Magnesium Health Watch

This informative article by magnesium expert Carolyn Dean profiles three patients in different circumstances, all dealing with magnesium deficiency.   One patient had heart palpitations and the potential of adult onset diabetes.  Another was suffering from migraines.  For each patient, they discuss symptoms and how they dealt with the magnesium deficiency, through either magnesium-rich foods, magnesium supplements or both.

Here’s an excerpt:

“I gave Mary a list of magnesium-rich foods that she needed to start eating, which included nuts, beans, greens, and seeds such as sunflower and pumpkin. Mary realized that she’d been avoiding almost all of these foods: She thought nuts were fattening, beans gave her gas, and greens never seemed fresh enough at the supermarket. She had never even thought about eating seeds.”

The article is actually an excerpt from Dean’s book, “The Miracle of Magnesium.”

THE MIRACLE OF MAGNESIUM | Toronto Canada alternative health natural medicine green living.

Natural Health Remedies provides tips on detox and solutions to common health problems.   They provided details of their experience with the Ancient Minerals Magnesium Gel, a transdermal magnesium (applied through the skin, not orally) made from pure magnesium chloride.

The article makes an interesting point about magnesium deficiency.  Oftentimes, doctors only measure the magnesium in blood serum, but it doesn’t necessarily indicate the cellular levels of magnesium.  The intracellular magnesium levels  are where transdermal gel or oil applications are particularly effective.

Here’s how she describes her experience with magnesium gel:

“The gel has a silken consistency and I found it ideal to massage into the skin. I have had some stiffness in the muscles around my hips (probably as a result of too much sitting at my computer!) so I decided to massage the gel into my hip muscles and legs every morning. After a few days I noticed they were much less stiff and after using it every day for 4 weeks the stiffness and also the soreness I had in the muscle on the outside of my shin has completely gone.”

Natural Health Remedies & Detox: Magnesium Gel Magic – A Natural Health Remedy to Boost Energy & Health.

If you’re an athlete, you may already be considering how vitamins and minerals affect your performance.  However, magnesium is often overlooked, despite being an important part of muscle contraction and relaxation, as well as metabolism.

One study found that as a result of magnesium depletion, people’s metabolism became less efficient.  Participant’s oxygen consumption increased, as did heart rate.  This starts to establish a connection between dietary magnesium and athletic performance.

“Even athletes, who might be expected to take greater care with their diets, are not immune from magnesium deficiency; for example, studies carried out in 1986/87 revealed that gymnasts, footballers and basketball players were consuming only around 70% of the RDA(14), while female runners fared even worse, with reported intakes as low as 59% of the RDA(15). Given magnesium’s vital role in energy production, two key questions emerge:

1. Can these all-too-common sub-optimum dietary magnesium intakes impair athletic performance?
2. Could extra magnesium intake, over and above RDA levels, enhance performance?

Bodybuilding.com – Magnesium: Why Magnesium Matters To Athletes! – Andrew Hamilton.

As you probably know, migraine triggers are different for everyone.   Some have found that their diet may trigger migraines.  Whether it’s MSG, red wine or nitrates, there are a lot of hidden ingredients that can contribute to this condition.  If you’re looking to determine the migraine trigger, it’s important to pay close attention to what you consume.  Try keeping a daily journal.  It can help you identify patterns and relationships between the food you eat and the onset of migraines.

This article suggests riboflavin and, you guessed it, magnesium as supplements to help prevent migraines:

“Are there any foods or supplements that can help prevent a migraine?

Magnesium. It’s thought that a deficiency of the mineral magnesium in the brain can cause nerve cells to be overly excited, triggering a migraine attack. Some studies have shown that taking a magnesium supplement can reduce migraine frequency in adults and children.

The best sources of magnesium include whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, dried fruit and leafy green vegetables.

Studies have given patients 600 milligrams of magnesium per day as a supplement. But before supplementing, speak to your health care provider. Taking more than 350 milligrams of magnesium can cause diarrhea and stomach upset”

CTV News | Leslie Beck’s Q and A: Can the foods you eat cause a migraine headache?.

This fascinating article discusses how changes in the way we obtain our drinking water have contributed to widespread magnesium deficiency.  Historically, when our communities’ water came from rivers and streams, there was naturally a higher mineral content.   Today’s local water purification techniques remove not only impurities but the minerals we need.  Furthermore, concerned about the health benefits of tap water, many people buy bottled water instead.  Often, however, bottled water does not contain much of any magnesium.

“The upshot of all this is that we cannot rely on drinking water to provide adequate magnesium. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for magnesium—that is, the amount required to prevent severe deficiency—is 420 mg a day for men and 320 mg a day for women. In cities with the highest magnesium water content, only 30% of the RDA can be obtained by drinking two liters of tap water a day.4 In most cities, only a meager 10-20% of the daily requirement can be obtained. That leaves 70–90% of the daily magnesium requirement that must be obtained from other sources. Since many people’s diets are also low in magnesium, the average American ingests substantially less magnesium than the RDA.”

Magnesium Deficiency: Is Your Bottled Water Killing You? – Life Extension.