Magnesium supplementation may help reduce stress

July 31, 2003

If patients are looking for ways to deal with stress without having to move to a

deserted island, change their diet, run five miles a day, get a new spouse,

think positive thoughts, or get a new job, increasing their intake of nature's

stress buster - magnesium, might help.

Health experts warn that chronic stress can have serious long-term effects.

Diabetes, depression, heart disease, and rheumatoid arthritis are just some of

the diseases linked to stress.

Eighty to 90% of the U.S. population is magnesium deficient. A document

presented to the Senate as far back as 1936, states that most Americans are

suffering from certain dangerous diet deficiencies that cannot be remedied until

depleted soils from which our food comes are brought into proper mineral

balance.

The document goes on to say, " The alarming fact is that foods now being raised

on millions of acres of land that no longer contain enough of certain minerals

are starving us - no matter how much of them we eat. " Needless to say, the

farmlands are even more depleted today.

Magnesium and stress are closely linked. Stress depletes magnesium; magnesium

counteracts stress. When magnesium levels are low, the nervous system gets out

of balance and the muscles grow tight. This can also lead to elevated mental

stress.

" Each time we experience any kind of stress, our magnesium stores are tapped to

create energy, " said Carolyn Dean, MD, ND, in her book The Miracle of Magnesium.

" This magnesium depletion itself stresses out the body, which can result in

panic attacks, creating more stress. "

" Not only do our overworked adrenals cause magnesium depletion, even more

adrenaline is released when we are under stress and magnesium levels are low in

the body, leaving people feeling irritable, nervous, edgy, or even ready to

explode. " It's the proverbial Catch-22, " said Dean. " To put an end to anxiety,

magnesium needs to be replaced. "

To alleviate the symptoms of magnesium deficiency, it is important to take 1-3

teaspoons of water-soluble magnesium per day. This article was prepared by

Health & Medicine Week editors from staff and other reports.

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