The Importance of Magnesium~~ Part 1

Magnesium is an alkaline earth metal, the 8th most abundant mineral found in the earth's crust. Because of its ready solubility in water, magnesium is the 3rd most abundant mineral in sea water, after sodium and chloride. In the human body, Mg (magnesium) is the 4th most abundant element. Most Mg contained in the body is found in the skeleton and teeth -- at least 60-65% of the total. Nearly the entire remaining amount resides in muscle tissues and cells, while only 1% is contained in our blood. Magnesium must be bound to another substance before it can be adequately absorbed into our body.

The importance of Mg being beneficial to overall vibrant health is hard to overstate. It is required to give the "spark of life" to metabolic functions involving the creation of energy and it's transport (ATP, the body's fundamental energy currency), and the creation of proteins, RNA and DNA, in all known living organisms. In plants, Mg is found at the center of every chlorophyll molecule, vital for the creation of energy from sunlight. Mg is an essential element for both animals and plants, involved in literally over 300 enzymatic reactions & over 600 bio mechanical reactions in the human body affecting virtually all aspects of life.

Every single cell in the human body demands adequate Mg to function, or it will perish. Strong bones & teeth, balanced  hormones, a healthy nervous and cardiovascular system, well-functioning detoxification pathways and much more depend on magnesium sufficiency. Soft tissue containing the highest concentrations of magnesium in the body include the brain and the heart -- two organs that produce a large amount of electrical activity and which can be especially vulnerable to magnesium insufficiency. They have discovered a deficiency in magnesium has been identified as a precursor to heart disease.

Magnesium works in concert with calcium to regulate electrical impulses in the cell. Magnesium concentration inside healthy cells is ten thousand times greater than calcium and the body keeps this safeguard as it is necessary to prevent calcium accumulation in the cell, which could cause dangerous hyper-excitability, calcification, cell dysfunction and even cell death. When excess calcium enters the cells because of insufficient magnesium, muscle contraction is sustained for too long and we suffer, for example, twitches & tics in mild cases. When the magnesium deficiency becomes chronic, we suffer symptoms of heart disease such as angina pectoris, hypertension & arrhythmia, or the spasms and contractions characteristic of asthma, migraine headache or painful menstrual cramping. Magnesium operates as a natural calcium channel blocker & is responsible for relaxation -- counter to calcium's contraction. There is ongoing research which promises to uncover further associations between Mg deficiency and other illnesses.

Magnesium is one of the most depleted minerals in farm soils today. Of course, when these mineral-depleted crops are eaten by animals or by us, they will sooner or later cause disease. Organic raised crops isn't always a better bet either, you have to know how your supplier replenishes the minerals in his fields. It became a serious national concern more than 70 yrs ago and the deficit has been affecting us -- while steadily getting worse -- since our grandparents' generation. So due to soil depletion, storage, handling, harvesting, cooking, preparing, milling...all of these processes cause a loss of magnesium in our foods. Since our foods loose less calcium than magnesium, it can cause a troublesome dietary calcium overload to our systems. Fluoride in our drinking water binds with Mg creating a nearly insoluble mineral compound that ends up deposited in the bones, where its brittleness increases the risk of fractures. A diet of processed, synthetic foods, high sugar content, alcohol and soda drinks all 'waste' magnesium, as a lot of it is required for the metabolism and detoxification of these largely fake foods. The body requires at least 28 molecules of Mg to metabolize a single molecule of glucose. Phosphates in carbonated drinks and processed meats (so-called "luncheon meats" and hot dogs) bind with magnesium to create the insoluble magnesium phosphate, which is unusable by the body.

Many commonly prescribed pharmaceutical drugs cause the body to lose magnesium through the urine, such as diuretics for hypertension, birth control pills, insulin, digitalis, tetracycline and some other antibiotics and corticosteroids and bronchodilators for asthma. With the loss of magnesium, all of the symptoms being 'treated' by these drugs over time inevitably become worse. Magnesium is responsible for converting vitamin D to the active form that allows calcium to be absorbed, and also regulates calcium's transport to hard tissues where it belongs. Lactose is another inhibitor of magnesium absorption (and milk is not a good source of the mineral to begin with), along with excess potassium phosphorus and sodium.

Both calcium and magnesium are necessary for the healthy body --  in proper balance to one another. Yet calcium and magnesium must both be present in balanced amounts for either one to function normally in the body. Some researchers suggest that the healthy ratio of calcium to magnesium in the diet should be 2:1. Others say 1:1, but this number is based on our diets prior to the advent of agriculture. In modern industrialized countries the ratio from diet is anywhere from 5:1 to as much as 15:1. The imbalance of these 2 very important minerals produces many dire consequences in the body that are often overlooked by medical practitioners when treating the diseases they could cause. Aside from the intricate electrical dance that calcium and magnesium perform together, Mg is necessary to keep calcium in solution in the body, preventing its inappropriate deposition in soft tissues. As long as we have sufficient hydrochloric acid in our stomachs we can dissolve calcium from the foods we eat. After calcium leaves the acidic environment of the stomach and enters the alkaline arena of the small intestines, it is magnesium that is necessary to keep calcium soluble. Without sufficient magnesium, a whole host of physiological aberrations can occur with serious health consequences.

Information provided by the internet & WestonAPrice.org