Calcium deficiency is a common
nutritional concern, but how many folks consider the vital importance of
magnesium in human health and disease?
New research published in the journal
BMC Bioinformatics indicates
that magnesium's role in human health and disease is far more significant and
complicated than previously imagined.
While it is well known that all living things require magnesium, and that it
is found in over 300 enzymes in the human body, including those enzymes
utilizing or synthesizing ATP (the molecular unit of currency for energy
transfer), the new studied titled, "3,751 magnesium binding sites have been
detected on human proteins," indicates that a deficiency of magnesium may
profoundly affect a far wider range of biological structures than previously
understood.
The proteome, or entire set of proteins expressed by the human genome,
contains well over 100,000 distinct protein structures, despite the fact that
there are believed to be only 20,300 protein-coding genes in the human genome.
The discovery of the "magneseome," as its being called, adds additional
complexity to the picture, indicating that the presence or absence of adequate
levels of this basic mineral may epigenetically alter the expression and
behavior of the proteins in our body, thereby altering the course of both health
and disease.
Indeed, modern medicine and nutrition fixates primarily on calcium deficiency
(due, in part, to the WHO's highly
unscientific
definition of osteoporosis), even in the face of accumulating
peer-reviewed research indicating that excess calcium consumption can greatly
increase cardiac
morbidity and mortality.
Magnesium
Research
Research relevant to magnesium has been accumulating for the past 40 years at
a steady rate of approximately 2,000 new studies a year. Our database project
has indexed well over 100
health benefits of
magnesium thus far. For the sake of brevity, we will address seven key
therapeutic applications for magnesium as follows:
- Fibromyalgia: Not only is magnesium deficiency common in
those diagnosed with fibromyalgia, but relatively low doses of magnesium (50 mg), combined
with malic acid in the form of magnesium malate, has been clinically
demonstrated to improve pain and tenderness in those to which it was
administered.
- Atrial Fibrillation: A number of studies now exist showing
that magnesium supplementation reduce atrial fibrillation, either by itself, or
in combination with conventional drug agents.
- Diabetes, Type 2: Magnesium deficiency is common in type 2
diabetics, at an incidence of 13.5 to 47.7% according to a 2007 study. Research has also shown that type 2 diabetics with
peripheral neuropathy and coronary artery disease have lower intracellular
magnesium levels.Oral magnesium supplementation has been shown to reduce
plasma fasting glucose and raising HDL cholesterol in patients with type 2
diabetes. It has also been shown to improve insulin sensitivity
and metabolic control in type 2 diabetic subjects.
- Premenstrual Syndrome: Magnesium deficiency has been
observed in women affected by premenstrual syndrome. It is no surprise therefore that it has been found to
alleviate premenstrual symptoms of fluid retention, as well as broadly reducing associated symptoms by
approximately 34% in women, aged 18-45, given 250 mg tablets for a 3-month
observational period. When combined with B6, magnesium supplementation has
been found to improve anxiety-related premenstrual symptoms.
- Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality: Low serum magnesium
concentrations predict cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. There are a wide range of ways that magnesium may
confer its protective effects. It may act like a calcium channel blocker, it is hypotensive, it is antispasmodic (which may protect against coronary
artery spasm). and anti-thrombotic. Also, the heart muscle cells are exceedingly dense in
mitochondria (as high as 100 times more per cell than skeletal muscle), the
"powerhouses" of the cell," which require adequate magnesium to produce ATP via
the citric acid cycle.
- Migraine Disorders: Blood magnesium levels have been found
to be significantly lower in those who suffer from migraine attacks. A recent Journal of Neural Transmission article
titled, "Why all migraine patients should be treated with magnesium," pointed
out that routine blood tests do not accurately convey the true body magnesium
stores since less than 2% is in the measurable, extracellular space, "67% is in
the bone and 31% is located intra-cellularly. "The authors argued that since "routine blood tests are
not indicative of magnesium status, empiric treatment with at least oral
magnesium is warranted in all migraine sufferers." Indeed, oral magnesium
supplementation has been found to reduce the number of headache days in children
experiencing frequent migranous headaches, and when combined with l-carnitine, is effective at
reducing migraine frequency in adults, as well.
- Aging: While natural aging is a healthy process,
accelerated aging has been noted to be a feature of magnesium deficiency, especially evident in the context of long space-flight
missions where low magnesium levels are associated with cardiovascular aging
over 10 times faster than occurs on earth. Magnesium supplementation has been shown to reverse
age-related neuroendocrine and sleep EEG changes in humans. One of the possible mechanisms behind magnesium
deficiency associated aging is that magnesium is needed to stabilize DNA and
promotes DNA replication. It is also involved in healing up of the ends of the
chromosomes after they are divided in mitosis.
Best Sources of Magnesium In The
Diet
The best source of magnesium is from food, and one way to identify
magnesium-containing foods are those which are green, i.e. chlorophyll rich.
Chlorophyll, which enable plants to capture solar energy and convert it into
metabolic energy, has a magnesium atom at its center. Without magnesium, in
fact, plants could not utilize the sun's light energy.
Magnesium, however, in its elemental form is colorless, and many foods that
are not green contain it as well. The point is that when found complexed with
food cofactors, it is absorbed and utilized more efficiently than in its
elemental form, say, extracted from limestone in the form of magnesium oxide.
Article By: Sayer Ji, Founder of Green Med Info
Note: If unable to get enough quality Magnesium from your diet - We recommend and carry a Pure form of Magnesium Glycate - which is readily absorbed by the body and that contains no fillers or by products.