesium, a wide variety of studies have noted that they develop _allergy

like symptoms_

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=\

7400981 & dopt=Abstract) . Their _ears turn red and they

develop skin problems_

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=\

7349544 & dopt=Abstract) . Rats with magnesium

deficiencies have _ increases in histamine levels_

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3111814?dopt=Abstract) . They also have

_raised levels of white

blood cell counts_

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=\

7349544 & dopt=Abstract) .. Mg deficiency has been

implicated in allergies and allergic skin reaction in many studies on

humans, too. Variations of allergies, skin allergies, and raised white blood

cells have all been noted as features of many chronic disorders.

 

 

People with chemical sensitivities also commonly have other conditions

linked to Mg deficits such as allergies, fibromyalgia, mitral valve prolapse

and anxiety disorders. They also tend to have _temporomandibular joint

disorder (TMJ)_ (http://www.ctds.info/tmj.html) , which has been linked to

abnormalities of _hyaluronic acid_ (http://www.ctds.info/hyaluronic_acid.html) .

Perhaps not coincidentally, hyaluronic acid is dependent upon magnesium

for its synthesis.

 

 

Asthma is has been linked to Mg deficiencies in a wide variety of studies.

Asthma and allergies not only frequently occur together, but they

frequently occur together along with gastrointestinal upset in many chronic

disorders including _Mitral Valve Prolapse _ (http://www.ctds.info/mvp1.html)

syndrome and_ Ehlers-Danlos syndrome_ (http://www.ctds.info/eds.html) .

Gastrointestinal upset is often a sign of malabsorption problems, which can be

a

cause of nutritional deficiencies.

 

See my related section on _multiple chemical sensitivity_

(http://www.ctds.info/mcs.html) .

 

 

 

Anxiety and Psychiatric Disorders

 

Magnesium deficiency causes increased levels of adrenaline, which can lead

to a feeling of anxiety. Rats who become magnesium deficient have an

_ncreased level of urinary catecholamine_

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=\

10454449 & dopt=Abstract)

excretion (a by-product of adrenaline).

 

 

People who have mitral valve prolapse have also been found to have an

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=

6369371 & dopt=Abstract) increased state of anxiety and have an_ increased

level of urinary catecholamine_

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=\

6369371 & dopt=Abstract) excretion, the

exact same condition found in rats who are Mg deficient.

 

 

It is not surprising then, to find that people with _ mitral valve

prolapse are usually low in magnesium_

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9070556?dopt=Abstract) , and that magnesium

supplementation alleviates the

symptoms of mitral valve prolapse and reduces the level of urinary

catecholamine

excretion, i.e. it also reduces the anxiety symptoms.

 

 

Researchers in Spain found a correlation between _anxiety disorders and

hypermobility_

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=\

9812121 & dopt=Abstract) . In fact, they found that

patients with anxiety disorder were over 16 times more likely than control

subjects to have joint laxity. If you put the study results together, then

there's a link between _anxiety and hypermobility_

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=\

9812121 & dopt=Abstract) , a

link between _anxiety and mitral valve prolapse_

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9070556?dopt=Abstract) , and a link between

_mitral valve prolapse

and hypermobility._

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=\

3409646 & dopt=Abstract)

 

 

These studies tell us that anxiety disorders occur in many people who

simply have mitral valve prolapse and/or joint hypermobility, meaning anxiety

disorders are not specific to EDS or any particular connective tissue

disorder. Marfans also have mitral valve prolapse and joint hypermobility

which

would lead one to conjecture that they, too, have anxiety related

disorders. As it turns out, a connection between _Marfans and anxiety related

disorders _

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=\

9068910 & dopt=Abstract) has been noted.

 

 

A study in Bulgaria also found magnesium _abnormalities in patients with

schizophrenia and depression_

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=\

2077436 & dopt=Abstract) . The authors

thought the schizophrenia and depression caused the magnesium deficiencies, but

I disagree that that was necessarily the case. When you look at this

study within the context of all the other studies mentioned in this section, it

is more likely that the magnesium abnormalities caused the mental

illness. (There are quite a few studies on magnesium and mental illness on

Medline. I just included a few to highlight my points.)

 

 

In a study from England, there was a strong association for _more

disturbed and excitable patients to have abnormal (either high or low) Mg

levels. _

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_u

ids=7800167 & dopt=Abstract) The authors thought that the patients who

seemed most disturbed may have some abnormality of magnesium metabolism.

 

 

To read up on the link between cholesterol levels and anxiety and

depression, see my web page on _low cholesterol levels_

(http://www.ctds.info/low_cholesterol.html) .

 

 

For more on this topic, see my section on _Anxiety and Depression_

(http://www.ctds.info/anxiety_depression.html) - overlooked nutritional

causes.

 

 

 

Asthma

 

_Magnesium sulfate_

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=\

10622383 & dopt=Abstract) is used as a treatment for

asthma.

Mg is known to be important for _proper lung functioning._

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8509592?dopt=Abstract)

 

 

Mg is being increasingly looked at as a treatment for asthma.

 

 

A study from Brown University showed " remarkable " improvement in children

with asthma who were treated with _intravenous magnesium_

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=\

11030848 & dopt=A

bstract) .

 

 

Low polymorphonuclear magnesium content has been observed in patients

with _bronchial asthma_

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=\

7562826 & dopt=Abstract) . The study authors believe

that polymorphonuclear magnesium content may have an important role in

causing asthma.

 

 

A study reported on in the Lancet, notes that people who have diets lower

in Mg _have more asthmatic symptoms_ (http://www.ncbi.nlm

..nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=7914305 & dopt=Abstrac\

t) . People

with diets higher in this important mineral have less asthmatic symptoms.

 

 

Mg prevents _pre-asthmatic lung changes_

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=\

7701490 & dopt=Abstract) animal

studies.

 

 

Asthma is a common finding in connective tissue disorders, as are

keratoconus, mitral valve prolapse, _rachitic skeletal defects_

(http://www.ctds.info/spinecurve.html) and many other conditions associated

with magnesium

deficiency. Asthma occurs frequently along with allergies, seizures and many

other disorders that can all be linked to a Mg deficiency.

 

 

Multivitamin tablets and pills often do not contain magnesium because it

is a bulky mineral that makes the pill or tablets very large, so

manufacturers often just leave it out! Yet multivitamin they contain many Mg

antagonists, i.e. vitamins and minerals that lower magnesium levels in your

body.

Perhaps this is why _recent studies show that multivitamins usage is

associated with asthma and allergies_

(http://www.aafp.org/afp/20050401/tips/14.html) .

 

 

Click here to go to my diet page for _foods that have helped my breathing

problems_ (http://www.ctds.info/ehlers_danlos_diet.html#variety) .

 

 

Also see my _cool links_ (http://www.ctds.info/health_links.html) section

for more information on asthma.

 

 

 

Calcification Of Soft Tissue Including Heart Valves

 

Magnesium is a known treatment for a variety of types of_ calcification

of soft tissues._ (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2133625?dopt=Abstract)

 

 

 

Mg levels have been found to be greatly reduced _ in calcified mitral

valves._

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=\

3199134 & dopt=Abstract)

 

 

In a study of rats, Mg deficiency has been shown to cause _aortic

calcification._

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=\

8948519 & dopt=Abstract)

 

 

_Vitamin K deficiency _ (http://www.ctds.info/vitamink.html#symptoms) has

also been linked to calcification of soft tissues.

 

 

Also see my section on _Calcium Deposits. _

(http://www.ctds.info/calcium-deposits.html)

 

 

 

Diabetes

 

 

A _2005 landmark study_

(http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=357095) by researchers from the

Harvard School of Public found an inverse

association between type 2 diabetes and magnesium intake. The major

recommendation from this study was for people to consume more magnesium rich

foods.

 

 

For more on this topic see my sections on _fibromyalgia and diabetes_

(http://www.ctds.info/diabetes.html) and _diabetic frozen shoulder_

(http://www.ctds.info/diabetic.html) .

 

 

Continued at Magnesium - _Part Two_ (http://www.ctds.info/magnesium.html)