Rapid Recovery From Depression Using Magnesium Treatment Part 1

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Rapid Recovery From Depression Using Magnesium Treatment

 

DEPRESSION REALLY SUCKS! It needlessly sucks happiness and joy out of a person

and may even suck the life out too if it can't be brought under control. I

believe that curing stress- and/or diet-induced depression is extremely simple

and quick using magnesium rather than drugs for many people - fortunately! Read

my story and check out the facts in the links. Many links are directly to

medical articles in the National Library of Medicine (PubMed) and other

authoritative sources. You may find my story to be important to you. Remember my

point of view that depression, and particularly stress- and/or diet-induced

depression, and many other " diseases " discussed below are often symptoms of

magnesium deficiency (either directly or indirectly through excess stress) and

not diseases.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) reports that a sign of magnesium

deficiency is depression. NIH defined magnesium deficiency symptoms have three

categories:

 

Early symptoms include (one or more) irritability, anxiety (including

Obsessive Compulsion Disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome), anorexia, fatigue,

insomnia, and muscle twitching. Other symptoms include apathy, confusion, poor

memory, poor attention and the reduced ability to learn. (NOTE: If this essay

appears difficult to understand, consider your magnesium status.)

Moderate deficiency symptoms can consist of the above and possibly rapid

heartbeat, irregular heartbeat and other cardiovascular changes (some being

lethal).

Severe deficiency symptoms can include the one or more of the above symptoms

and one or more severe symptom including full body tingling, numbness, and a

sustained contraction of the muscles, along with hallucinations and delirium

(including depression) and finally dementia (Alzheimer's Disease).

 

If the NIH knows this, why don't doctors use magnesium to treat

depression and other mental (and physical) disorders??? In 1989, C. Norman

Shealy M.D., Ph.D. demonstrated that 99% of depressed patients have one or more

neurochemical abnormalities; and that depression is a chemical disease as is

diabetes, not a psychiatric disease. It seems to me that not using magnesium to

treat depression is pure malpractice! We could rebuild and save lives! Magnesium

ions are shown involved at the very heart of neural synaptic activity in this

figure. Are you magnesium depleted or deficient? See this wonderful quick quiz

by Dr. Pricilla Slagle, M.D., a magnesium expert very interested in helping

people with magnesium problems. Also, visit Dr. Hertert C.Mansmann, Jr., MD at

THE MAGNESIUM RESEARCH LABORATORY, another very interested magnesium expert.

Magnesium deficiency is a major risk factor for heart problems and

diabetes and many other heatlh issues, including sudden death. " The Magnesium

Factor " by Mildred S. Seelig, MD, MPH and Andrea Rosanoff, PhD is an outstanding

new book by the world's leading magnesium researcher and is highly recommended

reading for learning how to prevent high blood pressure, heart disease,

diabetes, and other chronic conditions. Many of today's " diseases " are actually

" symptoms " of magnesium deficiency, and are not diseases. For another eye

opener, see this amazing list and thorough documentation of hundreds of

" diseases " that are often nothing more than magnesium deficiencies. What would

happen to " medicine " , pharmaceutical company income, and public health if these

" diseases " were treated with magnesium before trying side-effect laden drugs?

Wouldn't this approach to improving public health be more ethical?

Unfortunately, for space reasons, this essay is restricted to mental health

issues

reasonably related to depression, but the health risks resulting from magnesium

deficiency are very broad and need much exploration. Depression Defined

Depression is an extremely common condition that affects more than 1 in

20 people in any one year in Western society. It is one of several

hyperemotional states. A sudden loss of interest in life combined with a feeling

of worthlessness may be associated with depression. Normally joy, sadness and

grief are parts of everyday life. While a short period of depression in our

response to daily problems is normal, a long period of depression and sadness is

abnormal and is called " clinical depression " . Depression can run in families,

partly because families tend to eat the same foods and pass from one generation

to the next similar eating patterns, and partly through genetics. Concerning

genetics, I have found no evidence in the medical literature of a " depression "

gene, but much evidence for a search for one. I suspect that the strong genetic

component will be found to involve improper or inadequate magnesium metabolism.

Depression may be associated with a variety of symptoms, including but

not limited to:

Persistent sadness and pessimism

Feelings of loneliness, guilt, worthlessness, helplessness, or hopelessness

Loss of interest or enjoyment in nearly every aspect of life

Diminished ability to think or lack of concentration

Insomnia or oversleeping

Poor appetite associated with either weight gain or loss

Fatigue, lack of energy

Physical hyperactivity or inactivity

Loss of interest in sex

Physical symptoms such as headache, backaches, stomach troubles, constipation

and blurred vision

Anxiety, agitation, irritability

Thoughts of suicide or death (90% of suicides result from depression)

Slow speech; slow movements

Drug or alcohol abuse

A drop in school performance

 

Most depressive episodes are triggered by stressful personal event such

as loss of a loved one or change of circumstances, and depression over a short

period is a normal coping mechanism. Long-term stress-induced depression often,

if not always, results when magnesium levels fall to dangerously low levels in

the body by biochemical stress reactions discussed below. Magnesium deficiency

related depression is a fixable biochemical problem and not necessarily a

physiological problem.

Depression can also be due to many other factors such as underlying

disease (particularly hepatitis C), brain chemical imbalances requiring

antidepressant drugs of one type or another, hormonal imbalance (particularly

hypothyroidism and low testosterone), low cholesterol, Wilson's Disease, food

allergy (particularly gluten intolerance), and adverse reaction to medications,

each of which requires professional care. Magnesium deficiency is not

necessarily the only cause of depression, but it can be very useful in

recovering from depression because the blood and body often become depleted of

magnesium in depression, particularly stress-induced or diet-induced depression.

Often, depression that does not respond to SSRI's (classical antidepressants)

will respond best to treatment with magnesium.

Symptoms listed for paying for magnesium serum level tests to detect

hypomagnesemia (low blood levels of magnesium) by a major United States

insurance carrier include depression. However, magnesium is an intracellular

cation, and its only valid measurement is through Intracellular spectroscopy

testing, or red blood cell (not whole blood or serum) testing. A huge list of

diseases and health conditions meriting magnesium status testing is here.

Not too certain what your problem is? If you are interested in knowing

generally about mental health issues generally, look through the Mental health

Net site. If you are interested in what life as a manic depressive (bi-polar) is

like, You can test your own level of mania on the Goldberg

Depression Inventory here, and depression here.

 

MY STORY

From early 2000 to summer of 2003, this essay focused upon magnesium

glycinate as the preferred source of magnesium. Now, in late summer of 2003, I

have shifted emphasis from magnesium glycinate to magnesium taurate, which

appears superior to all other forms of magnesium in treating treatment resistant

depression. Other effective magnesium compounds mentioned throughout this essay

are ranked well behind magnesium taurate and are not recommended unless

magnesium taurate can not be obtained. Also, I have major PRECAUTIONS at this

link concerning ineffective and harmful compounds of magnesium for treating

depression. After years of study, I remain truly amazed at the tremendous

benefits of magnesium and other nutrients in treating and preventing depression.

In particular, I see magnesium as an important research topic for survival

considering its limited availability from our Western diets and its ability to

inexpensively cure and prevent many expensive diseases, life

threatening or not. As you will see from this essay, our dietary choices and

our overconsumption of certain foods are contributing to massive illness,

including depression.

I know how bad depression can be, because I spent September of 1999

through April of 2000, in a clinical depression that worsened from the

beginning. By Christmas the depression suddenly became much worse, nearly

suicidal in intensity, and remained that way for four more months. I had always

thought that I was a mild hypo manic-depressive, not a suicidal idiot. In my

highs I was capable of deep, insightful thought and amplified abilities in

general which I considered to be an advantage. Never did I think that things

could go so wrong with my biochemistry that it would cause me to have suicidal

thoughts and tendencies. How wrong I was. I had been taking Zoloft (an

antidepressant) since 1987 which seemed to take care of my depression. I lived

on Zoloft, but by September of 1999, it stopped working, - and I knew that

something was really wrong.

My depression was preceded by many years and accompanied by major

stress from over-work, treatment responsive depression, anxiety, hypomania,

fibromyalgia, infrequent panic attacks, anger, stress, poor diet, overwhelming

emotional feelings, night time muscle spasms, paranoia, asthma, prickly

sensations in hands, arms, chest and lips. I wanted to sleep all day and had

trouble getting up in mornings. Occasionally my lips felt that they were going

to vibrate or tingle off my face. I even saw a spider disappear into my arm

once. About 10 years ago, I had a very painful bout with calcium oxalate kidney

stones, a recognized sign of magnesium deficiency. A few weeks before I was

hospitalized in January of 2000, I had very low energy, mental fogginess,

depression with strange suicidal thoughts and I was under enormous stress. Now,

I can recognize these " mental " symptoms as symptoms of magnesium deficiency

and/or calcium toxicity. I won't bother you with the details of my

hospitalized depressive episode, except to say that I was put on nearly every

antidepressant drug known and had severe side effects to all of them and felt

sicker and sicker. None worked. I lost a lot of weight, and I was extremely

constipated. I also had a cardiac arrhythmia. Being disgusted with the treatment

provided, I went home. I couldn't work and about all I did was sleep, eat

cheese, hard candy, fatty foods, bread, ice cream, tapioca pudding, drink a lot

of milk, consume other bad-for-you high-calcium delicacies, watch TV and read.

Maybe I secretly figured that if I didn't die slowly and agonizingly from

depression, maybe I would die quickly with a heart killing diet.

My reading preferences are in the biomedical field. At home, I

researched medical journals, books and everything medical that I could find on

depression and manic depression. I learned nothing of usefulness, at least

nothing that my doctor had not already told me. I did find that certain foods

like wheat and high carbohydrate diets can trigger dysphoric rage and

depression, so it seemed to me that correcting nutritional problems should be

beneficial, and that nutritional research would be worthwhile. On April 12,

2000, I looked like I was dying to several people important in my life. My

psychiatrist agreed and took me off all antidepressant medications and put me on

a tiny amount of lithium carbonate (150 mg twice a day).

NOTE: At the end of each following section of this essay, I have placed a link

concerning my rules for success, and the affirmation that " Depression is not a

psychosis. " . I apologize ahead of time for being terribly redundant. My rules

and my understanding of mood disorders as a magnesium deficiency are so commonly

ignored, that I decided they were too important not to heavily emphasize. Cured

with Lithium or Magnesium?

Shortly later, I picked up a 1975 copy of Nutrition Almanac,

McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, and happened to open it to the magnesium

section. I was interested to find that magnesium was low in the serum of people

who were suicidally depressed and others who were seriously depressed. The

article indicated that magnesium dietary supplements had been effective in

treating depression. Also, a person with a magnesium deficiency is apt to be

uncooperative, withdrawn, apathetic, nervous, have tremors... essentially lots

of neurological symptoms associated with depression. I was fascinated to notice

that cardiac arrhythmias, heart attacks and kidney stones were also mentioned as

magnesium deficiency related. Ah-ha! These looked like good clues, but

definitely not convincing.

That same day, I found the next clue in my library. It was in a 1995

textbook in which I had a published article about zinc lozenges and the common

cold. In Handbook of Metal-Ligand Interactions in Biological Fluids -

Bioinorganic Medicine, volume 2, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, there is a

chapter by Durlach et al, entitled " Diverse Applications of Magnesium Therapy " .

Its authors assert that in their clinical and open trials they found symptoms of

chronic magnesium deficiency in neuroses to include anxiety, hyper-emotionality

(could this be crying, grieving or other forms of depression?), fatigue,

headaches, insomnia, light-headedness, dizziness, nervous fits, lump in throat,

blocked breathing and respiration, cramps, strong tingling, pricking, creeping

feeling on the skin having no real cause, chest pain (either of a cardiac nature

or not), palpitations, dysrhysthmias, Raynaud's syndrome, and more including

latent tetany, constipation, and myocardial infarction. Some of

these symptoms were stated as occurring as part of panic attacks, sometimes

with the feeling of imminent death. In a paper by the same group, Durlach showed

that aging was a risk factor for magnesium deficiency. In another Durlach

article, magnesium deficiency and dementia were equated as being one and the

same. In another paper, Singh et al. showed that magnesium status was inversely

associated with prevalence of coronary artery disease. I had a calcium oxalate

kidney stone a few years ago and was told that I needed to increase my dietary

intake of magnesium. I didn't but now wish that I had because it is established

that magnesium prevents calcium oxalate kidney stones.

Of significant interest was Durlach's statement that chronic primary

magnesium deficit affects about 15 to 20 percent of the Western population,

while other sources more recently place the deficit much higher at nearly 70

percent. One reason given for the deficit is that magnesium-rich foods are rich

in energy (fattening), and they are being avoided in an effort to maintain

weight, and because we are eating more junk food void of magnesium.

Wow! This magnesium/depression hypothesis is coming together! Just a

few months previous to the onset of my depression, I had been hospitalized for

chest pain, cardiac dysrhysthmia and an inability to take in more than about 1/5

my normal breath. The hospital found no cardiac problems, and the internist gave

me an IV drip of magnesium sulfate solution. A few hours later all of those

symptoms vanished as rapidly as they had come. What I was beginning to see was

that nearly all illnesses in my adult life were magnesium deficit related.

From which foods do we get magnesium? According to my Nutrition

Almanac, a cup of peanuts or almonds would satisfy the RDA for magnesium, while

only 1/4 cup of kelp (Warning! very high in glutamate) would be needed. Soy

flour, bran flakes, whole wheat, raw brown rice, avocado, wheat bran, shrimp,

tuna, Brazil nuts, cashew nuts, sesame seeds, walnuts and collard greens also

supply significant dietary magnesium. In the audio Bible, Genesis 1:29 - " God

said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face

of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding

seed; to you it shall be for meat. " I marvel at the similarity of Biblical

teaching to the above list of foods containing large amounts of magnesium.

Succeed! Depression is not a psychosis! NIH Table of Food Sources of

Magnesium

The National Institute of Health has prepared the following food table

showing the best sources of magnesium in the U.S. diet. Look at it! They are

nearly all highly fattening foods. I would rather not get fat and just take my

magnesium supplements to handle my depression problems. The very idea of loading

up on these fattening foods should make anyone depressed. The government is a

robot saying over and over " cut down on fattening foods " for your health! BS!

For us manic depressives and depressives, following the NIH dietary guidelines

suggested in the NIH link on keeping magnesium intake low is suicidal, not just

because they limit our intake of magnesium, but of other extremely critical

nutrients including taurine, boron and Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) such as the

Omega-3 EFAs. Even so, the NIH admits that a sign of magnesium deficiency is

depression. Even though the NIH list appears accurate, it may be misleading for

us because many of these foods have much more calcium

than magnesium. Excess calcium over magnesium inhibits absorption of magnesium

from the diet. A list of foods in this web page having more magnesium than

calcium is here.

Food Milligrams

%DV

Kelp 100 grams (Warning! very high in glutamate)760

190

Alfalfa 100 grams230

58

Avocado, Florida, 1/2 med103

26

Wheat germ, toasted, 1 oz90

22

Almonds, dry roasted, 1 oz86

21

Cereal, shredded wheat, 2 rectangular biscuits80

20

Seeds, pumpkin, 1/2 oz75

19

Cashews, dry roasted, 1 oz73

18

Nuts, mixed, dry roasted, 1 oz66

17

Spinach, cooked, 1/2 c65

16

Bran flakes, 1/2 c60

15

Cereal, oats, instant/fortified, cooked w/ water, 1 c56

14

Potato, baked w/ skin, 1 med55

14

Soybeans, cooked, 1/2 c54

14

Peanuts, dry roasted, 1 oz50

13

Peanut butter, 2 Tbs.50

13

Chocolate bar, 1.45 oz45

11

Bran (pure), 2 Tbs44

11

Vegetarian baked beans, 1/2 c40

10

Potato, baked w/out skin, 1 med40

10

Avocado, California, 1/2 med35

9

Lentils, cooked, 1/2 c35

9

Banana, raw, 1 medium34

9

Shrimp, mixed species, raw, 3 oz (12 large)29

7

Tahini (from sesame seed), 2 Tbs28

7

Raisins, golden seedless, 1/2 c packed28

7

Cocoa powder, unsweetened, 1 Tbs27

7

Bread, whole wheat, 1 slice24

6

Spinach, raw, 1 c24

6

Kiwi fruit, raw, 1 med23

6

Hummus, 2 Tbs20

5

Broccoli, chopped, boiled, 1/2 c19

5

 

*DV = Daily Value. DVs are reference numbers based on the Recommended Dietary

Allowance (RDA). They were developed to help consumers determine if a food

contains very much of a specific nutrient. The DV for magnesium is 400

milligrams (mg). The percent DV (%DV) listed on the nutrition facts panel of

food labels tells adults what percentage of the DV is provided by one serving.

Even foods that provide lower percentages of the DV will contribute to a

healthful diet.

 

Wow! I am lucky to be alive! My diet had excluded all magnesium rich

foods for months. I wonder if people who go on diets delete these critical foods

from their diet, start to feel a bit low, and rightfully decide to forget

dieting. It is well known that some people must eat fattening foods simply to

feel well. Is magnesium demand from fattening foods the link between fat people

and depression avoidance? I know that I am not as hungry using magnesium

supplements. Actually, I think the cure for hunger is magnesium, because the

foods (mainly wheat) that used to be our main source of magnesium and other

nutrients are no longer good sources for them.

A few days after digesting what I had learned, I checked MedLine for

some backup. I looked up " magnesium " AND " depression " . Sure enough it was there.

Calcium/magnesium imbalances with magnesium being low were found in depressed

patients that had attempted suicide. Other articles supported the concept too.

For example, high serum and cerebrospinal fluid calcium / magnesium ratios were

found in recently hospitalized acutely depressed patients. The further I looked

on the web, the more exciting and proliferate the became - which, hopefully, is

reflected in this page. Another book in my library, The Dictionary of Minerals,

Thorsons Publishing Group, New York, point-blank read, " Therapy with magnesium

has been used to treat ...mental depression... " . Magnesium has recently been

medically demonstrated to reduce severe therapy resistant mania. That was enough

evidence for me. That same day I purchased magnesium glycinate, a non-toxic

dietary supplement found in a local health food

store. How much should I take each day? Was it safe? I really didn't know and

didn't much care. I made a decision to start out with about 3 times the 400

mg/day RDA for magnesium, with 400 mg in the morning, 400 mg mid afternoon and

400 mg at bedtime. I used Carlson's chelated magnesium glycinate (200 mg

magnesium elemental) product. I was an optimist by this time so I bought 3

bottles.

What did it taste like? To me the first few times I used magnesium

glycinate it tasted strangely metallic. But taking it with milk it didn't taste

metallic at all. This is an important observation that merits explanation. There

are chemicals in milk fats and other food fats that bind magnesium and other

bioactive minerals to biologically inactive state. That may be a reason why

fatty foods are bad for the heart. One might consume enough magnesium to fulfill

the RDA, but if the magnesium is bound so tightly to a stearate or oleate that

it is non soluble and is excreted through the feces without being absorbed into

the blood, what good is it? What happens to the heart? Heart attack! I think

this is why some in the FDA think the RDA for magnesium should be raised to

about 900 mg per day. Other people using magnesium glycinate have not noticed

any strange metallic taste.

Within a few days to a short week, I felt remarkably better, my

depression lifted noticeably, but I was getting a bit of diarrhea. Yeah! I

didn't need that damned lithium corkscrew anymore!! (just kidding). Oh, the

taste of those tablets! I needed some coated magnesium glycinate tablets.

Actually, the taste was bad during the first few weeks only, after that the

taste was not noticeable. Who knows what that means.

Within a week to 10 days of starting magnesium, I felt close to being

well. I looked so well, that my psychiatrist thought I looked better than he had

ever seen me. One interesting fact from The Dictionary of Minerals is that

lithium intake is associated with an increase in magnesium, calcium and

phosphate blood serum concentrations. A possible explanation for these findings

is that Li+ displaces Mg2+ from intracellular binding sites. As I improved, I

lowered my dosage of magnesium to find the best dosage for me. I lowered it too

much and symptoms rapidly came back. Eventually, I stabilized the dosage at four

200-mg elemental magnesium (as magnesium glycinate) tablets a day. Four hundred

mg is the RDA for magnesium for men. Succeed! Depression is not a

psychosis! June 7, 2000

My depression is completely, totally, absolutely gone, gone, gone! I am

active and can function mentally, emotionally, and physically at my best again.

No more cardiac arrhythmia! Not only that, my vision and bowels have also

returned to normal - finally. I consider myself to be back to my good old normal

self - although my critics will never admit that I am normal and have never been

normal. Whatever normal is. Yet, a strange anxiety that the depression would

return remained unabated.

What caused my rapid recovery after being a treatment resistant,

non-responder for many months? Did going off those antidepressant meds cause it?

Was it my imagination? Would I have gotten well anyway? Was it just the lithium?

I seriously doubt it. My bet is on repletion of magnesium, both by dietary

supplementation and action by lithium in increasing blood serum levels of

magnesium. I can now see that my diet has been deficient in magnesium for years.

My diet did not include high-in-magnesium foods listed above. Worse, I had been

on a magnesium depleting diet from eating fatty foods and ingesting too much

calcium. If I hadn't realized my magnesium problem, I probably would have died

of a heart attack, like these guys warn. I repleted my body with magnesium, but

did not use a great excess of magnesium as such might be toxic.

If you have time, search the above link's depression links, and do a

search or two for " depression " , " suicide " and " serotonin " . When I conducted a

mini search, I was overwhelmed with relating magnesium deficiency with mental

illness. Succeed! Depression is not a psychosis! Stress as Ultimate

Cause of Depression

If you are a medical or science type you might like to read Mechanisms

of Action on the Nervous System in Magnesium Deficiency and Dementia. One

paragraph in this link is so important that I quoted it here: " Although a

neurosis pattern due to magnesium deficiency is frequently observed and simply

cured through oral physiological supplementation, neuroses are preeminently

conditioning factors for stress (thus increasing demand for magnesium). Neuroses

may therefore very frequently produce secondary magnesium depletion. They

require their own specific anti neurotic treatment and not mere oral magnesium

physiological supplementation, but both genuine forms of neurosis due to primary

neural magnesium deficiency and magnesium depletion secondary to a neurosis may

exist. These two conditions may be concomitant and reinforce each other. In

these stressful patients it may be difficult to establish the primacy of one or

the other. In practice, physiological oral magnesium supplements

may be added to psychiatric treatments, at least at the start. " I interpret

this to mean that magnesium alone can prevent stress from resulting in neuroses.

 

Stress intensifies release of two major classes of " stress hormones " ,

the catecholamines and corticosteroids, which normally greatly increase survival

of well animals when their lives are threatened.

 

Catecholamines are chemically similar small molecules derived from the

amino acid tyrosine. The major catecholamines are dopamine, norepinephrine, and

epinephrine (old name: adrenalin). Dopamine is a neurotransmitter (a chemical

used to transmit impulses between nerve cells) found mainly in the brain.

Norepinephrine is the primary neurotransmitter in the sympathetic nervous system

(controls the " fight or flight " reaction) and is also found in the brain.

Epinephrine is not only a brain neurotransmitter, but also a major hormone in

the body. Epinephrine is secreted from the adrenal medulla in response to low

blood glucose, exercise, and various forms of acute stress (in the latter case,

the brain stimulates release of the hormone). Epinephrine causes a breakdown of

glycogen to glucose in liver and muscle, the release of fatty acids from adipose

tissue, vasodilation of small arteries within muscle tissue, and increases the

rate and strength of the heartbeat. All of the

catecholamines are metabolized by their target tissues or by the liver to

become inactive substances that appear in the urine: For example, dopamine

becomes HVA, norepinephrine becomes normetanephrine and VMA, and epinephrine

becomes metanephrine and VMA. Consequently, a urine test for elevated

catecholamines is both simple and available.

 

Corticosteroids are group of natural and synthetic analogues of the

hormones secreted by the hypothalamic-anterior pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA)

axis, more commonly referred to as the pituitary gland. These include

glucocorticoids, which are anti-inflammatory agents with a large number of other

functions; mineralocorticoids, which control salt and water balance primarily

through action on the kidneys; and corticotropins, which control secretion of

hormones by the pituitary gland. They have been thorougly researched and

developed as drugs in the treatment of many diseases. Corticosteroids are used

to provide relief for inflamed areas of the body. They are extremely strong

drugs. They lessen swelling, redness, itching, and allergic reactions. They are

often used as part of the treatment for a number of different diseases, such as

severe allergies or skin problems, asthma, arthritis and certain cancers and

leukemias. They have many well-known side effects.

 

When magnesium deficiency exists, stress paradoxically increases risk of

cardiovascular damage including hypertension, cerebrovascular and coronary

constriction and occlusion, arrhythmias, sudden cardiac death (SCD), asthma,

anxiety and depression. Dietary imbalances such as high intakes of fat and/or

calcium (Ca) can intensify inadequacy of magnesium, especially under conditions

of stress. Thus, stress, whether physical (i.e. exertion, heat, cold, trauma -

accidental or surgical, burns), or emotional (i.e. pain, anxiety, excitement or

depression) and dyspnea (difficulty in breathing) as in asthma increases need

for magnesium. Magnesium deficiency intensifies adverse reactions to stress that

can be life threatening. Such reactions are mediated by excess release of the

stress hormones, catecholamines and corticosteroids, which are increased by low

magnesium and high calcium levels, and which further lower tissue magnesium in a

feed back fashion, and suppress testosterone

production.

 

More on the consequences of magnesium deficiency on the enhancement of

stress reactions; preventive and therapeutic implications is here and in the

following figure. Genetic differences in magnesium utilization may account for

differences in vulnerability to magnesium deficiency and differences in body

responses to stress. There are so many stressors in our active lives that

adversely affect magnesium reserves; it is a miracle that we can live on our

puny magnesium deficient diets without vastly more cardiac and psychiatric

problems.

Magnesium is a required nutrient for people to handle stress in general

and stress in neuropsychiatric disorders. Not getting sufficient dietary or

supplemental magnesium during medical treatment for stress related disorders

such as anxiety and depression is bound to fail. A short and easy to read

summary of magnesium and its stress relief action is presented here by Dr. Leo

Galland. He points out that stress depletion of magnesium is often so intense

that dietary sources are insufficient, and supplementation is required.

Measure your level of stress here. These effects and aggressive

behavior are easily observed in the mouse model. Magnesium is now marketed as an

anti stress mineral. Stress, diuretics, fluoride, refined flour, chemotherapy,

too much sugar, antibiotics, large amounts of protein, and high fat foods

decrease absorption of magnesium, as do foods high in oxalic acid (mainly fresh

spinach and possibly tea in excess) which deplete magnesium in the body, which

in turns lowers one's resistance to stress and depression (a feedback loop).

Overweight and obese people are usually low in magnesium, a mineral necessary to

metabolize (burn) fat. People working outside in high temperatures and high

humidity often become magnesium deficient and have stress related problems.

What blows my mind is that there has already been an extraordinary

amount of work collecting data that shows magnesium to be a profoundly important

nutrient in preventing and treating hundreds of illnesses and conditions,

particularly those illnesses related to stress. It seems that magnesium

deficiency in our diet is responsible for many forms of bad health and early

death. Don't take my word for it, rather visit Paul Mason's site and see his

huge list of magnesium treatable disorders.

Also, the Health-World web site has a growing but still incomplete list

of magnesium deficiency symptoms, which include (alphabetically) acute heart

attacks, agoraphobia, anxiety, angina pectoris, asthma, back aches, breast

tenderness, cardiac arrhythmias, chronic fatigue syndrome, can't take a deep

breath, carbohydrate craving (especially of chocolate) and carbohydrate

intolerance, chest tightness, chronic cardiovascular disease, chronic fatigue

syndrome, coronary artery disease, cramps, depression, diabetes, difficulty

swallowing, eclampsia of pregnancy, feeling uptight, frequent sighing, epilepsy,

headaches, high blood pressure, hyperactivity, insomnia, jaw joint (TMJ)

dysfunction, lump in the throat-especially provoked by eating sugar, menstrual

cramps, muscle soreness, muscle tension, mitral valve prolapse, musculoskeletal

disorders, neck pain, numbness, palpitations, panic disorder, pre-eclampsia,

premenstrual irritability, photophobia, panic attacks, restlessness with

constant movement, salt craving, tingling, twitches, urinary spasms, zips, zaps

and vibratory sensations.

I remain amazed and perplexed that magnesium deficiency remains, for the

most part, ignored, neglected, and forgotten. There is one medical journal

Magnesium Research that reports the subject very well, but it is a very

difficult journal to find in nearly all medical libraries. It is the official

organ of the International Society for the Development of Research on Magnesium.

Their first publication date was July, 1988, which makes it a johnny-come-lately

among medical journals. The publisher is John Libbey and Company in London.

Typically, magnesium researchers find that their work finds no interest by other

journal editors, and they end up submitting their work to Magnesium Research

simply to get it published, where it is totally ignored by establishment medical

doctors and, until recently, remained the subject of academic curiosity.

Fortunately, independent-minded physicians and citizens can research the

National Library of Medicine's PubMed index and find these precious

life-sustaining journal articles. Paul mason is trying to bring much original

research on magnesium and health to the Internet. The full text of many vital

magnesium and health articles can be directly viewed at this vital link. It

seems to me that by ignoring these magnesium deficiency disorders, that medicine

has a guaranteed retirement fund. What do I mean? Look at the above list, and

other similar lists carefully and you will see that much of medicine is

dedicated to developing medications for, and treating these specific symptoms

and not treating the underling cause (magnesium deficiency). Consequently,

patients remain ill and return to doctors' offices for more expensive drugs.

Folks, billions of dollars of pharmaceutical drug company income and physician

income is at stake! Be warned!

Can I be so obtuse as to say that magnesium supplementation had nothing

to do with my recovery? Can I be so callous as to not recommend magnesium to

others who are suffering from depression, bi-polar disorder, or any of the

anxiety related symptoms listed above? Or any of the symptoms of magnesium

deficiency listed here? Duh!!!

I am positive that all suffering from clinical depression want relief -

NOW! No waiting for a med to kick in 4 to 8 weeks! You want it now!!! However,

without sufficient magnesium, recovery will most likely be very difficult and

prolonged. Succeed! Depression is not a psychosis! January 19, 2001

Update and Miscellaneous Musings

Looking back over the last year, I now realize that the increases in

lithium that I was prescribed (a gradual increase from 300 to 1050 mg lithium

carbonate per day) was associated with progressive reductions in feeling of well

being (sort of a placid zombie-like feeling) and pending damage to thyroid

function (excess lithium causes hypothyroidism). On December 5, 2000, I decided

that it was imperative for me to stop lithium because I did not want to have to

be dependent upon thyroid extract for the rest of my life due to the toxicity of

lithium. Even though lithium is a mineral element, it is not found in the human

diet except in trace amounts (which are related to even temperament). However,

magnesium is a vital to life essential human nutrient. I.E. there is no RDA for

lithium (or any drug), but there is for magnesium! Actually, lithium is a drug

that is being used to sustitute for a nutrient, magnesium! How tricky of those

docs! What a way to drum up business!

Surprisingly, I began to feel better, even better than I felt in June

when I first started taking low-dose lithium and high-dose magnesium. After

several months off of lithium, people say I look ten years younger. I feel much

sharper and my mental capabilities have returned to what is normal for me. I

hope that I will never again take lithium. I now strongly suspect that the main

biochemical function of lithium is to raise magnesium levels in the blood as

mentioned above, with the mental benefit coming not from lithium but from

lithium induced increased magnesium blood levels. This idea could account for

the 40 percent failure rate of lithium in preventing future depressive episodes.

That is to say, if dietary magnesium intake is so low that not even lithium can

return it to normal levels, then one succumbs to depression or other magnesium

deficiency disorders.

I remember meeting people (in group therapy classes and elsewhere) that

looking backward seem likely to have been magnesium deficient. I remember a

bright young lady that was terribly suicidal. She was totally resistant to all

known antidepressants. She was so thin that she was nearly skin and bones and

obviously was malnourished. She wanted to commit suicide so badly that she was

under constant supervision. I can't help but wonder if she was misdiagnosed,

meaning that she was severely, gravely magnesium depleted. I remember meeting

many other people who were depressed; one was a single female registered nurse,

who was overwhelmed by her stressful hospital duties and her desperate family

child care situation. I remember a lovely young suicidal woman whose favorite

tune was the theme from M*A*S*H. Apparently, she had no idea of the lyrics to

the song " Suicide is Painless " . She had been pounding out that song on piano for

years. I wonder if she would have been there had her

favorite song been something else. A 40ish man who could no longer accept that

he was, in his opinion, a failure in his business. A lawyer who couldn't handle

further domestic abuse. An internationally acclaimed scientist and editor who

was overwhelmed by his time-line oriented job. Young children who were sad all

of the time for no apparent reason, even if they were given all the toys they

wanted. There was a young gay who desperately didn't want to be gay. Each of

these people, and I suspect most depressives, share one thing common in their

lives. STRESS! Magnesium deficiency can be brought on by diet too. I know a

wonderful young lady who felt that she was too fat for her husband and went on a

1-month starvation diet. She lost enough weight, but became extremely magnesium

deficient; and developed very difficult to treat multiple cardiac and depression

symptoms causing enormous stress in her life. The strange part about stress is

that magnesium deficiency and stress reinforce and

build upon each other, resulting in a difficult to manage, unstable downward

spiral. Succeed! Depression is not a psychosis!

FURTHER RESEARCH

When I purchased my first bottle of magnesium glycinate, it was not from

intelligence that I chose that particular compound of magnesium. It was just

what was available on the shelf at the store I visited. After considerable

research, I found that the store provided the second best form of magnesium that

I could have chosen to treat depression. Only magnesium taurate (a form of

magnesium that decreases chances of diarrhea) is superior to all other forms of

magnesium. Both glycine and taurine have been used to effectively treat

depression. Also taurine (the ligand in magnesium taurate) has been shown to be

low or absent in 100 percent of people with depression and chronic pain

according to Shealy.

I quit taking and quit recommending magnesium glycinate because glycine,

in the doses taken and while taken for a protracted period of time, will damage

its delicate balance with another amino acid, taurine. Taurine is vital to

mental and cardiac health and must not be disturbed, while glycine is ubiquitous

and appears highly unlikely to be bothered by too much taurine. For example,

diets with up to 1% as taurine had no adverse effect on thest animals. Long term

high doses of glycinate will eventually cause ever worsening cardiac arrhythmias

and will never allow total recovery from depression or other mood disorders,

although most people will find that it works miracles for them in the

short-term. Also, both magnesium and taurine have been proven to be low in

depression in about 80% and 100% of cases respectively. Read Shealy's article

starting here. See sentence immediately before the Discussion section. This does

not mean magnesium glycinate is harmful in the short- or

near-term, it just means one shouldn't use it year in and year out, and it must

be IMMEDIATELY stopped if side effects, particularly cardiac arrhytmias (PVS

and/or PACs) occur.

Glycine (the second component of magnesium glycinate) chelates (removes)

mercury from the body, and may be supeior to even magnesium taurate for people

with heavy metal posioning in the short- or near-term. Citric acid and cysteine

also remove mercury and appear safer for long term use than glycine. The first

stability constants for glycine, cysteine and citric acid are in the log 10 to

log 14 range, which are vastly stronger bindings than can be broken by any

natural biology or chemistry event occuring in the body. Glycine is a

non-essential amino acid, but for people with mercury poisoning, it, cysteine

and citric acid may be highly important. Because of these amazing chelating,

sequestering or binding powers, if they reacted with mercury in any form in the

body, they should be able to bind them much more tightly, making mercury

biologically unavailable in the body. Perhaps, consumption of large amounts of

these amino acids from high quality protein sources, and consumption

of citrus help protect from the toxic effects of mercury. Mercury is extremely

toxic and can cause depression and many symptoms associated with depression.

These symptoms include, insomnia, nervousness, memory loss, dizziness, anxiety,

loss of self-confidence, irritability, drowsiness, weight loss, tremors,

paraesthesia (numbness and tingling), hallucinations, headaches, fatigue, muscle

weakness, hearing difficulties, emotional instability, skin inflammation,

incoordination and kidney damage. The common areas where mercury is found are:

auto exhaust emissions, used motor oils, pesticides, fertilizers, dental

amalgams (silver fillings), drinking water (tap and well), leather tanning

chemicals, felt, bleached flour, processed foods, fabric softeners, fish (tuna,

swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tile fish), calomel (mercury chloride

contaminant in talc, body powder), paint pigments and solvents, cinnabar

(mercury sulfide - used in red jewelry items), inorganic mercury laxatives,

mercurochrome/methiolate anti-infectives, cosmetics (mascara), floor waxes and

polishes, wood preservatives, water plumbing & piping, adhesives, batteries,

used air conditioner filters (better here than in the air), broken thermometers,

and some electronic equipment. Consequently, supplementing several grams of

these chelating agents daily is a good idea regardless of current mental health.

Succeed! Depression is not a psychosis! Collected Thoughts on Dosage

Now, more than 3 years after my very rapid recovery, I still ponder the

correct dosage for magnesium, perhaps because this is the number one question

asked by readers. What are the facts? There are some in the FDA who believe the

U.S. RDA of 400 mg for men and 350 for women is too low, and that many persons

need as much as 900 a day in their diet for a normal life. Canada, who pays for

its citizen's health care, has a RDA of 600 mg magnesium for adults.

Dosage depends on the ligand, the thing to which the magnesum is

attached. In the case of magnesium taurate, the ligand is " taurate " . Absorption

is largely a property of contact of the magnesium ion with the lining of the

stomach and intestines. If magnesium is lightly bound to the ligand, then the

acidity of the stomach can " ionize " the magnesium from its ligand and convert it

to magnesium chloride (from the stomach acid hydrochloric acid) and finally into

a positively charged ionic form for transfer into the blood where it is then

picked up by various other ligands for transport to cells. Stomach acid can

reduce the magnesium compound to the ionic form for metal complexes that have

low to modest chemical stability, releasing both the magniesum ion and the

ligand. The following magnesium compounds have sufficiently low stability that

they offer very high absorption and are well tolerated. Magnesium acetate,

chloride, citrate, gluconate, glycinate, lactate, malate, succinate,

sulfate, tartrate and taurate are all very good, ionizable sources of

magnesium. Intravenously, hospitals give magnesium sulfate. Magnesium chloride

would be best, but it is very hygroscopic and difficult to properly package. On

the other hand, magnesium oxide, magnesium hydroxide and magnesium carbonate are

totally useless because they are too tightly bound together for the stomach acid

to dissociate into ionic form. They will not work except in much larger doses,

which greatly increase risk of diarrhea. In fact magnesium hydroxide is used to

treat constipation (Milk of Magnesia). All of the useful, ionizable compounds of

magnesium taste bad. On the other hand magnesium carbonate, oxide and hydroxide

have no taste. These compounds are so tightly bound not even the taste buds are

affected by them. Always taste-test each bottle of magnesium to detect

improperly labeled products. Improperly labeled magnesium products do exist in

the United States and they do cause many people to

complain that " magnesium didn't work " . Obviously, neurotoxic-to-us ligands

(glutamate and aspartate) must be avoided.

Much of this essay relates to and asks why one needs so much supplemental

magnesium to maintain mood? Normally, people don't consider magnesium as a part

of their nutrition, even though magnesium is the second most prevalent mineral

inside their cells (potassium is first). Have you ever seen magnesium on a food

ingredient label? Not likely. I know I haven't, except for Planters® nuts.

Clearly people with mood disorders leak or do not properly absorb magnesium.

Consequently, without supplements of magnesium we are in desperate condition.

There is an important section in this essay that explores in depth the question

of why we leak magnesium and can't properly absorb it. Please read that section

to see which factors might be involved in your personal situation. You will

probably need to discuss these factors with your physician. Briefly, there are

two main reasons, kidney (urinary) and gastrointestinal (fecal) losses. Some

losses are caused by damage to these two organs by

common drugs, usually prescription drugs like steroids, birth control pills,

antifungals, laxatives and antibiotics. Other causes of damage include poor

diet, endocrine disorders, parasites, infection and many other shown in this

link. In my case, I know medicines damaged my gut by treating a yeast infection

first with prescription antibiotics (improperly prescribed) and then with

steroids (a potentially dangerous medicine). Did that further predispose me to

depression? I think so.

There are four very important dietary causes of low magnesium, which are:

(1) " Leaky gut Syndrome " - inadequate intestinal bacteria, (2) insulin / sugar

problems and (3) improper calcium / magnesium ratio, and (4) low bile

production. During our youth, we are usually immune to each of these problems,

but as we age (either in years or from toxins such as drugs or abuse of sugars

and calcium), our ability to defend ourselves from these factors declines,

sometimes to the point of illness. We will now discuss the main underling

non-medical reasons for low intracellular magnesium, which cause depression (and

many other common illnesses). " Leaky Gut Syndrome "

The answer to the question, " How much should I take to cure my

depression? " , closely relates to what caused the magnesium malabsorption or

leakage. In nearly all cases severe stress (metabolic, psychological,

environmental, physical) is involved as a predisposing factor. However, " Leaky

Gut Syndrome " may be the most frequent cause of our inability to absorb

magnesium. In nearly all cases, improving digestion by any means possible, such

as use of stomach acidifiers (AC Vinegar), enzymes, CoQ10, soluble fiber, and

correcting " Leaky Gut Syndrome " are easy and should be our highest priorities

for rapid recovery. How? First, we must realize that insufficient stomach acid

prevents absorption of minerals including magnesium, and that anything that

irritates or damages our intestines impairs our ability to absorb magnesium. If

magnesium is not absorbed through the walls of the stomach, in the large

intestines magnesium ions attract vast numbers of molecules of water and promote

retention of water - the usually accepted cause of its laxative effects.

However, inadequate production of bile and the resultant diarrhea may be far

more important in our inability to absorb sufficient magnesium. We must also

realize that magnesium when present in the gut in sufficient concentration acts

on our intestinal flora in the same way as an antibiotic - a definite gut

irritant! This action may be because magnesium ions (especially as magnesium

chloride - the form of magnesium present in our bodies as result of hydrochloric

stomach acid) have strong, wide-spectrum antibiotic action. The antibiotic

action of magnesium ion, using Epsom Salt, is well appreciated in veterinary

medicine, and is used daily in treating topical wounds in animals, particularly

abscesses in hoofs of horses. Also, Walter Last recounts its early use in humans

as an antibiotic here. Why magnesium ion is not used as a broad spectrum

antibiotic in people today is unclear, but probably has little to do

with efficacy and much to do with economics. Regardless, if sufficient

magnesium gets into the large intestines, it can and often does disrupt the

normal flora of the gut causing a form of " Leaky Gut Syndrome " in the absence of

adequate bile. This effect results in inadequate absorption of magnesium,

calcium and many other nutrients which can cause many disorders including

depression. Treating " Leaky Gut Syndrome " therefore becomes a novel way to treat

depression.

How is " Leaky Gut Syndrome " treated? First, identify and avoid things

that irritate the gut such as food allergens, alcohol, caffeine, sugar (excesses

cause intestinal yeast overgrowth) and drugs. Second, probiotics

(life-sustaining bacteria normal and required in the intestines) such as

acidophilus lactobacillus (available at pharmacies, health food and grocery

stores) are needed to maintain and replace intestinal flora killed by excess

magnesium ion. Only the strongest, fresh (refrigerated) available should be

used, in a sufficient amount (6+ billion viable microorganisms per dose) and at

a frequency (3 to 5 doses a day) to terminate diarrhea nearly overnight. Taking

probiotics at times of the day different from magnesium only makes sense. Just

like we would never take antibiotics at the same time of taking probiotics, we

must not take magnesium with probiotics. There seems to be zero risk of

overdosage using quality products, but mixed probiotic cultures may not be

useful

particularly if un refrigerated, because they have the habit of killing each

other in warm environments when stored for a long time. If you want to get

really serious about GI health, do what I do, use refrigerated 450 billion

bacteria VSL#3 packets several times a day. Gas may be a side effect until the

body adjusts. Ask the store clerk which probiotics have been shipped and

maintained in a refrigerated state and which are the strongest. Third, psyllium

husk fibers or bars without added sugar are very helpful in providing intestinal

bulk and harborage for the intestinal flora. Some researchers say that damage to

the gut repairable using probiotics takes from 3 to 6 months, even though

diarrhea can usually be terminated within a few days. Consequently, we must

avoid the temptation of early withdrawal from these life- and health-sustaining

agents. We need to remember that diarrhea is not necessary for there to be

" Leaky Gut Syndrome " . Diarrhea is only one symptom of this disorder.

Also, learn more about how and why treating " Leaky Gut Syndrome " is vital to

general health recovery and other related treatments of value.

The amount of magnesium that we ingest is not as important as the amount

we absorb. Many times magnesium tablets do not quickly dissolve in the stomach,

resulting in entire tablets getting into the intestines where they always cause

diarrhea. Allowing a tablet to dissolve in a glass of water or in the mouth will

reveal problems with tablet dissolution rates. In cases of slow dissolution,

tablets can be crushed and dissolved in a small glass of water with soluble

fiber. I have an indelicate pallet, and I chew the tablets to a powder. I don't

know if others can do the same. If you find a magnesium product and it does not

taste bad, it probably will not work!!!

What is the result of curing " Leaky Gut Syndrome " in the treatment of

depression with magnesium? Perhaps most importantly, the total daily amount of

magnesium required to improve mood is lowered. On occasion, repair is so

complete that supplemental magnesium may be discontinued after a few months

without recurrence of depression. Importantly, if we can cure " Leaky Gut

Syndrome " and our mood improves to normal, we can be assured that we have fixed

a serious problem using a very simple and harmless technique that allows us to

rule out more complicated causes for our problems with mood. Who could say that

treating depression with probiotics is not better than treating depression with

Prozac®? Taurine - The Perfect-Poop Maker!

Inadequate production of bile, which is made in the liver and aids in

proper digestion of fats, probably is ten times more responsible for diarrhea

and malabsorption of magnesium than any other single factor while taking

therapeutic doses of magnesium. How can we get our bile production high enough

to improve our absorption of magnesium? Cottage cheese, low in calcium and very

high in taurine (1700 mg per cup), is a good food source. Taking taurine

supplements along with various ionizable magnesium compounds (such as magnesium

acetate, chloride, citrate, gluconate, glycinate, lactate, malate, succinate,

sulfate, tartrate), or magnesium taurate (1:10 stoichiometric ratio), seems to

do the trick, because both result in perfect poop. Loose stools normally

attendant with daily 1200 mg magnesium dosage (split into 200 to 300 mg doses),

appeared completely preventable by taking ten times the dosage of taurine with

the magnesium doses (for example: for each 200 mg magnesium dosage,

2000 mg of taurine is ingested). Taurine is a conditional essential amino acid

for humans, well known to be essential in human infants, but not in adults. Its

other main function is in preventing cardiac arrhythmias (palpitations) and

regulating cardiac rhythm generally, by supporting potassium metabolism too.

Since I have had an increasingly severe problem with cardiac arrhythmias (PACs

and PVCs), such is the reason I experimented with taurine. Although the

arrhythmias were slowly benefited over a one month period and finally

disappeared, the poop issue became immediately evident the first morning after

my initial taurine dosage. I searched the Internet and PubMed for and found only

that " excess taurine acts as a diuretic and laxative " . I disagree. Perhaps such

is true for people not taking large amounts of magnesium, but not true for those

that are taking large amounts of magnesium taurate with CoQ10.

Taurine is supposed to be one of the most abundant amino acids in the

body. It is found in human and animal central nervous systems, skeletal muscles

and is very concentrated in brain, heart and eye tissues. It is synthesized from

the amino acids methionine and cysteine, in conjunction with vitamin B6. Animal

protein (particularly seafoods) is a good source of taurine, but it is not found

in vegetable protein. Vegetarians with an unbalanced protein intake, and

therefore deficient in methionine or cysteine will have great difficulty

manufacturing taurine. Dietary intake is thought to be more important in women

as the female hormone estradiol depresses the formation of taurine in the liver.

Taurine functions in electrically active tissues such as the brain and

heart to help stabilize cell membranes. Taurine seems to inhibit and modulate

neurotransmitters (like glycine and GABA) in the brain and helps to stabilize

cell membranes. It also has functions in the gallbladder, eyes, and blood

vessels and appears to have some antioxidant and detoxifying activity. Taurine

aids the movement of potassium, sodium, calcium, and magnesium in and out of

cells and thus helps generate nerve impulses. Zinc seems to support this effect

of taurine. There have been reports on the benefits of taurine supplementation

for epileptics. It has also been found to control motor tics, such as

uncontrollable facial twitches. In Japan, taurine therapy is used in the

treatment of ischemic heart disease.

Low taurine and magnesium levels have been found in patients after heart

attacks. Like magnesium, taurine affects cell membrane electrical excitability

by normalizing potassium flow in and out of heart muscle cells. Supplements

decrease the tendency to develop potentially lethal abnormal heart arrhythmias

after heart attacks. People with congestive heart failure have also responded to

supplementation with improved cardiac and respiratory function. Taurine is

necessary for the chemical reactions that produce normal vision, and

deficiencies are associated with retinal degeneration.

Besides protecting the retina, taurine may help prevent and possibly

reverse age-related cataracts. Low levels of taurine and other sulphur

containing amino acids are associated with high blood pressure, and taurine

supplements have been shown to lower blood pressure in some studies. Other

possible uses for taurine supplementation include eye disease (including

scleritis and retinal disease), cirrhosis, depression and male infertility (due

to low sperm motility) and hypertension, and as a supplement for newborns and

new mothers. It is vital in maintaining the correct composition of bile and the

solubility of cholesterol. It has been found to have an effect on blood sugar

levels similar to insulin.

Very interestingly, taurine and glycine exist in the presence of a time-

and dose-dependent exchange mechanism. After administering glycine to rats,

researchers discovered that it produced a notable suppression of hepatic taurine

content in the liver. Yet, this taurine decrease was not found in other

taurine-rich organs such as the brain, heart or kidney. The mechanism for

hepatic concentration of these two amino acids serves to alter liver

concentrations of these amino acids without adversely affecting the rest of the

body. The significance of this is very high, because as glycine goes up and

taurine goes down in the liver, bile production is impaired and intestinal

absorption of magnesium becomes greatly impaired, helping to explain why

diarrhea resulting from magnesium taurate is essentially non-existant. In some

people sensitive to this reaction, magnesium glycinate would be contraindicated,

while magnesium taurate would be very helpful. Further, I believe that my PAC

and

PVC cardiac arrhythmias were caused by too much glycine, and that by changing

from magnesium glycinate to magnesium taurate they are prevented.

Like all nutrients, taurine enhances or decreases the action of other

nutrients. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of the amino acid

glutamic acid. If glutamic acid supplementation is given, as is sometimes done

with alcoholics, it tends to reduce taurine. MSG itself can also reduce taurine

levels. The amino acids beta-alanine and beta-hypotaurine, as well as the

B-vitamin pantothenic acid, may also interfere with taurine’s functions. Zinc,

on the other hand, enhances taurine’s effects. Zinc deficiency and combined

vitamin A and zinc deficiency are associated with an increased excretion of

taurine in the urine and with depleted taurine levels in the tissues where it is

normally found. Cysteine (found in meat) and vitamin B6 are the most critical

nutrients to support the manufacture of taurine in the body of human beings or

those species that are able to synthesize enough.

Taurine is an important regulator of cellular ion transport and osmotic

balance, aspects that are pivotal to renal function. The kidney not only

regulates body taurine status, but emerging information also suggests that body

taurine status is of consequence for renal function. While reduction in

endogenous taurine stores can attenuate renal excretory function, exogenous

taurine supplementation is kidney-protective and augments kidney function in

several conditions that are associated with reduction in diuresis and

natriuresis. Thus taurine treatment may be of potential benefit in conditions

that are associated with impaired kidney function and the accompanying

dysregulation of body fluid and electrolyte homeostasis. I say that anything

that improves kidney function is vital to us.

Taurine supplementation is now recommended for the prevention and

treatment of diabetes. In order to determine the effects of taurine

supplementation or depletion on the morphological changes of pancreatic

beta-cells in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, rats were fed diets

supplemented with 1, 2 or 3% taurine or 5% beta-alanine in their drinking water

for 7 weeks. After 3 weeks, diabetes was induced by streptozotocin injection (50

mg/kg body-weight). Pancreatic morphology was observed by transmission electron

microscopy. The pancreatic beta-cell of the non-diabetic (CO) group had the many

secretory granules, rough endoplasmic reticulum and rod shaped mitochondria.

However, the beta-cells of non taurine-supplemented diabetic (EO) group were

severely damaged, showing depleted secretory granules. In the 1%

taurine-supplemented diabetic group, the beta-cells were less damaged compared

to the EO group and had some apparently normal secretory granules, but most of

rough

endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria was destroyed. The beta-cell of 2%

taurine-supplemented diabetic group had swollen rough endoplasmic reticulum,

round-shaped mitochondria and some apparently normal secretory granules. The

beta-cell of 3% taurine-supplemented diabetic group was little different from

that of non-diabetic group. The pancreatic beta-cell of taurine-depleted

diabetic group was not destroyed but had many small secretory granules which

appeared immature. This was reflected in the blood glucose concentrations of

this group. Therefore, taurine may prevent insulin-dependent diabetes by

protection of the pancreatic beta-cell and may also preserve normal secretory

granules. From these results, taurine supplementation may be recommended for

prevention and treatment of diabetes. Beta-alanine worsened diabetes. Magnesium,

however, plays an important role in the regulation of insulin secretion by

altering the sensitivity of the beta cells of the Islets of Langerhans to

glucose.

The MSGTruth.org site commented that taurine was the antidote for

glutamate poisoning. I questioned Carol Hoernlein, the founder of the

MSGTruth.org site about her point of view and she wrote me back writing:

 

George,

The MSG toxicity - taurine deficiency link theory is my own. I developed

the theory over ten years ago. At first in my research of glutamate toxicity and

its effect on cardiovascular health, most of the neuroscientific data at the

time linked glutamate toxicity to its effect on the amino acid cysteine.

(Glutamate and cysteine compete for uptake in the body.) I then was given an

article about the amino acid taurine by a colleague. That was the link. Taurine

deficiency symptoms are the exact same symptoms of MSG reaction. Particularly a

racing heart. (Taurine is the amino acid that regulates heart beat.) When I

realized that the body manufactures taurine from cysteine, the pieces fell into

place. I then tested my theory. The next MSG reaction I had, I took taurine in

pill form. The headache went away, the racing heart calmed down, the blood

pressure went down, and I was able to sleep. Since that time, I have used it

quite often and always keep some handy as an " antidote " . It is

interesting to note, that now taurine is being used in Japan to treat high

blood pressure. It is also being studied to treat diabetes and epilepsy now.

These are also two diseases impacted by glutamate. Glutamate triggers the

pancreas to produce insulin, but too much insulin can result in insulin

resistance, Type II diabetes, and obesity. Also, MSG is well known as an

epilepsy trigger. All these facts point to the conclusion that ingested MSG

somehow interferes with taurine formation in the body, perhaps by interfering

with the uptake of the cysteine needed to make taurine. It is by no means an

" official " theory, but we have had many reports of MSG sensitive persons who

report relief of some MSG reaction symptoms by ingesting taurine. It is also

interesting to note that the body uses Vitamin B6 to make taurine, and that

Vitamin B6 deficiency makes MSG reactions worse.

I will be adding a page to the website soon about taurine, as it is a

fascinating amino acid.

Hope this explains things a bit better. If you more questions, I'd be

happy to answer them.

Carol A. Hoernlein, P.E.

Founder MSGTruth.org

 

Carol's and my personal beliefs have major, scientific support. Taurine

prevents glutamate excitotoxicity through regulation of calcium and

mitochondrial energy metabolism according to scientists writing in the November

1999 issue of Journal of Neuroscience. They clearly and unambiguously point out

that the control of intracellular calcium concentrations is a fundamental

process in neuronal survival and function. This, prevention of glutamate

excitotoxicity, is exactly what we need, and is a powerful reason I switched

from magnesium glycinate to magnesium taurate. This importance of this point

cannot be over emphasized. Further, I believe that my PAC and PVC cardiac

arrhythmias were caused by too much glycine, and that by changing from magnesium

glycinate to magnesium taurate they are prevented.

Aspartate, glutamate, and glutamine, among other amino acids, are

excitatory. They are antagonistic to the functions of taurine, alanine, GABA and

glycine according to a contemporary review of taurine by Richard Smayda, D.O..

Consequently, Carol is correct, taurine does detoxify glutamates. Dr. Smayda's

review is of considerable importance to all of us interested in magnesium and

depression. Dr. Smayda points out that major depression is marked by alterations

in serum levels of the excitatory amino acids glutamate and aspartate,

accompanied by deviations in levels of taurine, serine, and glycine as well. In

patients who did not respond to treatment with classical SSRI antidepressants

(treatment-resistant depression - like what we are discussing in this page),

characteristically lower serum levels of taurine, aspartate, asparagine, serine

and threonine, with a steep increase in glutamine, were noted. Consequently,

magnesium taurate is the preferred forms of magnesium for

treating depression. These alterations may become valuable as diagnostic

assessments to predict the response to treatment with antidepressants. I remain

extremely cautious about glutamates and aspartates due to toxicity that has been

previously discussed. Here is a link to an important review of taurine in

biological functions and food sources, with cottage cheese being low in calcium

and very high in taurine (1700 mg per cup). Who sells magnesium taurate? I like

Cardiovascular Research's Magnesium Taurate product. Order a case of it from us

today (click here).

According to Dr. Smayda, taurine is a necessary and integral element for

optimal health. Oral supplementation poses no major threat of toxicity, and its

presence in foods makes it widely available to people seeking nutrition-oriented

ways to improve their health. The importance of taurine cannot be overstated and

its greater therapeutic application awaits only further research. It truly is

part of the team of nutrients that we require for maintaining optimal health and

sustaining life. However, in those individuals who develop stomach ulcers with

aspirin, for instance, large doses of supplemental taurine may be

contraindicated.

MF MaCarty writes in Medical Hypotheses: " By a variety of mechanisms,

magnesium functions both intracellularly and extracellularly to minimize the

cytoplasmic free calcium level, [Ca2+]i. This may be the chief reason why

correction of magnesium deficiency, or induction of hypermagnesemia by

parenteral infusion, exerts antihypertensive, anti-atherosclerotic,

anti-arrhythmic and antithrombotic effects. Although the amino acid taurine can

increase systolic calcium transients in cardiac cells (and thus has positive

inotropic activity), it has other actions which tend to reduce [Ca2+]i. Indeed,

in animal or clinical studies, taurine lowers elevated blood pressure, retards

cholesterol-induced atherogenesis, prevents arrhythmias and stabilizes

platelets--effects parallel to those of magnesium. The complex magnesium taurate

may thus have considerable potential as a vascular-protective nutritional

supplement, and might also be administered parenterally, as an alternative to

magnesium

sulfate, in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction as well as of

pre-eclampsia. The effects of magnesium taurate in diabetes deserve particular

attention, since both magnesium and taurine may improve insulin sensitivity, and

also may lessen risk for the micro- and macrovascular complications of

diabetes. "

Concerning pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, MF MaCarty writes in Medical

Hypotheses: " The use of parenteral magnesium sulfate for the management of

pre-eclampsia/eclampsia is well established. In striking analogy to the effects

of hypermagnesemia, taurine has antivasospastic, antihypertensive,

platelet-stabilizing, anticonvulsant and hypoxia-protective properties. Thus

parenteral magnesium taurate can reasonably be proposed as a superior

alternative to magnesium sulfate in the treatment of pre-eclampsia; administered

orally as a component of prenatal supplementation, magnesium taurate might well

have both preventive and therapeutic value in this syndrome. In the light of the

hypoxia-protective actions of both magnesium and taurine, such supplementation

might also protect fetuses experiencing temporary perinatal asphyxia, lessening

the risk of cerebral palsy. "

Concerning migraines, MF MaCarty writes in Medical Hypotheses: " Although

the pathogenesis of migraine is still poorly understood, various clinical

investigations, as well as consideration of the characteristic activities of the

wide range of drugs known to reduce migraine incidence, suggest that such

phenomena as neuronal hyperexcitation, cortical spreading depression, vasospasm,

platelet activation and sympathetic hyperactivity often play a part in this

syndrome. Increased tissue levels of taurine, as well as increased extracellular

magnesium, could be expected to dampen neuronal hyperexcitation, counteract

vasospasm, increase tolerance to focal hypoxia and stabilize platelets; taurine

may also lessen sympathetic outflow. Thus it is reasonable to speculate that

supplemental magnesium taurate will have preventive value in the treatment of

migraine. Fish oil, owing to its platelet-stabilizing and antivasospastic

actions, may also be useful in this regard, as suggested by a few

clinical reports. Although many drugs have value for migraine prophylaxis, the

two nutritional measures suggested here may have particular merit owing to the

versatility of their actions, their safety and lack of side-effects and their

long-term favorable impact on vascular health. "

In the cat, taurine is an essential amino acid, and one of the best

layman's pages on taurine on the Internet is dedicated to cats. In that page

taurine is again shown to antagonize glutamates, and visa versa.

Recently, it has been suggested by Chinese scientist Zhao Xi-he and

co-workers that taurine may act as an antihypertensive substance through central

and peripheral mechanisms in animal models and in human essential hypertension.

Taurine is high in seafood and not present in plant food. Foods high in taurine

are eaten by ocean-loving people in countries including Japan, Sicilie, Italy

and Greece having a low incidence of cardiovascular disease and very long life

spans.

 

Taurine content of meats, poultry and aquatic products in China (mg/100 g

edible portion)

 

Food

 

Taurine conc.

 

Food

 

Taurine conc.

 

Conch

 

850

 

Hairtail fish

 

56

 

Inkfish

 

672

 

Yellow croaker

 

88

 

Blood clam

 

617

 

Eel

 

91

 

Clam

 

496

 

Chicken leg

 

378

 

Shellfish

 

332

 

Chicken breast

 

26

 

Crab

 

278

 

Pork

 

118

 

Prawn

 

143

 

Pig heart

 

200

 

Sole

 

256

 

Pig kidney

 

120

 

Crucial carp

 

205

 

Pig liver

 

42

 

Silver carp

 

90

 

Beef

 

64

 

Taurine was not detected in egg, bean, rice and other plant food. The

lowest prevalence of hypertension was among people that lived in fishing areas

and this may be related to the high taurine content in their diet. Fujita et al.

reported that when 6 g taurine/day was given to young adult males with

borderline hypertension for 7 days, their systolic and diastolic blood pressure

decreased significantly to levels similar to those of the placebo-treated

controls.

The same effect from taurine was also found by other nutritionists in

China. Zhang et al. compared the blood pressure of three populations living in

fishing and farming areas in China and found that the blood pressure of

populations in the fishing area was the lowest. Serum and urinary taurine

content were negatively related to blood pressure. They also found that sodium

excretion was positively associated with taurine excretion. American scientists

attribute this amazing resistance to cardiac problems to Omega-3 essential fatty

acids, but the arguement for taurine is vastly stronger, however there could

easily be overlap in benefits.

More on taurine in foods by H. Pasantes-Morales in " Nutrition Reports

International " , Oct. 1989: Taurine is converted from methionine and cysteine,

and with help from sulfur, sodium and cloride changes to taurine. The highest

concentration of taurine was found in clams and octopus (41.4 micromoles/g and

31.2 micromoles/g), followed by shrimp and fish (12.4 micromoles/g and 9.1

micromoles/g). Beef, pork and lamb meat contain taurine in concentrations

ranging 3.5-4.0 micromoles/g. Taurine concentration in chicken leg was 6.6

micromoles/g and in chicken breast was 1.4 micromoles/g. No taurine was found

either in hen eggs (yolk or white) or in dairy products or in honey. Taurine was

undetectable to trace amounts in fruits and vegetables to include rice, corn,

oatmeal, pumpkin, rye, wheat, barley, sesame seed, coffee and cacao, black

beans, chick peas, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, pinenuts

pistachios. All analysis were carried out in uncooked samples, and cooking

greatly reduced taurine content of most foods.

Looking at the low-taurine diseases above, one notes that they are

generally diseases of aging. One may be led to ask if taurine production by the

liver and retention by the kidney are impaired in aging. If yes, does

supplementation of taurine make up for the losses? Eppler and Dawson found that

a decrease in hepatic taurine biosynthesis may cause, in part, the observed

decline in tissue taurine content in aged rats, and that taurine supplementation

does restore taurine blood levels. Their study indicated that a decline in

taurine content may exacerbate oxidative stress in aged rats, which can be

reversed by dietary taurine supplementation. Dawson and team has done extensive

research in decline in taurine in aging since 1990. They showed that age-related

reduction in plasma taurine may have important consequences in respect to

regulation of blood pressure, cardiovascular function, and cardioprotection, as

well as possible CNS complications. Significant age-related declines in

taurine content were observed in the spleen, kidney, eye, cerebellum and serum.

Taurine supplementation corrected these deficits in tissue content in aged rats,

and in many cases increased taurine content above that of adult controls.

Urinary excretion of taurine was significantly reduced in aged rats indicating

an increased need to conserve taurine. Taurine-deficient diets did not further

exacerbate the age-related decline in tissue taurine content, suggesting

biosynthetic adaptations to the lack of dietary taurine. Dietary taurine

supplementation blunted age-related declines in serum IGF-1 and increases in

serum creatinine and blood urinary nitrogen (BUN). Their studies suggest that

advanced aging results in a taurine-deficient state that can be corrected by

dietary supplementation. They also pointed out that taurine in the brain

declined with aging, which was correlated with loss of dopamine. I add that such

also appears true in humans.

Consequently, to my way of reasoning, if taurine production falls off in

aging, and if taurine is necessary for kidney preservation of electrolytes such

as magnesium and potassium, low taurine seems to result in greatly reduced

health partly by loss of magnesium through the kidneys. Therefore, my

observations that my cardiac arrhythmias were caused by low magnesium (as shown

by my magnesium sulfate lozenge test) can be viewed more properly as resultant

from a cascade effect of low-taurine-induced magnesium, which resulted in

low-magnesium-induced potassium.

Life Extension Foundation magazine has a presentation of 99 scientific

" taruine " abstracts.

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) has been reported by some people to greatly minimize

the loose bowels normally found using large amounts of magnesium. Very little

information concerning this effect has been found in the literature, but the

effect to those that have tried 100 mg CoQ10 with each dose of magnesium has

been remarkable. Here is a link to " Altered Immunity & The Leaky Gut Syndrome "

by Dr. Zoltan P. Rona MD, MSc, that goes into the biochemistry of leaky gut

syndrome and what can be done about it better than any other article that I have

found. CoQ10 is mentioned here, but little emphasis is placed on it. Looking

into the relationship between yeasts and CoQ10, one finds that ubiquinones (in

the human it is CoQ10) are essential for oxidative phosphorylation in both

yeasts and humans. The human coenzyme Q, CoQ10, is administered orally for the

treatment of heart disease and other disorders. Some patients, however, require

much higher doses than others to attain a therapeutic CoQ10

blood level. C. A. Krone et al. proposes that one possible explanation for this

variability is excessive Candida colonization of the human GI tract. Many common

medical treatments including antibiotics and anti-hyperchlorhydric agents

increase the risk of GI tract Candida colonization. Subsequent uptake and

utilization of supplemental CoQ10 by excessive yeast could diminish availability

for the human subject. Data from one patient and an in vitro pilot study using

two pathogenic strains of C. albicans supported Krone's hypothesis. If C.

albicans in the GI tract can hinder availability and interfere with therapeutic

effects of CoQ10, it could be of clinical significance for large numbers of

depressed people having loose bowels from magnesium. Consequently, one can see a

cause and effect relationship between ingestion of large amounts of CoQ10 and

relief from loose bowels and diarrhea, thus improved recovery from depression

due to improved absorption of magnesium. Consequently, the

yeasts get fed their CoQ10 before we do, and sometimes we starve!

 

 

 

 

 

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