Day 19: Living Healthier With MAGNESIUM

Like my host, Duong, My mission for over 35 years has been to help people lead healthier and happier lives. One simple way to take charge of your health is to use magnesium. It’s important for stress relief, weight control, bone health, heart health, blood sugar balance, a healthy pregnancy and more!

1. Magnesium is a cofactor assisting enzymes in catalyzing most chemical reactions in the body, including temperature regulation.
2. Magnesium produces and transports energy.
3. Magnesium is necessary for the synthesis of protein.
4. Magnesium helps to transmit nerve signals.
5. Magnesium helps to relax muscles.

STRESS
There are many possible stress triggers. You may have no identifiable or consistent trigger, or have several obvious ones. Potential triggers include:

Stress can cause magnesium depletion and a lack of magnesium magnifies stress. Magnesium supports our adrenals, which are overworked by stress. A strain on the adrenal glands puts a strain on the magnesium-dependent energy system of the body, which further promotes energy depletion and leads to a vicious cycle of decreased ability to manage stress.

Feelings of nervousness, irritability, twitching, muscle spasms, and being unable to relax are signs of needing magnesium. The stress response involves the influx of calcium into cells, resulting in a temporary, drastic change in the internal magnesium-to-calcium ratio inside the cells.

Magnesium is the anti-stress mineral and is known to alleviate depression, anxiety and insomnia. Additional symptoms of chronic magnesium deficiency include anxious behavior, hyperemotionality, apprehension, confusion, anger, nervousness, insomnia, and hysteria.

Stress is so prevalent in our daily lives that we have become desensitized to it and the message it is trying to give us, which is to slow down.


HYPOGLYCEMIA
Anxiety is a chemical reaction created when the adrenal glands respond to a stressful event, such as low blood sugar, by releasing adrenaline.

When you are hungry or skip meals, you lower your blood sugar. The brain becomes extremely vulnerable to excitotoxins during episodes of low blood sugar or hypoglycemia. Pound for pound, the brain uses more blood sugar than any other part of the body. Low blood sugar occurs when you are malnourished or even when you skip meals. Magnesium is responsible for balancing blood sugar. With sufficient magnesium and balanced meals to prevent low blood sugar, you can protect yourself against paranoia, anxiety and mood disorders.

High blood sugar, or diabetes is also a sign of magnesium deficiency. Unfortunately, diabetic drugs can lower magnesium levels in the body. Simply taking magnesium can balance blood sugar and even relieve symptoms of nerve damage caused by diabetes.

WEIGHT GAIN:
Magnesium produces energy--if you don't have energy you don't exercise and you gain weight. Magnesium activates the enzymes that digest food--if you don't metabolize your carbs properly they end up being stored as fat. Magnesium is an important detoxifying mineral and supports liver detoxification.

HEART HEALTH
The heart is a very large muscle. Calcium causes muscles to contract and magnesium causes them to relax. Magnesium prevents muscle spasms of the peripheral blood vessels, which can lead to high blood pressure, another risk factor of heart disease.

Magnesium is a natural statin (anticholesterol medication). It is necessary for the activity of an enzyme that lowers bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides and raises good cholesterol (HDL). It does all this without any side effects that are so common with statin drugs.

RESTLESS LEGS
Magnesium deficiency symptoms include restless leg syndrome, leg cramps, eye twitching, fatigue, constipation, insomnia, anxiety, racing heart, and chest pain. Magnesium known as the anti-stress mineral alleviates these symptoms and helps you get a good night’s sleep.

CONSTIPATION
Magnesium is an extremely safe supplement; its main side effect of loose bowel movements is actually a benefit to 60% of the population that is constipated. It acts to pull fluid into the bowel to cause a gentle laxative effect but also relaxes the intestinal muscles.

BACK PAIN
The spine is a complex interconnecting network of nerves, joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments, and all are capable of producing pain. Large nerves that originate in the spine and go to the legs and arms can make pain radiate to the extremities. Back pain is associated with muscle spasms and inflammation. Immediate relief from back pain can be accomplished with nutritional magnesium supplementation. Magnesium naturally relaxes muscles and alleviates muscle cramping and spasms related to back pain.

Research has shown that aging body's tissues have three times more calcium than magnesium. Calcium deposits in tissues that have a deficiency in magnesium. Excess calcium in tissues has a toxic effect and a bone loss effect.

HEADACHES
Tension headaches and can migraine headaches can significantly disrupt your life.
Most people who get regular headaches report that they felt stressed or hungry before their headache began.

Magnesium relaxes the head and neck muscle tension that makes tension headaches worse. Magnesium, vitamin B2, and the herb feverfew are an important migraine headache treatment combination.

Magnesium is a simple, inexpensive solution to many health problems. It can jump start your energy and help you sleep giving you the focus you need to take charge of your health. You can take it as a magnesium citrate powder in water, which means you don’t even have to swallow a pill!

Dr. Carolyn Dean is a Medical Doctor and Naturopathic Doctor, author and coauthor of 16 books, including The Magnesium Miracle, and Medical Director of The Nutritional Magnesium Association www.nutritionalmagnesium.org. Proficient in both conventional and alternative medicine Dr. Dean offers Customized Consultations for Health by Phone. For more information, please visit Dr. Dean's website: www.drcarolyndean.com where you can sign up for a free health newsletter.

Live Healthier & Happier,