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Dr. Dean's Blog

This is my second magnesium blog this week, but I just couldn't help myself. The arrhythmia post, Real Rhythm and Blues Without the Magnesium on Friday May 28, 2010 prompted a number of email responses.

One doctor wanted to make sure that my open-mindedness didn't mean that my brains were falling out. He was reassured and wanted to share his magnesium story.

He said: "You must have a million magnesium stories by now, but I cannot miss responding to your report about the meeting on arrhythmia disorders. I am an 82 year-old retired M.D. (psychiatry). Several years ago I had a bout of atrial fibrillation, which fortunately resolved, but I remained subject to constant extreme arrhythmia for a couple of years. My internist diagnosed premature ventricular contractions and said they were a nuisance but harmless. A cardiologist confirmed my condition with 24-hour monitoring and wanted to put me on Encainide, Flecainade or Amiodarone. After reading about these drugs I said I was not ready to take them, at which point he left the room. Never a word from him or my internist about magnesium. I vaguely remembered about electrolytes and arrhythmia and told my internist I would like to try magnesium. His entire response was "it will just give you diarrhea." But I put myself on magnesium oxide (250 mg at first, then more) and after a short while -- this was well over a year ago - the arrhythmia disappeared completely and has not returned. I have not had diarrhea. Both doctors are respected and experienced practitioners in a large city. So carry on!"

If my heart is palpitating (which it does if I don't take enough
magnesium) how can three or four medications possibly help? And, by the way, I don't have 100 years to wait until enough studies prove to allopathic medicine's satisfaction that magnesium is safe to take for heart palpitations!

The moral of this blog is for you to do your own research and take some responsibility for your own health and try to convince your doctor to work with you. I hope you don't run into one particular doctor who equated my "promotion" of magnesium with "snake venom, poison ivy, beef, ozone and radon." He definitely needs to read my magnesium book and realize that nutrients like magnesium are deficient in the diet and are never going to be found in prescription medication.

Watch for a future post on The Death of Hope, which is what drug companies seem to be teaching medical students and doctors these days! Carolyn Dean, MD

Magnesium - An Anti-Inflammatory Mineral

We've been talking forever about the great need in most people for more adequate magnesium levels and all the ways the body utilizes it. Here's a reason you might consider magnesium if you are post-menopausal.

A new study of 3,713 post-menopausal women shows that magnesium is a powerful anti-inflammatory nutrient. Each 100 mg of magnesium per day was associated with a significant reduction in various inflammatory markers.

Fifty years ago, when people couldn't sleep they would often resort to alcohol in one form or another to help them relax.

Today, most know that alcohol isn't the answer. Instead, they go to their doctor and become addicted to sleeping pills.

Did you know that benzodiazepine sleep drugs used to have a label that warned they were only to be taken for two weeks?

Ativan, one of the most common benzos was first approved in 1977. Yet Medscape admits that "The efficacy of lorazepam for long-term use (i.e., longer than 4 months) as an anxiolytic has not been evaluated."

Come on! They've had over three decades to do a long term-study.

Do you want to know the reason why they haven't done a study?

They don't want you to know that Ativan, Xanax, Valium and Librium are highly addictive. I've watched patients suffer benzo withdrawal -- it's a nightmare!

There are about 100 drugs approved for insomnia by the FDA. Probably none have been studied for long-term effects.

At least with the alcoholic nightcap, people knew what they were taking.

Of course, even better than drugs and alcohol is magnesium. Yes, it's my solution for everything! If you're suffering a deficiency of magnesium you can't expect your muscles to relax.
That's why, before any other sleeping remedy (natural or otherwise), I recommend you make sure you're getting as much magnesium as you need. Don't assume 500 mg is enough. You may need 1,000 mg!

Either way, try magnesium before anything else.

Dr. Carolyn Dean, MD, ND


Magnesium Insights From a Nutritionist

Magnesium deficiency can affect virtually every organ system of the body. With regard to skeletal muscle, one may experience twitches, cramps, muscle tension, muscle soreness, including back aches, neck pain, tension headaches and jaw joint (or TMJ) dysfunction. Also, one may  experience chest tightness or a peculiar sensation that he can't take a deep breath. Sometimes a person may sigh a lot. -Dr. Sidney Baker

I am not a physician, I am a clinical nutritionist and can not and do not prescribe. The information provided here is for educational purposes only.

If you are under the care of a physician for any of the conditions listed here, please conduct your own further research and fully inform your physician of your intention to alter your magnesium intake. If you are taking any medications, prescription or non-prescription, check with a health care professional before using magnesium supplements.

If you are currently experiencing any type of kidney condition or disease, do not use magnesium supplements without the full knowledge and approval of your physician.

Magnesium is necessary for life and can protect the kidney from disease, but if kidney damage has already occurred magnesium supplementation could be harmful, even life threatening.  

The current RDA, 350 mg. per day, is considered to be sufficient but there is mounting evidence that this figure is lower than optimal intake and that this low level of magnesium contributes to all of the listed degenerative diseases. Until a better way is devised to determine optimal total body magnesium (TBM) consider supplementation and watch for results.

Magnesium has been consistently depleted in our soils. It has been further depleted in plants by the use of potassium and phosphorus-laden fertilizers which alter the plant's ability to uptake magnesium. Water from deep wells supplies additional magnesium not found in food, but surface water, our common source of supply, lacks magnesium. Food processing removes magnesium. Broiling, steaming and boiling remove magnesium into the water or drippings. High carbohydrate and high fat diets increase the need for magnesium as does physical and mental stress. Diuretic medications and insulin further deplete total body magnesium. As we age, magnesium uptake may be impaired. Dieting reduces intake of already low levels of magnesium intake.

As you go through this list you will be amazed, as I was, at how many conditions and diseases are clinically tied to magnesium deficiency. Blood tests for magnesium deficiency are irrelevant and unusable. These levels do not reflect total body magnesium (TBM). Magnesium levels of bone and intracellular levels of magnesium are what tell the true status of TBM.

Doing your own research on Medline will bring fruitful results. Try a search like 'magnesium and osteoporosis' or 'magnesium and sleep' or 'magnesium and anxiety or stress'.

Magnesium is a critical element in 325+ biochemical reactions in the human body.

Research in France and several other European countries gives a clue concerning the role of magnesium plays in the transmission of hormones (such as insulin, thyroid, estrogen, testosterone, DHEA, etc.), neurotransmitters (such as dopamine, catecholamines, serotonin, GABA, etc.), and minerals and mineral electrolytes. 

This research concludes that it is magnesium status that controls cell membrane potential  and through this means controls uptake and release of many hormones, nutrients and neurotransmitters. It is magnesium that controls the fate of potassium and calcium in the body. If magnesium is insufficient, potassium and calcium will be lost in the urine and calcium will be deposited in the soft tissues (kidneys, arteries, joints, brain, etc.)

Magnesium protects the cell from aluminum, mercury, lead, cadmium, beryllium and nickel. Evidence is mounting that low levels of magnesium contribute to the heavy metal deposition in the brain that precedes Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's. It is probable that low total body magnesium contributes to heavy metal toxicity in children and is a participant in the etiology of learning disorders. 

Deficiency (from low dietary intake or excess loss) is clinically associated with:

ADD/ADHD

Alzheimer's

Angina

Anxiety disorders

Arrhythmia

Arthritis- Rheumatoid and Osteoarthritis

Asthma

Autism

Auto immune disorders- all types

Cavities

Cerebral Palsy- in children from magnesium deficient mothers

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Congestive Heart Disease

Constipation

Crooked teeth- narrow jaw- in children from magnesium deficient mothers

Depression

Diabetes- Type I and II

Eating disorders- Bulimia, Anorexia

Fibromyalgia

Gut disorders- including peptic ulcer, Crohn's disease, colitis, food allergy

Heart Disease- Arteriosclerosis, high cholesterol, high triglycerides

Heart Disease- in infants born to magnesium deficient mothers

High Blood Pressure

Hypoglycemia

Impaired athletic performance

Infantile Seizure- in children from magnesium deficient mothers

Insomnia

Kidney Stones

Lou Gehrig's Disease

Migraines- including cluster type

Mitral Valve Prolapse

Multiple Sclerosis

Muscle cramps

Muscle weakness, fatigue

Myopia- in children from magnesium deficient mothers

Obesity- especially obesity associated with high carbohydrate diets

Osteoporosis- just adding magnesium reversed bone loss

Parkinson's Disease

PMS- including menstrual pain and irregularities

PPH- Primary Pulmonary Hypertension

Raynaud's

SIDS- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Stroke

Syndrome X- insulin resistance

Thyroid disorders- low, high and auto-immune; low magnesium reduces T4

Other conditions are also associated with chronic and acute low magnesium intake and further research is continuing to confirm relationships. 

The following substances and conditions reduce total body magnesium:

Alcohol- all forms cause significant losses

Amphetamines/Cocaine

Burns- with large surface area

Calcium- high levels block magnesium absorption

Carbohydrates- especially white sugar, high fructose corn syrup, white flour

Chronic pain- any cause

Coffee- significant losses

Cyclosporin- extra magnesium can protect from side-effects

Diabetes- magnesium spills with sugar in the urine

Diarrhea- any cause

Dieting- stress plus lowered intake

Diuretics- even potassium sparing diuretics do not spare magnesium

Insulin- whether from using insulin or from hyperinsulinemia

Over-training- extreme athletic physical conditioning/training

Phentermine / Fenfluramine

Sodas- especially cola type sodas, both diet and regular

Sodium- high salt intake

Stress- physical and mental- anything that gets your fight or flight reaction

Surgery

Sweat

If your stool becomes loose it does not mean you have adequate magnesium. You may need to do a series of experiments with different types, timing (with and without food; 2,3 or 4 times a day) and/or amounts (100-200 mg. per dose, try the higher first and the lower if you encounter a problem.) You may need more than the daily requirement initially to get expected results.

Try to keep all doses at not more than 300-400 mg. each. 100-200 mg at a time work more efficiently. Some clients have experienced sleep difficulties when taking magnesium late in the day as magnesium can contribute to energy. If this happens to you confine your supplementation to earlier hours.
Is it worth the hassle? I am sorry if this seems too difficult. It is worth the energy.

In a recent study analyzing the diet of 564 adult Americans, both male and female, the average intake of magnesium was less than two-thirds of the RDA for men and less than 50% of the RDA for women. This means that men, on average, are getting under 200 mg. magnesium daily and women get under 150 mg. per day. When you take into consideration the current RDA is less than half of the probable adequate amount of magnesium you begin to see the scope of the deficiency problem. 

- Crispin Sullivan

Magnesium Chloride for Health & Rejuvenation

Magnesium is nothing short of a miracle mineral in its healing effect on a wide range of diseases as well as in its ability to rejuvenate the aging body. We know that it is essential for many enzyme reactions, especially in regard to cellular energy production, for the health of the brain and nervous system and also for healthy teeth and bones. However, it may come as a surprise that in the form of magnesium chloride it is also an impressive infection fighter.

The first prominent researcher to investigate and promote the antibiotic effects of magnesium was a French surgeon, Prof. Pierre Delbet MD. In 1915 he was looking for a solution to cleanse wounds of soldiers, because he found that traditionally used antiseptics actually damaged tissues and encouraged infections instead of preventing them. In all his tests magnesium chloride solution was by far the best. Not only was it harmless for tissues, but it also greatly increased leukocyte activity and phagocytosis, the destruction of microbes.

Later Prof. Delbet also performed experiments with the internal applications of magnesium chloride and found it to be a powerful immune-stimulant. In his experiments phagocytosis increased by up to 333%. This means after magnesium chloride intake the same number of white blood cells destroyed up to three times more microbes than beforehand.

Gradually Prof. Delbet found magnesium chloride to be beneficial in a wide range of diseases. These included diseases of the digestive tract such as colitis and gall bladder problems, Parkinson's disease, tremors and muscle cramps; acne, eczema, psoriasis, warts and itching skin; impotence, prostatic hypertrophy, cerebral and circulatory problems; asthma, hay fever, urticaria and anaphylactic reactions. Hair and nails became stronger and healthier and patients had more energy.

Prof. Delbet also found a very good preventive effect on cancer and cured precancerous conditions such as leukoplasia, hyperkeratosis and chronic mastitis. Epidemiological studies confirmed that regions with magnesium-rich soil had less cancer than those with low magnesium levels.

Another French doctor, A. Neveu, cured several diphtheria patients with magnesium chloride within two days. He also published 15 cases of poliomyelitis that were cured within days if treatment was started immediately, or within months if paralysis had already progressed. Neveu also found magnesium chloride effective with asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia and emphysema; pharyngitis, tonsillitis, hoarseness, common cold, influenza, whooping cough, measles, rubella, mumps, scarlet fever; poisoning, gastro-enteritis, boils, abscesses, whitlow, infected wounds and osteomyelitis.

In more recent years Dr Vergini and others have confirmed these earlier results and have added more diseases to the list of successful uses: acute asthma attacks, shock, tetanus, herpes zoster, acute and chronic conjunctivitis, optic neuritis, rheumatic diseases, many allergic diseases, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and beneficial effects in cancer therapy. In all of these cases magnesium chloride had been used and gave much better results than other magnesium compounds.

Magnesium for Nerves

Magnesium has a calming effect on the nervous system. With this, it is frequently used to promote good sleep. But more importantly, it can be used to calm irritated and over-excited nerves. This is especially useful with epileptic seizures, convulsions in pregnant women and the 'shakes' in alcoholism.

Magnesium levels are generally low in alcoholics, contributing or causing many of their health problems. If magnesium levels are low, the nerves lose control over muscle activity, respiration and mental processes. Nervous fatigue, tics and twitches, tremors, irritability, hypersensitivity, muscle spasms, restlessness, anxiety, confusion, disorientation and irregular heartbeat all respond to increased magnesium levels.

A common phenomenon of magnesium deficiency is a sharp muscle reaction to an unexpected loud noise. 'Memory pills' have been marketed that consist mainly of magnesium.

Many of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease can be overcome with high magnesium supplementation, shaking can be prevented and rigidity eased. With preeclampsia pregnant women may develop convulsions, nausea, dizziness and headaches. In hospitals this is treated with magnesium infusions. Because of its strong relaxing effect, magnesium helps not only to have a better sleep but is also useful in overcoming headaches and migraines. Even the number of suicides are linked to magnesium deficiency. The lower the magnesium content in soil and water in a given region, the higher are the rates of suicides.

Epilepsy is marked by abnormally low magnesium levels in the blood, spinal fluid and brain, causing hyper excitability in regions of the brain. There are many reported causes of epilepsy greatly improving or disappearing with magnesium supplementation. In a trial with 30 epileptics 450 mg of magnesium supplied daily successfully controlled seizures.

Another study found that the lower the magnesium blood levels the more severe was the epilepsy. In most cases magnesium works best in combination with vitamin B6 and zinc. In sufficient concentrations, magnesium inhibits convulsions by limiting or slowing the spread of the electric discharge from an isolated group of brain cells to the rest of the brain. Animal studies show that even the initial burst of firing nerve cells that starts an epileptic attack can be suppressed with magnesium.

Magnesium for the Heart

Adequate levels of magnesium are essential for the heart muscle. Those who die from heart attacks have very low magnesium but high calcium levels in their heart muscles. Patients with coronary heart disease who have been treated with large amounts of magnesium survived better than those with drug treatment. Magnesium dilates the arteries of the heart and lowers cholesterol and fat levels.

High calcium levels, on the other hand, constrict the heart arteries and increase the risk of heart attacks. Calcium deposits in the walls of the arteries contribute to the development of arteriosclerosis. The arteries become hard and rigid, thereby restricting the blood flow and causing high blood pressure. In addition, such inelastic blood vessels may easily rupture and cause strokes. Countries with the highest calcium to magnesium ratios (high calcium and low magnesium levels) in soil and water have the highest incidence of cardiovascular disease. At the top of the list is Australia.

Worldwide the intake of magnesium has been lowered and that of calcium increased because of the heavy use of fertilisers high in calcium and low in magnesium. With this, the intake of magnesium from our food has steadily declined in the last fifty years, while the use of calcium-rich fertilisers and cardiovascular disease have greatly increased at the same time.

Diabetics are prone to atherosclerosis, fatty degeneration of the liver and heart disease. Diabetics have low magnesium tissue levels. They often develop eye problems - retinopathy. Diabetics with the lowest magnesium levels had the most severe retinopathy. The lower the magnesium content of their water, the higher is the death rate of diabetics from cardiovascular disease. In an American study the death rate due to diabetes was four times higher in areas with low magnesium water levels as compared to areas with high levels of magnesium in the water.

Magnesium for Healthy Bones & Teeth

Medical authorities claim that the widespread incidence of osteoporosis and tooth decay in western countries can be prevented with a high calcium intake. However, published evidence reveals that the opposite is true. Asian and African populations with a very low intake of about 300 mg of calcium daily have very little osteoporosis. Bantu women with an intake of 200 to 300 mg of calcium daily have the lowest incidence of osteoporosis in the world. In western countries with a high intake of dairy products the average calcium intake is about 1000 mg. The higher the calcium intake, especially in the form of cows' milk products (except butter) the higher the incidence of osteoporosis.

Calcium, magnesium and phosphorus levels are kept in a seesaw balance by the parathyroid hormones. If calcium goes up, magnesium goes down and vice versa. With a low magnesium intake, calcium goes out of the bones to increase tissue levels, while a high magnesium intake causes calcium to go out of the tissues into the bones. A high phosphorus intake without a high calcium or magnesium intake causes calcium to leach from the bones and leave the body with the urine. A high phosphorus intake with high calcium and magnesium leads to bone mineralisation.

Dr Barnett, an orthopaedic surgeon practised in two different U.S. counties with very different soil and water mineral levels. In Dallas County with a high calcium and low magnesium concentration osteoporosis and hip fractures were very common, while in Hereford with high magnesium and low calcium these were nearly absent. In Dallas County the magnesium content of bones was 0.5% while in Hereford it was 1.76%. In another comparison the magnesium content in bones of osteoporosis sufferers was 0.62% while in healthy individuals it was 1.26%.

The same applies for healthy teeth. In a New Zealand study it was found that caries-resistant teeth had on average twice the amount of magnesium as caries-prone teeth. The average concentration of magnesium phosphate in bones is given as about 1%, in teeth about 1.5%, in elephant tusks 2% and in the teeth of carnivorous animals made to crush bones it is 5%. In regard to the strength of bones and teeth think of calcium as chalk and of magnesium as superglue. The magnesium superglue binds and transforms the chalk into superior bones and teeth.

Cancer and Aging

Many studies have shown an increased cancer rate in regions with low magnesium levels in soil and drinking water. In Egypt the cancer rate was only about 10% of that in Europe and America. In the rural fellah it was practically non-existent. The main difference was an extremely high magnesium intake of 2.5 to 3 g in these cancer-free populations, ten times more than in most western countries.

Dr Seeger and Dr Budwig in Germany have shown that cancer is mainly the result of a faulty energy metabolism in the powerhouses of the cells, the mitochondria. A similar decline in energy production takes place when we age. The great majority of enzymes involved in the production of energy require magnesium. A healthy cell has high magnesium and low calcium levels. Up to 30% of the energy of cells is used to pump calcium out of the cells. The higher the calcium level and the lower the magnesium level in the extra-cellular fluid, the harder is it for cells to pump the calcium out. The result is that with low magnesium levels the mitochondria gradually calcify and energy production decreases. We may say that our biochemical age is determined by the ratio of magnesium to calcium within our cells. Test with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome showed that magnesium supplementation resulted in better energy levels.

We use our muscles by selectively contracting them. On the biochemical level muscle contraction is triggered by calcium ions flowing into muscle cells. To relax the muscle calcium is pumped out again. However, as we age, more and more calcium remains trapped in the muscles and these become more or less permanently contracted, leading to increasing muscle tension and spasms. Together with calcification of the joints, this is the typical rigidity and inflexibility of old age. The higher our intake of calcium relative to magnesium, the faster do we calcify and age. Most of the excess calcium in our diet ends up in our soft tissues and around joints leading to calcification with arthritic deformations, arteriosclerosis, cataracts, kidney stones and senility. Dr Selye proved experimentally that biochemical stress can lead to the pathological calcification of almost any organ.. The more stress, the more calcification, the more rapid the aging.

The Rejuvenation Mineral

In addition to its anti-microbial and immune-stimulating properties, both magnesium as well as chloride have other important functions in keeping us young and healthy. Chloride, of course, is required to produce a large quantity of gastric acid each day and is also needed to stimulate starch-digesting enzymes. Magnesium is the mineral of rejuvenation and prevents the calcification of our organs and tissues that is characteristic of the old-age related degeneration of our body.

Using other magnesium salts is less advantageous because these have to be converted into chlorides in the body anyway. We may use magnesium as oxide or carbonate, but then we need to produce additional hydrochloric acid to absorb them.

Many aging individuals, especially with chronic diseases who desperately need more magnesium, cannot produce sufficient hydrochloric acid and then cannot absorb the oxide or carbonate. Epsom salt is magnesium sulphate. It is soluble but not well absorbed and acts mainly as a laxative. Chelated magnesium is well absorbed but much more expensive and lacks the beneficial contribution of the chloride ions. Orotates are good but very expensive for the amount of magnesium that they provide and both orotates and chelates seem to lack the infection-fighting potential of the magnesium chloride.

Calcium and magnesium are opposites in their effects on our body structure. As a general rule, the softer our body structure, the more we need calcium, while the more rigid and inflexible it is, the less calcium and the more magnesium we need. Magnesium can reverse the age-related degenerative calcification of our body structure and with this help us to rejuvenate.

Young women, children and most of all babies have soft body structures and smooth skin with low calcium and high magnesium levels in their cells and soft tissues. They generally need high calcium intakes. This is the biochemistry of youth.

As we age and most pronounced in old men and post-menopausal women, we become more and more inflexible. The arteries harden to cause arteriosclerosis, the skeletal system calcifies to cause rigidity with fusion of the spine and joints, kidneys and other organs and glands increasingly calcify and harden with stone formation, calcification in the eyes causes cataracts and even the skin hardens, becoming tough and wrinkled. In this way calcium is in the same league as oxygen and free radicals, while magnesium works together with hydrogen and the antioxidants to keep our body structure soft.

 A gynaecologist reported that one of the first organs to calcify are the ovaries, leading to pre-menstrual tension. When he put his patients on a high magnesium intake, their PMT vanished and they felt and looked much younger. Most of these women said that they lost weight, increased their energy, felt less depressed and enjoyed sex again much more than before. For men it is equally beneficial for problems arising from an enlarged prostate gland. Symptoms commonly improve after a period of supplementation with magnesium chloride.

Increased magnesium intake has also been shown to be an effective way to prevent or dissolve kidney stones and gall bladder stones, the latter best in combination with a high lecithin intake. Activation of digestive enzymes and bile production as well as helping to restore a healthy intestinal flora may be the factors that make magnesium chloride so beneficial in normalising our digestive processes, reducing any digestive discomfort, bloating and offensive stool odours. This is in line with a reduction of all offensive body odours, including underarm and foot odour.

Prof. Delbet used to give magnesium chloride solution routinely to his patients with infections and for several days before any planned surgery and was surprised by many of these patients experiencing euphoria and bursts of energy. Magnesium chloride supposedly has a specific action on the tetanus virus and its effects on the body. It even seems to be protective against snakebites. Guinea pigs did not die after normally lethal injections of snake venom, and a rabbit survived a poisonous snakebite when given magnesium chloride solution.

In addition to being the most essential mineral in our cellular energy production, magnesium is also needed for the ingested B-vitamins to become metabolically active. Magnesium is also essential for the synthesis of nucleic acids, for cell division to occur, for DNA and RNA synthesis of our genetic material, for protein as well as fatty acid synthesis. Unfortunately magnesium deficiency at a cellular level where it counts is not easy to diagnose, as serum magnesium levels do not correlate to muscle or cellular magnesium levels. Instead of trying difficult tissue magnesium analysis to find out if your health problems may be due to low magnesium levels, it is much easier and more effective just to take more magnesium and see what happens.        

Researchers at the Lille Pasteur Institute found in a prospective study with over 4,000 men over an 18-year follow up period that high levels of magnesium were associated with a 50 percent decrease in cancer mortality, and a 40 percent decrease in cardiovascular and all-cause mortality (Zinc, Copper and Magnesium and Risks for All-Cause Cancer, and Cardiovascular Mortality Epidemiology, Vol. 17, No. 3, May 2006, epidem.com).

Rejuvenation by ingesting more magnesium is a slow process, especially as the amount of magnesium that we can take is limited by its laxative effect and the need to keep it in a reasonable balance with the calcium and phosphorus intake.  

The other problem is that spastic muscles have a poor blood and lymph circulation, which makes it difficult for the ingested magnesium to dissolve and flush out the tissue and joint calcifications. Therefore, we can greatly speed up the rejuvenation process by increasing the circulation through permanently contracted muscles as with deep tissue massage, hot and cold water applications, relaxation exercises, lymphasising as well as packs and rubs with magnesium chloride or Epsom salts.  

Deficiency Symptoms & Increased Requirements:

CIRCULATION: angina, arteriosclerosis/atherosclerosis, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, heart infarcts,  strokes, tachycardia (fast pulse), thrombosis. 

DIGESTIVE SYSTEM: colic, constipation, chronic diarrhoea, malabsorption, pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas). 

MUSCLES: backache, convulsions, cramps, increased excitability/jumpiness, numbness, nystagmus (rapid eye movements), spasms, tense/tight muscles, tingling, tremors.

NERVOUS SYSTEM: apathy, confusion, depression, disorientation, epilepsy, hallucinations, irritability, mental illness, multiple sclerosis, nervousness, neuritis paranoia, Parkinson's disease, poor memory, senility.

GENERAL: alcoholism, arthritis, body odours, broken bones, calcification in any organ, cancer, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, diabetes, eclampsia, headaches, infections and inflammations, liver cirrhosis, lupus erythematosus, migraines, old age, prostate problems, rickets, rigidity - mental and physical, skin wrinkled and tough, stiffness, stone-formation in gall bladder or kidneys, thyroid overactive.  

Walter Last

Signifcant Magnesium Deficiency in Depression

Abstract

Magnesium levels were tested in a total of 457 patients suffering either chronic primary depression or chronic pain with depression. The magnesium load or tolerance test is considerably more reliable than serum, red blood cell, whole blood, or white blood cell magnesium levels. Virtually all significantly depressed patients are deficient in magnesium. Clinicians should consider the potential of therapeutic benefit from magnesium replacement therapy in chronic depression. Although magnesium deficiency has been reported in depression, this association is not widely recognized (1).

Over the past 7 years we have investigated magnesium levels extensively in patients with primary depression and chronic pain with depression. The current report summarizes the frequency of magnesium deficiency in depressed patients as well as the greater accuracy of the magnesium load test over various blood levels for measuring metabolic competency of this critical mineral.

Patients and Methods Testing Procedure

All depressed patients were diagnosed by a positive Zung Test for Depression (2) as well as the MMPI and clinical evaluations. The chronic pain patients labeled depressed were those who showed depression on the Zung test.

In 475 patients seen for either chronic depression or chronic pain with depression, magnesium levels were assessed. Three hundred fifty women and 107 men had blood drawn and sent by overnight mail to Meridian Valley Chemical Lab in Kent, Washington for cell magnesium levels. They ranged from 22 to 78 years of age. Twenty-six patients had whole blood magnesium levels done at another reference lab, and 26 patients had red blood cell magnesium levels done at a third reference lab.

One hundred of the depressed patients who had standard cell magnesium tests (Ref. 3) also underwent magnesium load testing to allow comparison of the cell magnesium test with the somewhat more commonly recommended magnesium load test (4).

Results

All 100 of these patients retained well over 50% of the magnesium load; indeed they commonly retained 85% to 100%. An additional 46 chronic pain patients with depression also underwent magnesium load testing. Thirty-one of these were deficient; 15 were not. 

The magnesium load or tolerance test (3) is apparently much more likely to detect deficiency of magnesium than any blood test. Although the white blood cell magnesium test is much simpler to perform, it picks up deficiency on only 60% of those who are demonstrated to be deficient by magnesium load testing.

The red blood cell magnesium test and the whole blood magnesium test may pick up only about 50% of those who are deficient. Others have reported the extreme lack of usefulness of serum magnesium levels which reflect only the most serious magnesium deficiencies (5). Over the past 2 years we have used the buccal intracellular test for magnesium by Intracellular Diagnostics, Inc. and find it as reliable as the load test. 

The most striking finding is that all 100 of those patients with significant primary depression were deficient in magnesium by magnesium loading testing, although the white blood cell magnesium picked this up only 60% of the time.

Interestingly, in 47 chronic pain patients who were depressed, only 31 patients (67%) were deficient by magnesium load testing. Obviously, there will be some depressed patients who are not deficient in magnesium, as seen in 15 chronic pain patients who were depressed but had normal magnesium load tests. Nevertheless, in those who suffer from significant depression, magnesium deficiency appears to be virtually universal. Even if the 46 chronic pain patients with depression are included, of 146 depressed patients who underwent magnesium load testing, 131 or over 89.7%, were magnesium deficient.

The finding of significant magnesium deficiency in depressed patients is of considerable interest, both scientifically and clinically. Magnesium is the natural calcium channel blocker. Clinically, magnesium deficiency has been associated with cardiac arrythymia, hypertension, myocardial infarction, strokes, anxiety, migraine, panic attacks, epilepsy, osteoporosis, immune dysfunction, as well as chronic fatigue, acute musculoskeletal pain and reflex sympathetic dystrophy; all illness with high incidence of concomitant depression. (6-14).

Magnesium is significantly affected by blood levels of lithium, calcium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium. Intestinal absorption of magnesium is inhibited by high levels of intestinal calcium, fat, protein pr phosphorus. Urinary excretion of magnesium is increased by most diuretics as well as by stress, epinephrine, nonepinephrine and caffeine. All lead to urinary magnesium loss (15-18).

Major potential dietary sources of magnesium are hard water; dark green, leafy vegetables; carrots; beets; sesame seeds and legumes. Magnesium deficiency may result in inadequate intake of magnesium; high calcium intake; high intakes of sodium, protein, fat, potassium, wheat, alcohol, sugar, or caffeine; diarrhea; diuretics; laxative abuse; severe stress (11,8).

Interestingly, it has been demonstrated that 70% of men and 80% of women do not take in even the daily recommended allowance of magnesium (11). And, as would be expected, the nutrition of depressed patients is usually very inadequate.

The neurological and metabolic consequences of magnesium deficiency are widespread. Magnesium is a major regulator of all membrane potentials, as well as neuronal and muscular tone. Thus, magnesium deficiency prevents normal nerve cell stability.

Magnesium also plays a synergistic role with taurine, both of them assisting in stabilization of cellular membrane potential as well as being natural calcium channel blockers (19). The clinical use of calcium channel blockers in neurological disorders such as migraine may be obviated with far less side effects by administration of magnesium taurate.

Our personal clinical studies have indicated that at least 78% of chronically depressed patients are deficient in taurine (Ref.20). With an even higher incidence of magnesium deficiency, it is easy to understand some of the many symptoms accompanying depression.

Although intravenous magnesium, 2 grams per day for 5 days in 2 weeks, appears in our experience to assist significantly in the relief of depression, additional studies are needed in which depressed patients are treated only with magnesium taurate orally. It may well be that magnesium taurate alone will be as effective as the average antidepressant which helps no more than 50% of depressed patients (21). Magnesium taurate is less expensive and has virtually no risk, as long as renal function is normal.

Richard H. Cox, Ph.D.,C. Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D. Roger K. Cady, M.D., Diane Veehoff, R.N., M.S.W., Ph.D., Mariann Burnetti Awell, PsyD., Rita Houston, L.P.N.

References
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