The Miracle of Magnesium

Image provided by Mick
Magnesium is a mineral that has many incredible health benefits. Studies have shown that magnesium is beneficial for: immunity, bone and heart health, kidney stone, stroke, depression, diabetes, high blood pressure and anxiety. Magnesium deficiency is becoming more common in industrialized countries such as the United States. Some of the reasons for the increase in magnesium deficiency is because of unhealthy diets (fast food and junk food), bad agriculture practices and the dependent of pharmaceutical drugs. If you are having constant leg cramps, twitchy eyelids or irregular heart beats, you may be suffering from magnesium deficiency. One of the reasons why people experience leg cramps when their body is low in magnesium is because magnesium is needed to relax muscle. Dr. Carolyn Dean believed that this is why magnesium is beneficial for PMS because it relaxes the muscle in the uterus. Magnesium is considered to be the fourth most abundant mineral in the human body. Therefore, it must be essential for health because it is found in many parts of the body.

There are many causes of magnesium deficiency. According to Dr. Carolyn Dean, people who drink coffee and alcohol, smoke, and eat too much sugar and protein have a higher chance of getting magnesium deficiency. She also mentioned that athletes may have a higher risk of magnesium deficiency because they exercise more than usually. Exercising on a regular basis can lead to a lot of sweating. Sweating is one of the ways that causes magnesium to expel from the body. Dr. Seelig, an international magnesium specialist, suggested that a 220 pound male athlete should take 600 to 1000 milligram of magnesium per day. A 150 pound female athlete should take 400 to 680 milligram per day. For people who don’t exercise regularly, the doses from above should be cut by 150 milligram.

An important characteristic of magnesium is its ability to help keep bone strong. More than half of the body’s magnesium is found in the skeletal system. Even though the skeletal system is mostly made of calcium, it needs assistant from magnesium to utilize calcium and to prevent bone loss. One of the biggest misconceptions of calcium is the idea that cow milk is the best source of calcium. Most of the calcium in cow milk doesn’t get absorb by the body because it needs assistance from vitamin D and magnesium. The vitamin D in cow milk is usually synthetic and may do little to help calcium absorption. Magnesium is usually not found in milk which is needed to utilize calcium. Because milk lacks vitamin D and magnesium, when people drink milk most of its calcium passes through their system and goes down the toilet. If milk is the best source of calcium, then countries like the United States would have little or no cases of osteoporosis.

For more information about magnesium, I recommend visiting nutritionalmagnesium.org.

Magnesium benefits:

• Increases calcium absorption
• Helps strengthen bone
• Helps prevent kidney stone, depression, fatigue, arthritis
• Beneficial for heart and immune health
• Relaxes muscle which is great for PMS and muscle cramps
• Helps reduce stress
• Increases energy production

Food rich in magnesium (mg per 100 g serving): (Source: The Magnesium Miracle, pg. 255; Carolyn Dean, M.D.)

• Kelp: 760 mg
• Wheat bran: 490 mg
• Wheat germ: 336 mg
• Almonds: 270 mg
• Cashews: 267 mg
• Molasses: 258 mg
• Buckwheat: 229 mg
• Brazil nuts: 225 mg
• Filberts: 184 mg
• Peanuts: 175 mg

Related Posts:

• Heart Nutrition: Top Ten Nutrients
• Calcium Rich Foods