The Key to Good Health – Magnesium!

magnesium

It is astonishing how little people know about the role of magnesium, and how readily they overlook information that can prove life-saving.
There are several mineral elements in the human body that play a key, fundamental role in maintaining good health and the proper functioning of the body’s cells – zinc, calcium, selenium, magnesium.

According to views that still prevail in a number of medical circles, the most important and most frequently lacking element in the body today is calcium. As so often happens in science, however, the apparent prominence of a given quantity leads to a series of incorrect conclusions with unpleasant consequences. The main problem is that, in the absence of sufficient magnesium, an increased intake of calcium through dairy products (which are themselves the greatest mistake of all) and supplements does not result in an optimal overall mineral balance. As a result, calcium salts are deposited in the form of spurs in the joints, stones in the internal organs, and plaques and clots in the blood vessels; persistent constipation appears, or constipation alternating with diarrhoea; neuromuscular excitability rises to acutely painful levels… Magnesium is absolutely essential for the body to be able to process and absorb the required amounts of calcium!

The mineral magnesium occurs in various compounds in nature. Magnesium plays a fundamental role in our energy balance and in more than 325 enzyme processes. Just as the human body needs water, so it naturally consumes magnesium every day, yet it has no system for storing this mineral.

It is often said that the modern world and the lives we lead today are one continuous stream of stress. Everyday stress increases the body’s need for magnesium. It is well known that the stress hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline constrict the blood vessels and cause a rise in blood pressure and pulse rate. An insufficient intake of magnesium during periods of stress and intense mental strain can provoke a magnesium deficiency in the body, which manifests itself in exhaustion, tension and irritability. And so we find ourselves in a vicious circle – we live in constant stress brought on by our environment, and this stress causes a magnesium deficiency. In turn, the lack of magnesium exhausts the body and leads to… yet more stress.

Our modern way of life, our diet and our psycho-emotional state definitely increase the body’s consumption of magnesium, but the sad fact is that we are utterly unprepared and uninformed as to how to replenish it! Magnesium is very easily excreted through sweat and urine, while the consumption of excessive amounts of sugary products and alcohol further promotes the loss of both magnesium and calcium. It turns out that our bodies are under constant stress because of this perpetual magnesium deficiency!

So what exactly does magnesium do?

Enzymes are protein molecules that drive every chemical reaction in a living organism. Without magnesium, hundreds of these enzymes simply cannot do their job. The most important enzyme reaction is linked to the creation of so-called high-energy bonds through the activation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) – the principal molecule required for storing energy.

Magnesium takes part in the metabolism and breakdown of glucose, fatty acids and amino acids during energy exchange, and supports the formation of muscle and liver glycogen from the glucose carried by the blood.

Magnesium helps to maintain a healthy immune and endocrine system, keeps the heart rhythm steady, muscle function normal and bones strong. It supports the absorption and metabolism of many other minerals and vitamins, of most hormones, and also of acetylcholine and nitric oxide, through which numerous functions of the nerves, blood vessels and the immune system are regulated.

In the cell nucleus, more than half of the magnesium is closely bound to nucleic acids and protein substances. Magnesium is needed to preserve the integrity of the DNA double helix, which carries genetic information and the code for the various proteins that build every living structure in the body.

The “invasion” of heavy metals and other toxins into our daily lives, so characteristic of the modern age, can be successfully kept in check by improving magnesium intake. This also applies to a large proportion of carcinogens – if not as a treatment, then magnesium is particularly promising as part of a natural approach to preventing various benign and malignant growths.

Magnesium is an anti-stress mineral that has a normalising effect on the state of the entire nervous system, and especially on its higher centres (in combination with the B-group vitamins). This is why, when it is lacking, a person tires quickly, becomes irritable and sleeps poorly, while women become tearful. Noise seems too loud, light too bright, emotional reactions are exaggerated, the heart pounds as though it will burst, and the brain is far too agitated to fall asleep…

Magnesium can lower the level of cholesterol in the blood and protect against blocked arteries and veins, as well as against life-threatening arrhythmia. It also has a lasting positive effect on the condition of the reproductive system. In pregnant women it simultaneously safeguards the mother’s health and prevents underdevelopment of the foetus (together with folic and pantothenic acids). A healthy cell has a high magnesium content and a low calcium content.

In theory, our biochemical age could be determined by the ratio of magnesium to calcium in our cells. In a certain sense, magnesium is the mineral of rejuvenation, protecting against the calcification of organs and tissues that is characteristic of the age-related degeneration of the body’s machinery.

In arithmetic terms, the body of an adult contains 30-50 grams of magnesium. Compared with calcium, for example (around 1 kg), this seems very little. Magnesium, however, is extremely dynamic: it is absorbed quickly, but it is also easily excreted, as we have already noted, so it requires a constant supply of “top-ups”. Thus, when it comes to daily requirements, calcium rarely needs to exceed 800-1000 mg per day, whereas for magnesium the prevailing recommendations (which a number of specialists consider to be understated) range from 400 to 600 mg.

A sad fact: two thirds of people today suffer from magnesium deficiency without even suspecting it!

What are the causes:

– Eating on the go, as well as eating poor-quality food – refined, over-salted, over-fried and stale – together with a lack of raw plant foods. This both fails to provide sufficient magnesium intake and reduces the body’s ability to absorb it.

– Both occasional binge drinking and regular “moderate” alcohol consumption lead to serious magnesium deficiency. To varying degrees the same applies to tobacco, drugs and other environmental toxins – heavy metals, fluoride, pesticides and so on.

– The use of high doses and/or long-term use of calcium supplements, antibiotics, steroidal and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, laxatives, sedatives, insulin, cardiac glycosides, diuretics, cytostatics and other medicines, as well as contraceptive pills.

– One-sided fertilisation and the many other factors that have depleted our soils have had a negative impact on the magnesium content of foods, which has fallen several times over in recent decades.

– Last but not least – magnesium is used up particularly quickly in the stressful pace of modern life, often accompanied by rushing, insecurity, irritability and anxiety.

In people with diabetes, raised blood sugar levels lead to increased secretion (output) of urine. This increases the loss of magnesium and significantly raises the body’s need for this chemical element. In addition, magnesium affects the efficiency of insulin, which regulates blood sugar levels. For diabetics, absorbing sufficient magnesium is of the utmost importance. It is essential for the production, function and transport of insulin.

Magnesium is extremely important for children and adolescents, whose requirements are higher while they are growing. This chemical element plays a vital role in the normal physical and intellectual development of young people. Its positive effect on concentration and mental activity is also well known. Magnesium is of particular importance for the normal development of the body between the ages of 3 and 19.

Additional magnesium intake is also necessary for older people.
With advancing age, physical activity and the intake of nutrients decrease. The body’s need for magnesium does not decline with age, but remains high enough to make the absorption of additional amounts of magnesium necessary.

Here is a short list of specific conditions, illnesses and predispositions in which taking magnesium is especially important:

Cardiac conditions, premenstrual syndrome, prevention during pregnancy, protection against miscarriage, for pregnant and breastfeeding women, during puberty, for active athletes, for people who frequently use laxatives, diabetics, people with chronic diarrhoea, with eating disorders, those who often use diuretics, those following weight-loss diets, migraine, muscle pain, bone spurs, all kinds of skin conditions, for healthy skin, hair and nails, osteoporosis, diabetes and neuropathy, varicose veins, muscle cramps, chronic pain, hair loss, blood pressure problems, stroke, atherosclerosis, high cholesterol, apathy, depression.

And this was supposed to be a short list. It is not even complete. Do you realise just how important magnesium is for our health!?

How can we supply the body with magnesium, other than through food?

I. By intravenous injection. This is routine practice, for example after a heart attack, but of course it can only be administered under medical supervision.

II. Orally – by mouth. The drawback of this method is unwanted side effects such as diarrhoea and stomach pain.

III. Transdermally. This means absorption through the skin. It has long been known that the skin is able to take up all kinds of products and medicines. Think of painkillers absorbed through ointments. With transdermal application, the purity of the product is of key importance in preventing the unwanted absorption of harmful substances.

The last method described is the newest and most revolutionary, successfully tackling a whole host of medical conditions. Applied directly to the skin, magnesium chloride is absorbed through it and acts almost immediately on acute and chronic pain. Transdermal magnesium therapy is also ideal for athletes, who need large amounts of magnesium. Taken orally, magnesium is nowhere near as effective as when it is applied transdermally for treating injuries and tired muscles. Perhaps the greatest difference between the oral and the transdermal method of magnesium supplementation is seen when it comes to dealing with painful conditions. The combination of heat and magnesium chloride in particular stimulates the circulation and the elimination of waste substances. The therapeutic effect of magnesium baths is due to the fact that they draw inflammation out of the muscles and joints. A whole new world of pain relief will open up before us when doctors and patients realise that naturally occurring magnesium chloride can be applied locally and has enormous potential for easing pain!

Products made with Black Sea lye and mud, Le’SPA and ANCHIALO, are rich in magnesium salts and minerals, which is what gives them their renowned therapeutic effect.

Author: Martina Ivanova

Source: http://www.svoizbor.com/