Magnesium

[songbird]

Magnesium is a must. The diets of all Americans are likely to be deficient........Even a mild deficiency causes sensitiveness to noise, nervousness, irritability, mental depression, confusion, twitching, trembling, apprehension, insomnia, muscle weakness and cramps in the toes, feet, legs, or fingers.

Adelle Davis, Let's Have Healthy Children


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. 

Allergies, Chemical Sensitivities
Anxiety and Psychiatric Disorders
Aorta Strength
Asthma
Attention Deficit Disorder
Calcification of Soft Tissue Including Heart Valve
Diabetes

[songbird]

Symptoms of Magnesium Deficiency?
What are some of the symptoms of magnesium deficiency? They are outlined beautifully in a recent article by Dr. Sidney Baker. 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.

Symptoms involving impaired contraction of smooth muscles include constipation; urinary spasms; menstrual cramps; difficulty swallowing or a lump in the throat-especially provoked by eating sugar; photophobia, especially difficulty adjusting to oncoming bright headlights in the absence of eye disease; and loud noise sensitivity from stapedius muscle tension in the ear.

Other symptoms and signs of magnesium deficiency and discuss laboratory testing for this common condition. Continuing with the symptoms of magnesium deficiency, the central nervous system is markedly affected. Symptoms include insomnia, anxiety, hyperactivity and restlessness with constant movement, panic attacks, agoraphobia, and premenstrual irritability. Magnesium deficiency symptoms involving the peripheral nervous system include numbness, tingling, and other abnormal sensations, such as zips, zaps and vibratory sensations.

Magnesium Supplementation for Various Medical Disorders
Oral magnesium supplementation may be helpful to a wide variety of medical disorders including: high blood pressure, asthma, angina pectoris, coronary artery disease, cardiac arrhythmias, chronic fatigue syndrome, all types of musculoskeletal disorders, epilepsy, mitral valve prolapse, anxiety, panic disorder and many other medical and psychiatric conditions.

For many conditions, such as acute heart attacks, magnesium given by either an intramuscular injection or as an intravenous drip, is the preferred method of treatment. Studies show it reduces the death rate and complications of acute heart attacks. In spite of its low cost or perhaps as a result of its low cost, it is not yet given routinely to heart attack victims. Other patients, such as those suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome also seem to do better with magnesium given by injection. This may be due to the superior absorption of injectable magnesium or because high concentrations in the body are necessary for maximal therapeutic effects. In our office, we use injectable magnesium extensively, as part of our EDTA chelation bottle, and for many of the conditions I've mentioned previously.

http://www.healthy.net/scr/Article.asp?Id=541&xcntr=3

[songbird]

What foods provide magnesium?

Green vegetables such as spinach are good sources of magnesium because the center of the chlorophyll molecule (which gives green vegetables their color) contains magnesium. Some legumes (beans and peas), nuts and seeds, and whole, unrefined grains are also good sources of magnesium [5]. Refined grains are generally low in magnesium [4-5]. When white flour is refined and processed, the magnesium-rich germ and bran are removed. Bread made from whole grain wheat flour provides more magnesium than bread made from white refined flour. Tap water can be a source of magnesium, but the amount varies according to the water supply. Water that naturally contains more minerals is described as "hard". "Hard" water contains more magnesium than "soft" water.

Eating a wide variety of legumes, nuts, whole grains, and vegetables will help you meet your daily dietary need for magnesium. Selected food sources of magnesium are listed in Table 1.

Table 1: Selected food sources of magnesium [5]FOOD Milligrams (mg) %DV*
Halibut, cooked, 3 ounces 90 20
Almonds, dry roasted, 1 ounce  80 20
Cashews, dry roasted, 1 ounce 75 20
Soybeans, mature, cooked, ½ cup  75 20
Spinach, frozen, cooked, ½ cup 75 20
Nuts, mixed, dry roasted, 1 ounce 65 15
Cereal, shredded wheat, 2 rectangular biscuits 55 15
Oatmeal, instant, fortified, prepared w/ water, 1 cup 55 15
Potato, baked w/ skin, 1 medium 50 15
Peanuts, dry roasted, 1 ounce 50 15
Peanut butter, smooth, 2 Tablespoons 50 15
Wheat Bran, crude, 2 Tablespoons 45 10
Blackeyed Peas, cooked, ½ cup 45 10
Yogurt, plain, skim milk, 8 fluid ounces 45 10
Bran Flakes, ¾ cup 40 10
Vegetarian Baked Beans, ½ cup  40 10
Rice, brown, long-grained, cooked, ½ cup 40 10
Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, ½ cup  35 8
Avocado, California, ½ cup pureed  35 8
Kidney Beans, canned, ½ cup 35 8 
Pinto Beans, cooked, ½ cup 35 8
Wheat Germ, crude, 2 Tablespoons 35 8
Chocolate milk, 1 cup 33 8
Banana, raw, 1 medium 30 8
Milk Chocolate candy bar, 1.5 ounce bar 28 8
Milk, reduced fat (2%) or fat free, 1 cup  27 8
Bread, whole wheat, commercially prepared, 1 slice 25 6
Raisins, seedless, ¼ cup packed 25 6
Whole Milk, 1 cup  24 6
Chocolate Pudding, 4 ounce ready-to-eat portion 24 6