Fwd: [NH] Magnesium Miracle

[Guest guest]

I'm forwarding this from my natural_healing list, where

we've talked about the role of magnesium at great length over the years.

 

Warmly,

Moe

 

 

>6-8-02

>Source for at least a portion of Part One:

>http://www.bodyandfitness.com/Information/Health/Research/magnesium1.htm

>Source for some of Part One is unknown

>Part One:

>MAGNESIUM: Miracle in Minutes

>

>DID YOU KNOW?

>

>Very few people are aware of the enormous role magnesium plays in our

>bodies. After oxygen, water, and basic food, magnesium may be the most

>important element needed by our bodies. So vitally important, yet hardly

>known.

>

>Magnesium is by far the most important mineral in the body, activating over

>300 different biochemical reactions in your body all necessary for your

>body to function properly.

>

>Magnesium is more important than calcium, potassium or sodium and regulates

>all three of them. When we get too low on oxygen, water or food, the

>consequences are serious. Yet, we often don't realize the consequences of

>magnesium deficiency.

>

>The improper use of magnesium among health professionals and the population

>in general, is deeply responsible for many of the failures encountered

>daily in treating chronic health conditions nationwide.

>------

>

>What are the symptoms of a magnesium deficiency? Millions suffer daily from:

>

>Insomnia

>Sleep-disorders

>Fatigue

>Body-tension

>Headaches

>Heart-disorders

>Low energy

>High Blood Pressure

>PMS

>Muscle tension

>Backaches

>Constipation

>Kidney stones

>Osteoporosis

>Accelerated aging

>Depression

>Irregular-heartbeat

>Anxiety

>Muscle cramps

>Spasms

>Irritability

>and the list goes on....

>

>90-95% of the population is deficient, including many of those who already

>supplement it. Why? Due to the misleading information presented in common

>magnesium texts. As a result, magnesium remains largely misunderstood,

>largely misused and the problem goes on undetected.

>

>CALCIUM WARNING

>

>The use of magnesium today is often incorrect, resulting in frequent

>failure to improve common conditions and complaints. One reason is this:

>Calcium needs magnesium in order to assimilate into the body. However, when

>too much calcium is consumed, it will pull magnesium out of the body parts

>in order to assimilate. This creates a magnesium deficiency and the person

>will get worse and feel accordingly.

>------

> " Contrary to common belief, magnesium deficiency is very common even

>amongst those who supplement it regularly "

>------

>Excess calcium (in the wrong form/size for proper assimilation) in the body

>results in calcium deposits on joints (often called arthritis). All of

>these have been known to disappear after taking extra magnesium especially

>the drink form.

>

>BECOME AN EXPERT

>

>After reading this data you will become your own expert on how to handle a

>magnesium deficiency, which strikes most of our unknowing population. This

>data is vital for everybody to know. It has changed the lives of many. It

>may change your own as well.

>

>The fact remains that many of us suffer for months and years from chronic

>conditions, which no one seems to detect the source of (not even the

>so-called experts). With all the myriad of solutions we have sought, only a

>lucky handful amongst us realize that the true source of these conditions

>lies with a mineral deficiency. Many of these conditions listed before are

>caused primarily by magnesium deficiency.

>

>This information may bring new hope to those who have already grown

>hopeless about improving their condition.

>

>90-95% of the population is deficient, and many of them have thought that

>regular magnesium supplements will fix magnesium deficiency. Unfortunately,

>this isn't the case. Read on to understand this in full, and why water

>soluble magnesium (angstrom in size) is the answer.

>

>To understand the importance of magnesium let's consider this:

>

>Magnesium is the most important mineral in the body, activating over 300

>different processes in your body; Among these functions are digestion,

>energy production, muscle function, bone formation, creation of new cells,

>activation of B vitamins, relaxation of muscles, the functioning of your

>heart, kidneys, adrenals, brain, as well as the nervous system.

>****************

>Source for Part Two is unknown

>Part Two

>The Mineral That Could Have Saved 4 Million Women

>by Bill Sardi

>

>Modern medicine has made a remarkable admission. Its failure to utilize a

>simple, inexpensive intravenous mineral drip might have saved the lives

>millions of women over the past century. Modern medicine knew about the

>cure since 1906. [New England Journal Medicine 333: 201-05, 1995]

>

>Around 210 million women become pregnant annually around the world and

>every minute a woman dies in pregnancy or childbirth, with a quarter of

>these deaths due to a condition called pre-eclampsia which can lead to the

>more severe and mortal condition called eclampsia. Women may develop high

>blood pressure during pregnancy (pre-eclampsia) and during or prior to

>birth may experience life-threatening seizures (eclampsia). About 5-10

>percent of women in their first pregnancy develop pre-eclampsia.

>

>Over the past century, drugs rather than minerals have been employed to

>treat eclampsia, Diazepam (Valium) in 1968 and then phenytoin (Dilantin) in

>1987. During the period 1905 to 1987 an estimated 42 million women may have

>undergone eclamptic convulsion and possibly 4 million died. The modern

>therapy for eclampsia now includes calcium-blocking drugs and a host of

>anti-hypertensive agents. Drugs may reduce the risk of severe high blood

>pressure, but not the overall rate of hypertension nor the risk of eclampsia.

>

>[The Cochrane Library, Issue 2, 2002] Yet the anticonvulsant drugs continue

>to be employed with little reliable evidence that they work.

>

>Finally, a just-released study of 10,141 women in 33 countries has shown

>beyond a " reasonable doubt " that intravenous magnesium reduces the risks of

>eclampsia among women with pre-eclampsia.

>The relative risk of eclampsia was reduced by 58 percent and the mortality

>rate nearly cut in half among women receiving magnesium ...compared to

>those who receive a saline drip.

>The authors of the study concluded that " magnesium sulfate is remarkably

>effective at reducing the risk of eclampsia. " [The Lancet 359: 1877-90,

>June 1, 2002]

>

>Not The First Time

>

>This wasn't the first study to conclusively show magnesium sulfate is a

>remedy for eclampsia. In a 1995, a study heralded as the most important

>obstetric trial of the 20th century, magnesium sulfate was found to be the

>most effective approach to controlling convulsions during childbirth.

>[british Medical Journal 311: 702-03, 1995] By 1998 data from numerous

>studies had been analyzed and it was known that magnesium was superior to

>any anticonvulsant drugs. [Cochrane Review 2002] This evidence still didn't

>convince most obstetrical doctors.

>

>Seven years after the report showing magnesium reduces the risk of

>mortality from eclampsia, a report endorsed by the World Health

>Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the WORLD BANK, magnesium sulfate is still

>not available to millions of women worldwide. British medical researchers

>are pleading with the World Bank and WHO to fund and disseminate treatment

>kits. [The Lancet 359: June 1, 2002]

>

>Clues Were There

>

>It wasn't as if physicians had no clues as to the cause of eclampsia. The

>worldwide mortality rates from eclampsia vary widely from country to country.

>

>The mortality rate from eclampsia ranges from 0 to 13.9 percent. [European

>Society Cardiology 21st Annual Congress, Sept. 1, 1999] So there are

>obviously some modifiable factors involved in the development of eclampsia

>among pregnant females. Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia are the most important

>causes of death during pregnancy in the United Kingdom, USA and Nordic

>countries, nations that consume the most calcium-rich dairy products.

>Calcium and magnesium must be maintained in a proper ratio to maintain

>proper muscle tone and prevent convulsive muscle spasms. Furthermore,

>estrogen and progesterone levels, which increase as a pregnancy advances,

>elevate the body's demand for magnesium. [Journal American College of

>Nutrition 12: 442-58, 1993] Magnesium is a natural calcium blocker.

>[American Journal Medicine 96: 63-76, 1994]

>

>Magnesium Shunned For Heart Disease Too

>

>This isn't the first time magnesium has been shunned in favor of

>prescription drugs. In the 1990s a preliminary report showed that

>intravenous magnesium reduced mortality rates following a heart attack.

>This was apparently perceived as a threat to the sale of calcium-blocking

>drugs used for the same purpose. Medical researchers, financially backed by

>a pharmaceutical company that produces calcium-blocker drugs, deliberately

>chose to use an excessive dose of intravenous magnesium to prove it was of

>no value during the post-heart attack period. [Townsend Letter for Doctors,

>October 1998]

>The sale of calcium-blockers never faltered. There are more than 64 million

>annual prescriptions for calcium blocking drugs (Procardia, Cardizem,

>Norvasc, Verpamil, Adalat, Dilacor, Verelan, Calan), with sales exceeding

>$2.5 billion. [American Druggist 1997]

>

>Magnesium May Prevent Sudden-Death Heart Attacks

>(NOTE: Dr. Shealy emphasizes this in his book--- " HOLY WATER, Sacred Oils)

>

>Magnesium is not limited to treating heart disease after a heart attack. A

>shortage of dietary magnesium has been repeatedly shown to be associated

>with an increased risk of sudden-death heart attack. Unequivocally, a

>shortage of magnesium from the American diet, in particular the absence or

>shortage of magnesium in drinking water, is directly related to

>sudden-death heart attack. [Epidemiology 10: 31-36, 1999; Heart 82: 455-60,

>1999; American Journal Epidemiology 143: 456-62, 1996] Out of 750,000 heart

>attacks in the USA annually, an estimated 340,000 deaths occur within one

>hour of a heart attack. [Journal Nutrition Health Aging 5: 173-78, 2001]

>

>One study showed the relative risk of sudden-death heart attack is more

>than 1.5 times higher among adults who consume on average 105 milligrams of

>magnesium a day compared to adults who consume 233 milligrams a day.

>[Magnesium Trace Element Research 9: 143-51, 1990]

>

>Recently researchers reported on the effects of slowly withdrawing

>magnesium from the diet of postmenopausal women. Women began to exhibit

>abnormal heart rhythms as circulating magnesium levels declined. [American

>Journal Clinical Nutrition 75: 550-54, 2002]

>

>Of the minerals removed during water softening, magnesium is the only

>mineral found to be deficient in the heart muscle of sudden-death heart

>attack victims. [science 208: 198-200, 1980] In an animal experiment, no

>rodents experienced a sudden-death heart attack when magnesium levels were

>adequate, whereas 4 of 11 rodents with low magnesium levels experienced a

>sudden lethal heart muscle spasm. [Journal American Collage Cardiology 27:

>1771-76, 1996]

>

>For comparison, there are about 50,000 tobacco-related deaths per year in

>the USA and consequently massive smoking-cessation efforts are undertaken.

>There are more than 200,000 to 300,000 avoidable sudden-death heart attacks

>that could be prevented by the provision of an inexpensive mineral, yet

>public health authorities do nothing to stop the problem. This amounts to

>over 500 needless deaths per day in the USA.

>

>The current approach to cardiovascular disease is to reduce circulating

>cholesterol levels which has been shown to reduce the incidence of heart

>attacks but has not reduced mortality rates. Sudden fatal heart failure may

>be related to magnesium deficiency rather than high cholesterol levels.

>[Medical Hypotheses 43: 187-92, 1994]

>

>Widespread Dietary Deficiency

>

>A 1994 Gallup poll found that 72 percent of Americans don't consume

>sufficient amounts of magnesium. The widespread consumption of processed

>foods has led to a progressive decline in dietary magnesium. While nuts and

>green leafy vegetables are good sources of magnesium, the shortage of

>magnesium in the American diet, about 200-300 milligrams per day, is not

>likely to be made up through foods alone.

>

>Progressive decline of dietary magnesium consumption

>Years Magnesium intake milligrams per day

>1900-08 475-500

>1909-13 415-435

>1925-29 385-398

>1935-39 360-375

>1947-49 358-370

>1957-59 340-360

>1965-76 300-340

>1978-85 225-318

>1990-2002 175-225

>[Magnesium Trace Elements 10: 162-28, 1997]

>

>Supplementation Advised

>

>Only universal magnesium supplementation is likely to make up for such a

>widespread mineral deficiency. Foods cannot easily be fortified with

>magnesium because it is a bulky mineral that would alter the consistency

>and taste of flour and foods. Magnesium cannot be added to tap water

>because it would erode piping. Either magnesium pills or magnesium added to

>bottled water would make up for this mineral deficiency.

>Currently, only 5 major brands of bottled water provide a desirable measure

>of more than 75 milligrams of magnesium per liter and only one brand has a

>ratio of magnesium that exceeds that of calcium.

>

>Blood tests for magnesium are notoriously inaccurate. Only 1 percent of the

>total body magnesium pool exists outside of living cells. So blood serum

>levels are notoriously inaccurate. [Clin Chem Lab Med 37: 1011-33, 1999]

>Only red-blood cell magnesium levels accurately determine the risk for

>pre-eclampsia and/or magnesium deficiency, but this test is not commonly

>performed in laboratories. [American Journal Hypertension 13: 765-69, 2000]

>

>A bias against the use of intravenous magnesium sulfate by modern medicine

>has taken a terrible toll on humankind. Magnesium sulfate, also known as

>Epsom salt, is not absorbed orally and attracts water in the colon and

>would thus act as a laxative. So Epsom salts are not recommended orally.

>Magnesium pills are recommended (200-400 milligrams per day). Magnesium has

>been called the " The Forgotten Mineral " and the " 5-Cent Miracle Tablet " by

>medical researchers. Numerous researchers have reported that the provision

>of this mineral in the population at large would greatly diminish the

>incidence of

>kidney stones (1 in 11 Americans), calcified mitral heart valve (1 in 12

>Americans), premenstrual tension, constipation, miscarriages, stillbirths,

>strokes, diabetes, thyroid failure, asthma, chronic eyelid twitch

>(blepharospasm), brittle bones, chronic migraines, muscle spasms and

>anxiety reactions. [Pediatric Asthma, Allergy Immunology 5: 273-79; Journal

>Bone Mineral Research 13: 749-58, 1998; Magnesium 5: 1-8, 1986; Medical

>Hypotheses 43: 187-92, 1994] That's a lot of health benefits for a nickel.

>Sufficient provision of magnesium in the American population would likely

>reduce health care costs by billions of dollars.

>

>June 4, 2002

>End of article

>**************

>Source for Part Three:

>http://www.billsardi.com/sdm.asp?pg=news & specific=49

>Part Three

>03/19/2002

>Too much calcium, not enough magnesium

>

>HEART BECOME IRRITABLE WHEN DEPRIVED OF MAGNESIUM

>

>The Human Nutrition Research Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota has

>released an alarming report that reveals when humans are deprived of

>magnesium they may begin to experience abnormal heart beats. [American

>Journal Clinical Nutrition 75: 550-54, March 2002]

>

>The heart muscle of people who experience sudden-death heart attack has

>been found to be low in magnesium. Areas of the world where drinking water

>is low in magnesium (soft water areas) have higher rates of heart attacks.

>

>Magnesium is a muscle relaxant, while calcium is a muscle constrictor. Low

>magnesium intake is associated with muscle spasm, tremors and convulsions.

>

>Most Americans, particularly women, have been advised to consume 1200-1500

>milligrams of calcium daily. Virtually none of these women have been told

>that calcium in single doses that exceed 500 milligrams are not absorbed

>and that they only need an additional 400-600 milligrams of supplemental

>calcium since their diet already provides about 800 milligrams of this

>mineral.

>

>Since 99 percent of magnesium resides inside living cells, blood serum

>levels are not a good indicator of magnesium deficiency. In other words,

>your doctor can't easily tell you by a blood test if your magnesium levels

>are low. Most Americans, 8 in 10, do not consume enough magnesium.

>

>The countries that have the highest mortality rates in the world are the

>Scandinavian countries and New Zealand where more calcium is consumed from

>dairy products, while for comparison the lowest mortality rates in the

>world are in Portugal and Japan where calcium-rich dairy products are not

>consumed regularly.

>

>Americans consume about 800 milligrams of calcium daily (milk drinkers may

>get 1200-1500 mgs from their diet alone), but only consume about 275

>milligrams of magnesium. Thus the dominance of calcium over magnesium

>produces symptoms of muscle spasm. Migraines, eyelid twitch, heart

>flutters, back aches, premenstrual tension, leg cramps and constipation are

>all linked to calcum overload. Excessive calcium may also result in kidney

>stones (1 in 11 Americans) and heart valve calcifications (mitral valve, 1

>in 12 Americans).

>

>A significant percentage of American adults consume more than 2000

>milligrams of daily calcium, the point where side effects of overdosage

>begin to be reported. More than 300,000 sudden-death heart attacks are

>reported annually in the US (more than 80 per day) which are believed to be

>related to excessive calcium and a shortage of magnesium.

>

>Modern medicine's answer to the problem is to prescribe billions of dollars

>of calcium-blocker drugs. Magnesium is a natural calcium blocker, but this

>goes unrecognized by most physicians.

>

>Researchers warn that adults who consume excessive amounts of caffeine or

>alcohol, or who take water pills (diuretics), are prone to experience

>irregular heart beats and should consume more magnesium. The same is true

>for diabetics and people with low thyroid. Most Americans consume tap water

>that has been softened (sodium added) which worsens the problem.

>

>American adults need to supplement their diet with 200-400 milligrams of

>magnesium. The only side effect of too much magnesium is loose stool.

>Reducing dosage resolves this problem.

>

>Copyright Knowledge of Health, Inc., 2002

>

>Written By: Bill Sardi

>

>See our Top News here.

>

>

>Copyright 2002 Knowledge of Health. .

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>

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