by Lawrence Wilson, MD

MAGNESIUM

MAGNESIUM (Mg)

Magnesium is another structural element, but has mainly to do with enzyme structures, not physical ones. Magnesium is involved in every body function, where it is required for thousands of critical enzymes everywhere in the body. It is also one of very few minerals that cannot be replaced by a less preferred mineral in many of these enzyme systems.

Magnesium is low in almost everyone today due primarily to low dietary intake. Refined grains, fruits, soda pop, coffee, teas and cows milk dairy products contain very little magnesium. These are also the most widely eaten foods, except for meats and eggs. Vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains are good sources, but most people do not eat enough of these.

Stress and too much exercise also use up magnesium quickly. Very few sports drinks replenish it in great enough quantity, for instance. In addition, most people cannot use the magnesium they have in their bodies due to its biounavailability. This is discussed below.

MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS. These include anger, belligerence, irritability, fatigue and pain due to muscle tension, as seen in conditions such as fibromyalgia. However, magnesium activates and assists with so many enzymes that symptoms can include almost anything.

The Myers magnesium cocktail. The late John Myer, MD developed the now famous “Myers cocktail”. It consists of intravenous magnesium mixed with other minerals and vitamins. He wrote that this simple cocktail helps with a number of ailments, thanks to widespread deficiencies of magnesium and other vitamins and minerals. It can help with symptoms of asthma, migraines, fatigue, acute muscle spasms, upper respiratory infections, chronic sinusitis, seasonal allergies, rhinitis, cardiovascular disease and others. However, Myers cocktails and other IV minerals are not recommended in nutritional balancing because they are a “shotgun” approach, not nearly as safe, and not effective for delicately balancing body chemistry. Their value is in replenishing minerals and vitamins quickly, often in a few days. Once this is done, then one is better served, in our view, with a delicate and precise program of oral nutrients according to the principles in this textbook.

Intravenous (IV) or intramuscular (IM) magnesium are also widely used in hospitals for obstetric emergencies such as eclampsia and pre-eclampsia, heart attacks and many other emergencies, for which it is excellent. It is less effective, in my experience, for long-term use, as its effect tends to wear off after a few days to a few weeks. This tells us the magnesium shots or IVs fill a need, but they do not, on their own, restore the mineral balance. Magnesium oil has similar symptomatic effects, but is dangerous for longer-term use and should be avoided for all but short-term use.

MAGNESIUM AND HAIR ANALYSIS. An ideal hair magnesium level is about 6 mg% or 60 parts per million. This does not mean, however, that a magnesium deficiency is not present. In fact, most people need more magnesium, regardless of the hair level. Fast oxidizers often need the most, and their hair levels are usually low. Slow oxidizers tend to have higher hair levels, but it is often somewhat biounavailable. Dr. Eck supplemented most people with magnesium and gave more, at times, if the magnesium level was very high or very low.

Biounavailable magnesium on the hair analysis. When magnesium is above about 9 mg% it is at least partially biounavailable. This is a problem for millions of people. Symptoms of this imbalance may include fibromyalgia and other types of pain, irritability, insomnia, muscle weakness, depression, muscle cramps, especially after exercising, and possibly others.

MAGNESIUM SYNERGISTS. These are similar to those for calcium. They include vitamins A, D, E, K and perhaps a few others. Vitamin D, for example, appears to assist magnesium metabolism, not just calcium absorption. Vitamin B6 or pyridoxine has a close relationship with magnesium. By taking B6, one can enhance magnesium effects and vice versa. Magnesium is thought to help vitamin B6 to be incorporated into some enzymes. Vitamin B1 or thiamin is a synergist with magnesium in glucose metabolism. Vitamin C is a synergist in connective tissue synthesis. Tetraiodothyronine or T4 increases cellular magnesium levels. In fact, many nutrients are synergistic with magnesium because magnesium is involved in almost all body functions.

MAGNESIUM ANTAGONISTS. Magnesium antagonists tend to be somewhat similar to those for calcium. Important ones include calcium, sodium, potassium, phosphates, fluoride, all toxic metals and others. Alcohol severely depletes magnesium. This is due, at least in part, to the fact that metabolizing alcohol uses up many magnesium-dependent enzymes. This requires them to be reconstituted, using up a lot of magnesium. Alcohol is also a diuretic that can remove magnesium from the body through the kidneys.

Diarrhea. Magnesium is rich in the stool as it passes through the digestive tract. If diarrhea occurs, significant amounts of water and magnesium are lost from the body. This can help deplete magnesium. Several days of diarrhea are not a severe problem. However, if one has chronic intermittent diarrhea, as can occur with irritable bowel syndrome or colitis, magnesium loss can be significant.

Soda pop and sugar in the diet lower magnesium levels. These contain phosphorus compounds that bind firmly to magnesium, along with calcium and zinc, and tend to remove these minerals from the body. Soda pop is the worst. Some of the ‘high’ that one gets from drinking soda pop is actually magnesium depletion that causes a form of anxiety and irritability. Even the high phosphorus content of meat, eggs, cheese and other animal proteins lowers magnesium to some degree, but not that much because these foods contain some magnesium.

Exercise. Exercise uses up some magnesium. This contributes to leg cramps, shin splints and other symptoms that come with exercise. It can explain the ‘high’ of exercise to some degree as well. Ionizing radiation can lower the body’s magnesium level significantly. It is not usually noticeable unless exposure is chronic and intense. Taking extra magnesium before radiation treatments may help protect one from some of the damage due to radiation therapy.

Courses | About Dr. Wilson | Contact Us | The Free Basic Program