Rapid Recovery From Depression Using Magnesium Treatment Part 2

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Do you have a yeast infection? Do you have: athlete's foot? jock itch,

thrush, recurrent cystitis or other vaginal infections, endometriosis, fungal

infections of the nails or skin, problems from exposure to chemical fumes,

perfumes, tobacco smoke etc., food allergies, abdominal bloating, diarrhoea or

constipation, pre-menstrual syndrome. depression, fatigue, lethargy, poor

memory, food cravings, muscular aches, tingling, numbness, burning,

unaccountable aches, swelling in joints, erratic vision, spots before the eyes,

floaters?, tachycardia, impotence or lack of sexual desire, symptoms usually

worse on damp days, persistent drowsiness / tired all the time, lack of

co-ordination, headaches / migraines, Mood swings, loss of balance, rashes,

mucus in stools, belching and /or flatulence, bad breath, dry mouth or throat,

nasal itch and/or congestion, nervous irritability, prostatitis, tightness in

chest, ear sensitivity or fluid in ears, heartburn and indigestion, cardiac

arrhythmias, HIV/AIDS. I ask again, do you have a yeast problem? I have read

that over eighty percent of us do, primarily because we have taken antibiotics

and consume a high carbohydrate and sugar diet.. Find out using this

questionnaire from the Yeast Connection site. Learn more about the benefits of

coconut oil and why it is good for you here.

Is it possible that the majority of diseases that we think of as being

magnesium deficiency diseases are really manifestations of Candida

suprainfections? If yes, could coconut oil be the preventative or cure for a

very large number of divergent chronic diseases? I think so. Walter Last also

seems to think so in his new on-line book, 66 Natural Ways to Cure Diseases. See

his section on Candida yeast as the cause of many widely different diseases and

conditions including lack of energy, digestive disturbances, arthritic joint

pains, skin diseases, menstrual problems, emotional instability, cancer and

depression. Walter Last explains that killing the Candida yeast is not enough,

one must also replace the intestinal microflora with acidophilus bacteria, the

good guys as discussed here. I think that principal biological pathways in which

Candida causes many diseases is through impaired magnesium metabolism and by

diets that promote Candida yeast growth. More on the fungusamongus

problem at the FungusFocus web site. Look at the prostatitis page and you will

notice that fungus-induced prostatitis has many coterminous symptoms identical

to magnesium deficiency.

On the other hand, go to your physician and ask him if you have a Candida

infection and unless you have a mushroom growing out of your nose, he/she is

very likely to tell you that yeast infections nearly always occur in

immunosuppressant people, and they do not occur in you. Ask him if you might be

magnesium deficient, and he will likely tell you that no one is magnesium

deficient except for drunks. Why the adverse opinions? Well, if your doctor

prescribed magnesium or coconut oil every time you visited, why go? I think that

it makes vastly more financial sense to dissuade us from looking for root causes

of illnesses than to treat simple underlying problems with natural products.

Does the idea that " Candida infection " is bogus have support on the Internet?

Yes, some. There are a few sites that proclaim " Candidiasis hypersensitivity " to

be bogus, but the main antagonist seems to be the QuackWatch site. The

QuackWatch site is pretty clear that systemic yeast infection is bogus.

Is it? I don't know, but if you find benefit from large doses of coconut oil in

treating the bewildering variety of Candida-related illnesses, I imagine that

you will suspect that the QuackWatch guy, Stephen Barrett, M.D., needs watching!

I do know this much. Five years ago, I complained of a severe yeast infection,

and after seeing many physicians, and after being treated with many antifungals

and antibiotics in the intervening years, I continued to have the problem until

I used coconut oil. Steven Barrett is entitled to his opinion, but this is free

country and we can disagree in good faith. Who is Steven Barrett? He is reported

to be a non-practicing psychiatrist in Allentown, Pennsylvania, working out of

his basement, who is laughed at in this page. Why wouldn't he be practicing? Did

he get busted by the state, like my previous psychiatrist (who is now taking

magnesium) for self-prescribing psychiatric drugs?

What does George think about the disease causing potential of Candida

yeast? I think Barrett is correct. Candida can not reach all these places to

cause these other diseases, but its breakdown product, acetaldehyde, can and

does. Acetaldehyde is an irritant, a toxin, a reproductive toxin, a mutagen and

a carcinogen. It is a dangerous industrial chemical. It is also flammable, and

five times more dangerous than the well known embalming fluid formaldehyde, of

which it is a chemical relative. How do people detoxify this harmful chemical?

Molybdenum is said to be vital in detoxifying acetaldehyde. In The

Candida/Aldehyde detox pathway and the Molybdenum Connection, about 300

micrograms of the dietary supplement molybdenum, along with the B-vitamin

pantethine (the active part of pantothenic acid), taken three times a day has

been recommended to help people detoxify this truly harmful chemical.

Alternatively, molybdenum is found in foods, with potatoes having about 600

micrograms

per 100 grams. If potatoes are no longer eaten due to their high glycemic

index, one might need a supplemental source for this vital nutrient. On the

other hand, the Linus Pauling Institute reports that no healthy person has ever

been reported to be deficient of this nutrient, although excesses are toxic .

How about HIV/AIDS? Candida yeast is found in nearly all of these

patients. Would coconut oil help treat HIV/AIDS? Dr Mercola thinks so because

these oils are also antiviral to a number of viruses including HIV, measles,

herpes simplex (HSV-1), vesicular stomatitis virus, visna virus and

cytomegalovirus (CMV). Dr. Mercola points out that lauric acid is a medium chain

fatty acid, which has the additional beneficial function of being formed into

monolaurin in the human or animal body. Monolaurin is the antiviral,

antibacterial, and antiprotozoal monoglyceride used by the human or animal to

destroy lipid-coated viruses such as HIV, herpes, cytomegalovirus, influenza,

and various pathogenic bacteria, including listeria monocytogenes and

helicobacter pylori, and protozoa such as giardia lamblia. Some studies are

being conducted to see if lowering the yeast load in HIV can prevent the disease

from becoming AIDS, with some success. Some studies have also shown some

antimicrobial

effects of the free lauric acid. Do you feel like we have been deprived of the

truth for long enough? Do you think implementation of Codex will prohibit the

sale of coconut oil too? Seems like it should if the main purpose of Codex is to

protect pharmaceutical company income.

Want to know what that white stuff in your mouth is? Could it be candida?

Dentists often find candida yeast infections in peoples' mouths. Here is a slide

show about oral candida, which is likely to present more than you want to know.

When your dentist chides you about not taking care of your gums by brushing

better, he should be recommending antifungal treatments.

One of these days, I will add a section here about the benefits of garlic.

Briefly, the medical literature supports the fact that garlic has important

anticancer, antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal effects. I am experimenting

with a teaspoon of minced garlic 4 times a day to add a second potent antifungal

agent to my program to kill intestinal candida yeast. So far it is helping quite

a bit (allowed me to reduce my magnesium intake by more than 50%), but I am not

ready to discuss this matter in the detail that it deserves. Killer Sugars

Excessive amounts of carbohydrates, sugar, specifically dextrose

(glucose) interfere with magnesium metabolism to a grave extent. Abnormally high

urinary losses of magnesium can also be caused by a number of kidney conditions

discussed here. Perhaps the easiest and most important to deal with is excessive

glucose sugar, which flushes magnesium from cells and into the urine. High

glucose sugars also promote yeast infections of the intestines (and the vagina

in women), death of beneficial intestinal bacteria and malabsorption of

nutrients (such as magnesium). There may be no greater health problem facing the

West than improper magnesium / glucose ratios. We love candy, sugar, sweet

drinks and rich carbohydrate products. They are the same heavily commercialized

products that make us fat, cause heart attacks, hypertension, strokes, diabetes,

impair our immunity and cause many other diseases, all treatable by expensive

medicines and medical specialists to the delight of the

pharmaceutical drug pushers. We can now add depression, and mood disorders to

the list. High carbohydrate consumption causes intracellular magnesium

deficiency and high intracellular calcium, the exact intracellular conditions

causing depression. High carbohydrate consumption (doesn't matter if it's

starches or sugars) results in high insulin levels throughout the day, and

interferes with sleep at night. This report [barbagallo, Renick 1994] shows that

high blood glucose levels cause the flushing of different minerals from cells,

among which is magnesium. Calcium, on the other hand, is not affected. These

effects have also been seen by Delva et al. in 2002. Delva showed that only the

man made dextrose molecule, the D-dextrose caused problems, while the natural

form L-Dextrose, did not cause the problem. This is reminiscent of the problem

with man-made D-glutamates. Guerrero-Romero and Rodriguez-Moran reported low

serum magnesium in diabetes in 2002. Barbagallo reported altered

cellular magnesium responsiveness to hyperglycemia in hypertensive subjects in

2001, finding: For all subjects, ionized magnesium responses to hyperglycemia

were closely related to basal ionized magnesium levels with the higher the

ionized magnesium, the greater the response (n=26, r=0.620, P<0.001). Thus, (1)

erythrocytes from hypertensive vis-a-vis normotensive subjects are resistant to

the ionic effects of extracellular hyperglycemia on ionized magnesium levels,

and (2) cellular ionic responses to glucose depend on the basal ionized

magnesium environment. Altogether, these data support a role for altered

extracellular glucose levels in regulating cellular magnesium metabolism and

also suggest the importance of ionic factors in determining cellular

responsiveness to nonhormonal as well as hormonal signals. These problems may

result from inadequate insulin, and resultant loss of magnesium though kidneys.

This paper shows that insulin is required inside the kidneys to prevent

magnesium wasting. If nearly all of your insulin is being used to handle

glucose in your blood, and there is little left over for use by the kidneys,

frank magnesium wasting occurs, followed shortly by depression, anxiety and

various states of hyperemotionality discussed here. Consequently, conserving

insulin by dietary means (low glucose consumption) can prevent depression. There

are many other causes of renal magnesium wasting, mostly drug and disease

related. Increasing levels of magnesium were found to cause a marked depression

of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion at fixed calcium levels, particularly at

levels which bracketed the concentration of ultrafiltrable magnesium found in

normal rat plasma (1.3 meq/l), i.e., increasing magnesium from 0.6 to 1.2 meq/l

depressed insulin secretion, and increasing magnesium from 1.2 to 2.4 meq/l

resulted in a further depression.

Glucose lowering of magnesium (but not calcium) poses problems because

calcium is the antagonist of magnesium. This means that resultant higher calcium

levels will further lower magnesium levels throughout the body. After eating a

high-carbohydrate diet for years, magnesium deficiency and high calcium is often

inevitable, perhaps from inadequate insulin. This relationship will not show up

in blood magnesium tests, because 99% of magnesium is stored inside the cells,

intracellularly, while much calcium is found external to cells. Only the Exatest

or red blood cell magnesium (not whole blood or serum) tests will tell you the

truth about your intracellular magnesium / calcium ratios. If intracellular

magnesium is low and calcium is high, there is little doubt that high glucose /

high calcium / low magnesium is the main cause of depression. The reduced

intracellular magnesium alters the way cells open the door for glucose. The

low-magnesium and high-calcium ratio causes the

insulin-key to not fit in cellular-locks. Also, the intracellular magnesium and

calcium content of the pancreas cells change. This makes the pancreas overshoot

insulin. The next time you eat carbohydrates, the same events occur and it gets

worse and worse. Eventually the pancreatic cells stop making insulin and frank

diabetes results, requiring insulin shots. Consequently, the high incidence of

diabetes occurring in depression and vise versa is explained.

Further, type-2 diabetes is caused by magnesium deficiency, and can be

cured even in the very elderly with magnesium in dosages like are used to treat

depression. See this case report of an 86-year old woman, deeply depressed,

cured of her diabetes using magnesium. See this Google.com search for

" magnesium " and " diabetes " for the latest news.

A diabetic's diet (avoiding foods with a high glycemic index) may be

recommended for most people, but the main dietary culprit for those of us with

borderline diabetes is simply to eliminate all candy, sugar, wheat breads,

potatoes, beans and especially high dextrose content sweet products from our

diets, getting us back to a diet more suitable to our paleolithic digestive

system. Very briefly, we really, really need to get back to a paleolithic diet.

Here is a google.com search for " diet " AND " diabetics " . Here are some

recommended books concerning getting back to natural diets. Here is some on

hypoglycemia and magnesium relationships. Here are over 200 links on google.com,

wherein Dr. Mildred Seelig MD (a world-class magnesium expert) warns of the

Western catastrophe of too much sugar and too little magnesium. In Dr. Seelig's

new book (The Magnesium Factor), there is a 3 page list of alternate names for

" sugar " , requiring careful reading of labels on processed foods. I

prefer to avoid all processed foods, simply because sugar is in nearly

everything processed by man. Diabetes increases myocardial (heart) calcium 400

times normal causing severe problems including many heart attacks through

calcification of heart tissues. Eating regularly when not hungry can create a

state of hyperinsulin secretion. Insulin increases appetite because it signals

the need to transport sugar from the blood into the cells. The only known

" remedy " for hyperinsulin secreters is hard exercise (60 minutes at 65% maximum

heart rate capacity at least 4 times weekly). Seems like snacking on comfort

foods would be helpful in depression and who of us can resist a chocolate bar

when we feel bad. But snacking, particularly on high glycemic index foods like

chocolate and other candies will always cause insulin to elevate, which will

lower intracellular magnesium levels and worsen depression. Remember chocolate

and candies are not natural foods but are processed foods.

On the other hand, there are some instances wherein a food has a low GI

value but a high " insulin index " value. This applies to dairy foods and to some

highly palatable energy-dense " indulgence foods " such as jelly beans, Mars bars

and yogurt. Some foods (such as meat, fish, and eggs) that contain no

carbohydrate, just protein and fat (and essentially have a GI value of zero),

still stimulate significant rises in blood insulin. At the present time,

scientists don't know how to interpret this type of response (low glycemia, high

insulinemia) for long-term health. It may be a good outcome because the rise in

insulin has contributed to the low level of glycemia. On the other hand, I think

it may be not-so-good, because the increased demand for insulin contributes to

beta-cell " exhaustion " and the development of type 2 diabetes. Until studies are

carried out to answer these types of questions, the glycemic index remains a

proven tool for predicting the effects of food on health.

Perhaps all that is needed to " safety " foods like these is additive magnesium.

Clearly, carbohydrates require much more magnesium for their proper utilization

than other foods.

Here is a list of common foods by glycemic index thanks to the

Integrative Healthcare website. The index implies an equal weight of foods. A

much larger file (1 MB) of 1200 foods is available. This file is taken from the

University of Sydney Glycemic Index website, which seems to be the most

authoritative source available.

GLYCEMIC INDEXES OF COMMON FOODSBreads & Grains

waffle - 76

doughnut - 76

bagel - 72

wheat bread, white - 70

bread, whole wheat - 69

cornmeal - 68

bran muffin - 60

rice, white - 56

rice, instant - 91

rice, brown - 55

bulgur - 48

spaghetti, white - 41

whole wheat - 37

wheat kernels - 41

barley - 25

Cereals

Rice Krispies - 82

Grape Nuts Flakes - 80

corn Flakes - 77

Cheerios - 74

shredded wheat - 69

Grape Nuts 67

Life - 66

oatmeal - 61

All Bran - 42

Fruits

watermelon - 72

pineapple - 66

raisins - 64

banana - 53

grapes - 52

orange - 43

pear - 36

apple - 36

Starchy Vegetables

potatoes, baked - 83

potatoes, instant - 83

potatoes, mashed - 73

sweet potatoes - 54

green peas - 48

 

Legumes

baked beans - 48

chick peas - 33

butter beans - 31

lentils - 29

kidney beans - 27

soy beans - 18

 

Dairy

ice cream - 61

yogurt, sweetened - 33

milk, full fat - 27

milk, skim - 32

Snacks

rice cakes - 82

jelly beans - 80

graham crackers - 74

corn chips - 73

life savers - 70

angel food cake - 67

wheat crackers - 67

popcorn - 55

oatmeal cookies - 55

potato chips - 54

chocolate - 49

banana cake - 47

peanuts - 14

Sugars

glucose - 100

corn syrup - 100

honey - 73

sucrose - 65

lactose - 46

fructose - 23

 

Beverages

soft drinks - 68

orange juice - 57

apple juice - 41

Foods listed from highest to lowest glycemic index within category. Glycemic

index was calculated using glucose as the reference with GI of 100. Modified

from Foster-Powell and Brand Miller (1995).

Concerning me, I used to get cardiac palpitations (up to one each 10

beats) from certain " high glycemic index " foods. I found that eating chocolate,

candy, eggs or potatoes in large amounts started palpations within an hour, and

avoiding these foods prevented them or lessened them. Meat, peanuts and fish had

no effect. As an experiment, I used a few " pinches " of magnesium sulfate

crystals (with an equal amount of fructose for flavor) dissolved and held in the

mouth over a half-hour to stop these palpitations very rapidly, but they

continued unabated if not treated with magnesium. Palpitations in me seemed to

be a sensitive indicator of my immediate magnesium status. Magnesium ingested in

this manner may be picked up by the lymphatic and venous systems surrounding the

oral cavity area and appears transported directly to the heart — much like

nitroglycerin. Magnesium supplementation is well known to terminate palpitations

which are accompanied by mitral valve prolapse. In this

same article, they showed that 54% of patients with emotional symptoms (anxiety

and depression) had these symptoms resolve using magnesium. The literature does

support the concept of imbalances between calcium and magnesium as causal for

many episodes of cardiac palpitations and most more serious and deadly heart

conditions.

Perhaps Majid Ali, MD in his wonderful article entitled " Lions,

Hypoglycemia, Insulin Roller Coasters, Heart Attacks " from his book What Do

Lions Know about Stress says it best in his 5 faces of sugar-insulin

dysregulation thesis. He writes of his conversation with his God-like-in-wisdom

friend Choura, " Sugar is the primary villain in human metabolism. Excess sugar

in food stresses human energy systems in many ways and causes the dysregulation

of carbohydrate metabolism. Sugar-insulin dysregulation has five faces, " says

Choura. " What are those faces? " Ali asked. Choura replies, " First, sugar creates

sudden surges in blood glucose levels — a condition called hyperglycemia.

Second, sudden hyperglycemia triggers the rapid release of large amounts of

insulin from the pancreas—a condition called hyperinsulinemia. Third, the

insulin response to high blood sugar overshoots its mark and drives the blood

sugar level below the normal range—a state of low blood sugar called

hypoglycemia.

The fourth face of glucose-insulin dysregulation is the insensitivity of

insulin receptors at cell membranes (peripheral insulin resistance). The fifth

face of glucose-insulin dysregulation is too much adrenaline—a state you may

call adrenergic hypervigilance. When an insulin surge drives sugar below the

desirable range, the adrenal glands kick in and dispense blasts of adrenaline to

counter the insulin. Adrenaline is one of the most—if not the most—potent

oxidant in the human body. The oxidative fires lit by adrenaline overdrive the

heart causing arrhythmias, tighten arteries producing high blood pressure, rev

up nerve-muscle conduction sites causing stiff muscles, jitters and sweating.

And that sugar-insulin-adrenergic dysregulation is what the stress specialists

call the 'STRESS RESPONSE'. " I am breathless in the face of this

wisdom-of-the-ages. I can't help but realize, here we are again; right back at

the stress response that we know drives down magnesium levels and causes our

depression. We now also see that sugar drives intracellular levels of magnesium

down, which independently causes depression — counter to what we intuitively

believe. What are we to do about our love affair with sweets? Are we doomed to a

life without sweets to avoid depression, heart attacks and most of the other

illnesses that plague Western society?

Many people have a sweet tooth, brought on by the opiate-like activity of

sweet carbohydrates. Yes we are talking about addiction. Complete elimination of

sweetness from our diet is not desirable or practical. Fortunately there is a

very sweet food, fructose, that is extremely low on the glycemic index. Fructose

(GI 20) is a natural sugar, a monosaccharide and the mirror image of glucose.

Fructose has exactly the same amount of energy, 4 kcal/gram as sugar or dextrose

but it is up to twice as sweet as sugar therefore much less is required for

sweetness. Fructose, fruit sugar, is the natural sweetener found in all fruits.

Orally ingested fructose travels to the liver and can be used there without the

need for much insulin. Fructose is converted to glucose in the liver and

contributes to an increase in blood glucose, rather than being stored as

glycogen. Unlike sucrose and glucose which cause quick changes to the blood

glucose levels and disrupt the metabolic control of a person

with diabetes, fructose is absorbed more slowly and causes fewer changes in

blood glucose levels. Fructose does not interfere as much with the magnesium /

glucose ratio, perhaps because only one-half of the amount of fructose produces

the same sweetness as sugar. Fructose is available at health food stores, but

its table use may not be totally satisfactory because it is hygroscopic, meaning

it will become wet from moisture that it picks up from the air. Its primary use

in foods is in cooking and preparation of sweet drinks. Alternatively, to

satisfy a sweet tooth, and totally avoid aggravating depression, use Stevia, the

ultra safe, herbal, top secret, super-sweetener that the FDA doesn't want you to

know about. Avoid potatoes and eggs (the Classic Mexican-American breakfast-taco

which causes diabetes in astonishing numbers) with their complex carbohydrates,

which can have a greater impact on insulin than pure sugar. Regardless of your

dietary interests, try for a maximum of 30

grams of carbohydrates a day. Keep your intake of high glycemic index foods to

a minimum. Eat your steaks and balanced Omega-3, -6 and 9 fats, because

cholesterol has nothing to do with heart attacks, but a too low cholesterol has

much to do with involuntary suicide, as you will be reminded here.

On the other hand, there is also reason to be cautious about fructose, a

very sweet carbohydrate. Ledochowski et al. at the Institute of Medical

Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Innsbruck, Austria found in 2000 that

elimination of fructose and high fructose content fruits from the diet has great

benefit in treating depression in people that do not metabolize fructose or

sorbitol correctly. They found that when fructose is not well absorbed, when it

reaches the colon it is broken down by bacteria to short fatty acids, CO2 and

hydrogen gas resulting in bloating, cramps, osmotic diarrhea and other symptoms

of irritable bowel syndrome. They showed that fructose malabsorption is

associated with early signs of mental depression and low serum tryptophan

concentrations. They found that a fructose-reduced diet could not only improve

gastrointestinal complaints but also reduced depression scores by 65 percent

after 4 weeks of diet (P < 0.0001), and there was a significant

reduction of abdominal distension (P < 0.0001) and stool frequency (P < 0.01).

Improvement of signs of depression and of abdominal distension was more

pronounced in females than in males. They concluded that fructose- and

sorbitol-reduced diet in subjects with fructose malabsorption does not only

reduce gastrointestinal symptoms but also improves mood and early signs of

depression. Consequently, if you have bloating, cramps, diarrhea or other bowel

symptoms, you should eliminate all fruits from your diet and not use fructose or

sorbitol as a sweetener.

You know that alcohol is a carbohydrate. But did you know that alcohol is

a very large contributor to low magnesium and depression, as well as

dehydration, anxiety, osteoporosis, heart problems and diabetes? Study " alcohol "

and " magnesium deficiency " on google. Got a hang-over headache? Try magnesium.

Think about it. Back in the early '60s when I was in the old Strategic Air

Command (SAC), when we got drunk and the APs rounded us up and escorted us back

to the barracks, they gave us really large doses of vitamin B-6 (which is vital

for magnesium metabolism), and we were usually sufficiently sober the next day

to pass for being " present for duty " . Magnesium would have been better. Dr.

Ricardo Brown at Wayne State University found that acetaldehyde (the extremely

toxic breakdown product of alcohol) reduced calcium entry into heart cells,

which reduced inter-cellular exchanges that allow the heart to pump. The

exposure to alcohol also caused cardiomyopathy, a condition in which

the chambers of the heart are dilated more than normal. From there, Dr. Brown

looked into whether those who suffered from diabetic cardiomyopathy or

hypertension were worse off than those with normal hearts in response to alcohol

consumption. Again, using diabetic or hypertensive rats as models, he found that

the ability of the heart to contract in the presence of alcohol was even more

depressed. His findings, published in the European Journal of Pharmacology for

reduced heart damage from acetaldehyde toxicity was to supplement with

magnesium, thus helping to restore proper calcium levels. He showed that in rats

the cardiac damage from alcohol was much lower when large amounts of magnesium

was added to the diet. Drunks urinate (waste) very large amounts of magnesium. I

can hear it now, one drunk says to another, " Hey, Billy-Bob, pass me the

magnesium. " The other drunk says, " No way Jose, get your own. " Remember that

being stupid is a right, but being too stupid is a wrong. Although

some alcohol-industry funded research suggests that small amounts of alcohol

daily are healthful, perhaps by releasing magnesium from bone storage depots, I

will not waste the non-alcoholic's time in discussing this totally preventable

health risk (alcoholism) any further. For me, any alcohol is too much.

Wanna hear a really good military story? While I was in SAC, I had a 1951

Buick with a bad transmission. One day I found that some stranger was removing

the motor from my car with a portable hoist. Actually, he was stealing it. I

called the California Highway Patrol and they arrested him and hauled him off to

jail. The following Monday, I was recounting this story to my Captain, when the

Mather AFB commander called. The General was in a rage, and he wanted me and my

Captain front-and-center in his office in an hour. Why me? I was just a lowly

airman. When we got there, we saluted and stood tall, not having the slightest

idea of why we were there, and we were a bit scared. The General accused me of

having his top B-52 crew chief locked up on a trumped-up charge of stealing my

motor. Well, George was not going to have anything to do with that, so I

explained the facts to him. He really didn't like it and was fuming mad,

certainly he was having palpitations. He told me that my

actions effectively grounded one of his B-52 bombers that was needed for his

Crome Dome missions. Crome Dome was an Air force program that used B-52s loaded

with hydrogen bombs to cruise off the northern coast of the old Soviet block, an

action which threatened life on this planet in a program eventually called

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). Well, the discussion and debate got really

heated, but when it was all over the general told me that he would trade my

motor for his B-52! Hummm. Sounded good to me, but I drove a hard bargain and

got the general to fix my Buick's transmission too. I am probably the only

person on Earth to have ever held a B-52 hostage for a Buick motor!

There are a number of minerals such as zinc, vanadium and chromium that

are vital to carbohydrate metabolism. Without adequate intake of these minerals,

life is not possible, and premature death, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and

diseases of aging (including depression and insomnia) occur. Insulin is often

called " insulin zinc " because of the essential role played by zinc. A dietary

intake of more than 15 mg zinc per day is required for good health, and intake

of 100 mg per day has been shown to improve cellular immunity in old people and

younger people, while 300 mg per day for 6 weeks impairs cellular immunity. The

best source of supplemental zinc is zinc gluconate. GTF chromium is an essential

insulin cofactor too. GTF stands for Glucose Tolerance Factor. Although 65% of

the public has glucose intolerance, 90% of the public is low in chromium, thus

our ability to regulate sugar is seen as a chromium deficiency - but there is

more because high glucose diets flush out

chromium 3 times faster than low glucose diets. Chromium picolinate has long

been recommended to enhance glucose handling, but " picolinate " is a pancreatic

excretory product and is no longer recommended for use in dietary supplements. A

B-vitamin complex of chromium called chromium nicotinate is found to be

three-times more readily absorbed than other forms of chromium and is now

recommended. The National Academy of Sciences recommends 50 to 200 mcg of

chromium daily, but less than 10% of the public gets 50 mcg per day from their

diet. Supplements of chromium in 200 mcg daily doses (1 or more daily) are

needed by 90% of the public and all people having problems with high glycemic

index foods. Me? I use 400 mcg chromium with each meal and bedtime to support my

magnesium taurate dosages. WARNING: This much chromium as " chromium picolinate

(GTF chromium) " would be highly toxic. Picolinate is the toxic ingredient. This

toxicity is particularly embarrassing to the U.S. Department of

Agriculture since they developed it, patented it and continue to support it.

Vanadium can mimic the role of insulin, reducing the need for insulin. See this

google.com search for " vanadium " and " glucose " . Dietary supplements of vanadium

[as vanadyl sulfate 5000 micrograms (equivalent to 975 micrograms vanadium)]

several times a day may be very beneficial in lowering the need for insulin, and

is a hot topic of current interest amongst researchers and body builders. I am

experimenting with vanadium and I take two tablets of 975 mcg vanadium with each

meal and bedtime. I am finding that these minerals appear to greatly stabilize

magnesium balance and seem to prevent its urinary loss. What is interesting here

is the absence or deficiency of these minerals can reduce the effectiveness of

insulin on sugars thus leading to " magnesium wasting disease " which leads to

depression. Redistribution of magnesium by insulin shots into cells may cause

lower magnesium serum levels, which should be

interpreted as beneficial not detrimental.

Throughout this section on " Killer Sugars " , I have acted as if we all

knew what our blood sugar was supposed to be. You have been told by your doctor

that the range was " 65 to 109 mg/dL " . Life Extension magazine editor William

Faloon presents a powerful case that such reference numbers are pure garbage. He

presents his point with the observation that the pancreas, the body's main blood

glucose level regulator, stops secreting insulin when glucose levels drop below

83 mg/dL, this data having been published in HARRISON'S PRINCIPLES OF INTERNAL

MEDICINE, Thirteenth Edition, McGraw Hill, 1994, pages 2001 - 2004. Faloon's

point is that " the pancreas thinks glucose levels should be no higher than 83

mg/dL and certainly not as high as physicians say to be " normal " , which is a

reference range of " what is observed " in our sick population, and not what it

would be in a healthy population. Following the diet I present below for five

months lowered my blood sugar level one hour after

lunch to 84 mg/dL. In a study of 2000 men over a 22 year period, the research

showed that men with fasting blood glucose values over 85 mg/dL had a 40%

increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease than those with lower blood

glucose in otherwise healthy men. Getting sugar out of our diets will not only

keep depression away but will keep us living longer. Succeed!

Depression is not a psychosis! Milk & Calcium Toxicity

The third dietary cause of inadequate intracellular magnesium is

competition by calcium. This is one very obvious cause, particularly to people

who have gone off their ridiculous calcium supplements and dairy products diet

and gotten much better in just a day or two. To those people that refuse to

eliminate calcium supplementation (perhaps due to previous advice from a

physician), I offer my condolences and hope that you have a good long-term

health care insurance policy. People ask me if I worry about not getting enough

calcium by " over " emphasizing magnesium. People seem to want to supplement their

already calcium-rich, dairy product laden diets with calcium too, not magnesium.

Some people are actually afraid to stop drinking milk, even though they are

toxic from drinking too much of it and supplementing with calcium to

theoretically " prevent osteoporosis " . Why?

The dairy industry has used " osteoporosis prevention " as a marketing

tool for calcium. However, milk and calcium supplements do not seem to be the

correct answer. In countries where dairy products are commonly consumed, there

are actually more hip fractures than in other countries. When put to the test,

most studies show that dairy products and calcium supplements have little effect

on osteoporosis. As surprising as that may be, when researchers have measured

bone loss in postmenopausal women, most have found that calcium intake has

little effect on the bone density of the spine. There is also little or no

effect on bone at the hip, where serious breaks can occur. Some studies have

found a small effect from calcium intake on bone density in the forearm. The

overall message seems to be that, as long as one is not grossly deficient in

calcium, calcium supplements and dairy products do not have much beneficial

effect. Science magazine (August 1, 1996) noted: " ...the large body

of evidence indicating no relationship between calcium intake and bone

density. " Why not? For one thing, hormones very carefully regulate the amount of

calcium in bones. Other studies have shown that increasing magnesium intake

increases bone absorption of calcium. Why? The balance of calcium and magnesium

must be maintained, and since there is plenty of calcium in our diets, bone

density increases from extra magnesium is an automatic reaction. On the other

hand, simply increasing calcium intake does not fool these hormones into

building more bone, any more than delivering an extra load of bricks will

convince a construction crew to build a larger building. Psychiatrists have

known for many years that loss of hormonal control of calcium causes severe

mental illnesses (dementias) including depression. Apparently, long term, stress

with excessive calcium intake and limited magnesium intake can cause loss of

hormonal control of calcium.

What happens to people that go cold-turkey on dairy and calcium

supplements? In the spring of 1998, I had a heel bone density test done using

the new FDA approved Sahara ultrasound test for osteoporosis, which is made by

the Hologic Company. The test cost me $20 and was totally painless, as are all

ultrasounds. It was conducted by a respected local clinic, so what did I have to

loose? My 1998 test result was taken when I was 58. I had a new test done in

Spring of 2003. These are my test results for 1998 and 2003. My wife said I was

(and still am) very hard headed, and these tests confirm her observations. Until

I became depressed in 1999, I had been practicing the

high-calcium-is-good-for-you-concept too. My bone density has fallen a bit, but

my bone density is still 1 standard deviation higher than average. My heel bone

density remains high, and T-Scores changed from +0.6 to +0.1 over the five

years. These T-Scores are indicative of very low risk of bone breakage from

osteoporosis. Obviously my bone density was not damaged by

no-more-calcium-than-I-can-obtain from vegetables. Also, I drink de-ionized

(essentially distilled) water without any mineral content, so that is not a

source of hidden calcium. My mental health is much better with low calcium and I

very much believe in very low calcium as a healthy way of living, but only if

there is adequate magnesium. Please contact Hologic and find a local clinic that

can do this test for you before you terminate calcium. Recheck each year.

Calcium toxicity is something that even the National Dairy Council has a

great concern, saying near the bottom of their page: " However, overuse of

calcium-fortified foods, calcium supplements, or antacids containing calcium may

increase risk of calcium toxicity, characterized by high blood levels of

calcium, kidney damage, and calcification of soft tissues. " High blood levels of

calcium are called hypercalcemia, which can cause: nausea, vomiting, alterations

of mental status, abdominal or flank (kidney) pain, constipation, lethargy,

depression, weakness and vague muscle/joint aches, polyuria, headache, coma

(severe elevation) and death (particularly in the elderly who are more sensitive

to excess calcium). Kidney damage includes kidney stones. Do you really want to

have " calcified soft tissues " ? They include calcified arteries (hardening of the

arteries), calcified heart valves (mitral valve prolapse), and calcified

tendons. As we age, calcium also accumulates in the soft

tissues of the body. When calcium deposits in dead tissue, it is called

dystrophic calcium (like atherosclerotic plaques). When excess calcium becomes

deposited in living tissue, it is called metastatic calcium (like

arteriosclerosis). Heart attacks and death often result from excess

accumulations of calcium in these conditions but do not occur from excess

magnesium, which appears highly protective. When calcium gets into cells, the

cells turn on, whatever " on " is for those cells. In the case of stress-induced

depression and related mental disorders, the cells are the neurosynaptic cells

of the brain discussed in depth here. When calcium enters a muscle cell, the

muscle contracts. If excessive calcium stays there, the muscle stays contracted

and results in severe pain. The familiar knots in our upper backs and necks are

just such calcified muscles that are stuck in the " on " or contracted position.

The pathological version of this condition is called fibromyalgia where there

are many

such knotted muscles. The extreme example of this is rigor mortis (as in

death), in which all the muscles of the body are flooded with calcium and

contract - permanently. As we age, we accumulate more and more dystrophic and

metastatic calcium, and become stiffer and stiffer. The solution, balance excess

calcium with excess magnesium, or simply don't indulge in the

Calcium-At-Any-Cost campaign! Feel like you have been lied to? Yes? You are

right. Interestingly, physicians now, (finally) report that low blood calcium

can be caused by underactive parathyroid glands, low calcium in the diet, severe

burns or infections, pancreatitis, kidney failure, or low blood magnesium. Which

of these six possible ways to develop low blood calcium is most likely to be

cause of low calcium in the Western diet? Anybody remember magnesium

fortification or magnesium promotions by any company? Any danger here? No. How

about calcium promotions and advertisements? Aren't they everywhere? Yes! Given

this

apparent intent to poison Americans with calcium, why would anyone be concerned

at this juncture about overdoing magnesium? Is this Al Qaeda's secret weapon for

killing Americans? NO! We invented this one all by ourselves, probably thanks to

the NIH's unbalanced consensus statement on calcium (a monograph absent balance

with magnesium). Nothing that I am saying should be construed to mean anything

more than we must feed ourselves in a way that keeps our magnesium and calcium

balance correct, or, in many of our cases, reestablish a proper, healthy calcium

magnesium balance, nearly always by reducing calcium overloads and increasing

magnesium. If we don't want to balance our calcium and magnesium ratios using

supplemental magnesium and a low calcium diet, we can always allow psychiatrists

to do it with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

All of these effects are exaggerated in space flight, and pose serious

problems of heart attacks during flight and post flight. In addition to the

previously described ischemic mechanisms which may lead to calcium overload of

the myocardium and the arterial wall, and potentially leading to a myocardial

infarction, other conditions complicating space flights, can precipitate calcium

overload with cell necrosis, i.e. catecholamine elevations, insulin resistance

and magnesium ion loss and deficiency. A major effort is in place to maintain

magnesium serum levels during space flight, because loss of magnesium during

space flight is found to be a limiting factor on space flight duration. The loss

of magnesium is much greater in men and current interest in women in space

flight is stimulated by their lower losses of magnesium. Candida albicans yeast

is a serious problem in space flight because it depletes acidophilus bacteria

and would greatly reduce magnesium absorption. One might

hypothesize that female astronauts are strongly interested in preventing

vaginal yeast infections in space flights and that they use acidophilus, a major

promoter of magnesium absorption prophylactically, thus explaining these

differences.

Scientists and physicians will want to read this ten-page report titled

" Calcium and Magnesium Deposits in Disease " , by Mildred S. Seelig, MD, MPH of

the American College of Nutrition, a world-class expert on magnesium. This

article points out that most abnormal mineral deposits are calcareous, occurring

in areas of tissue damage that can be caused by magnesium deficiency. Topics

covered: Mineralization of arteries and heart by calcium excess, magnesium

deficiency. Atherogenic and/or calcemic diets. Low magnesium and spontaneous

myocardial infarction. High vitamin-D and/or phosphate diet intensifies

magnesium deficiency. Stress and catecholamines. Mitochondrial lesions of

ischemic hearts resemble those of magnesium deficiency. Diabetes increases

myocardial calcium (Ca) 400 times normal. Mineralization by calcium of human

arteriosclerotic arteries with aging due to lifelong magnesium deficiency.

Infantile and juvenile cardiovascular calcification resemble experimental

magnesium deficiency. Cardiovascular calcification in diabetes mellitus and

renal failure, kidneys, urolithiasis, effect of magnesium in preventing. Soft

tissue calcification inhibition by magnesium. Chrondrocalcinosis, enlarged

joints, pseudogout Ca-PP-dihydrate. Apatite formation. Inhibit subcutaneous

calcification by injection of CaATP with magnesium. Articular calcification of

uremia. Interstitial and periarticular calcinosis. Myositis ossifacans. Tendons.

Fluoride toxicity. Vitamin-D toxicity. Placenta calcification. Pancreatic

calcification. Ocular calcification. Cardiovascular damage prevented by

magnesium. These and other similar conditions, even in absence of magnesium

deficiency, may be responsive to magnesium treatment over a one year period.

The " Calcium-At-Any-Cost " campaign currently underway in the United

states appears identical to the " Vitamin D-At-Any-Cost " campaign of the early

part of the twentieth century. After many years of campaigning for a diet richer

in vitamin-D, people began to get far too much with serious consequences. Normal

exposure to sunlight provides enough vitamin-D to satisfy healthy bodily

processes for most of us (exceptions including clinical cases of Season

Affective disorder (SAD), and possibly dark-skinned people living in

low-sunlight conditions). Supplementing with vitamin-D, pills, enriched

breakfast foods, milk, and other sources of vitamin D led to an epidemic of

calcification of soft tissues, such as the kidney, heart, aorta, muscle,

hypercalcemia, decalcification of bone, muscular weakness, joint pains, and

various other symptoms, all being symptoms of excess calcium. The " Vitamin

D-At-Any-Cost " campaign was replaced by the " Calcium-At-Any-Cost " campaign,

which has failed us

too. It is time to get serious and address the real problem, magnesium

deficiency. EDITORIAL OPINION: If a health consciousness revolution occurs and

magnesium gets the attention currently afforded calcium, great displacement is

likely in medicine, because much of modern clinical practice appears built on

the foundation of faulty calcium-magnesium balances.

For those of us that have consumed too much calcium relative to

magnesium, excess calcium has become a neurotoxin. For example, I used to be so

sensitive to calcium, that a single 500 mg calcium dietary supplement induced in

me a strong feeling of depression within 1 hour (relievable with 400 mg

magnesium). To me, this is clear evidence that either treatment-resistant or

stress-induced depression are not necessarily psychological or psychiatric

disorders (although depression certainly can be). Rather, these forms of

depression are a disorder of calcium / magnesium balance. Many people, women

usually, e-mail me saying that magnesium did not terminate their depression. I

always respond with a request for them to review their dietary supplements and

dairy intake for calcium. Invariably, they report between 1000 and 2000 mg daily

intake of calcium, as dietary supplements plus dairy, or that they used a

non-ionizable compound of magnesium, such as magnesium carbonate, magneisum

oxide or magnesium hydroxide. People have also used magnesium chelates of

undescribed nature, magnesium aspartate or magnesium glutamate with greatly

worsened symptoms. I report back to them that in my opinion their calcium intake

is preventing their recovery and their choice of magnesium compounds is wrong.

Those that make the suggested changes usually report back to me with really nice

words of praise and thanks you notes for their very speedy recovery. From these

results and others, we can infer that large doses of ionic magnesium in the

treatment of depression and other disorders either: (a) restore hormonal control

of calcium or (b) rebalence the calcium / magnesium serum ratio. In my opinion,

re-balancing the calcium / magnesium ratio is more likely. Why? The effects of

magnesium, although extremely strong, are short-lived; and continued magnesium

supplementation is usually required to maintain well being. If hormonal control

were re-established, it seems to me that we would

not need continued large doses of magnesium daily. This is not to say that over

a long time, hormonal control may eventually result, particularly if we

eliminate sugar and other high glycemic index foods from our diets and

supplement with chromium and possibly vanadium.

Viewed under a dark field microscope, these red blood cells taken from a

Gulf War medical reporter show many small spikes sticking out from their

surfaces. These cell-surface spikes are produced by severe intracellular

magnesium depletion and excess calcium resulting in echinocytes. I wonder if

presence of echinocytes is predictive of who will benefit from magnesium therapy

in treatment of depression and other disorders. I suspect magnesium treatment

eventually eliminates echinocytes, restoring the picture of normal red blood

cells. From this microphotograph, overdoing calcium supplements and foods rich

in calcium (especially dairy products) and ignoring magnesium dietary intake

appears to result in visible cellular " calcium toxicity " . This photograph is

amazing; and should illustrate a new way of determining severe, potentially

life-threatening calcium/magnesium imbalance. The presence of spikes would

prevent spiked blood cells from flowing smoothly through arteries and

veins. It seems to me that spiked red blood cells (echinocytes) passing through

the arteries and arterioles of the heart and brain could trigger strokes and

heart attacks and all precursor symptoms associated with these disorders.

Remember magnesium is used to regulate receptor sites for

neurotransmitters, and is active in the hippocampus (the emotional center of the

body). Our children may be at great risk because they think they need to remain

thin to be accepted. Those foods that are high in magnesium that would help them

cope with the stresses of growing up (school yard bullies, PMSing teen girls,

and teen life in general) are not on their plates. However, milk and cheese

products are on their plates, and calcium/magnesium imbalances may contribute to

school violence in manic or manic depressive (bi-polar) students. Without enough

magnesium, these young people can loose control over their moods, sometimes with

devastating results. Violence or meanness to others has not been reported in the

medical literature to be caused by insufficient magnesium except in some ADHD,

mania or manic-depressive patients. Consequently, I am not worried about ADHD,

manic, manic depressive, or depressive patients

getting too much magnesium, rather I am concerned that our calcium / magnesium

balance be corrected.

My worries about milk are additive to what some scientists worry about

concerning homogenized milk. " Homogenizing cow's milk transforms healthy

butterfat into microscopic spheres of fat containing xanthine oxidase (XO) which

is one of the most powerful digestive enzymes there is. The spheres are small

enough to pass intact right through the stomach and intestines walls without

first being digested. Thus this extremely powerful protein knife, XO, floats

throughout the body in the blood and lymph systems. When the XO breaks free from

its fat envelope, it attacks the inner wall of whatever vessel it is in. This

creates a wound. The wound triggers the arrival of patching plaster to seal off

that wound. The patching plaster is cholesterol. Hardening of the arteries,

heart disease, chest pain, heart attack is the result. "

Atherosclerosis,1989;77:251-6. If you really want the scoop, and don't mind

reading about the " pus " in milk, enjoy this site. Milk gives people gas too.

Some depressed people appear to need more calcium because laboratory

tests show that they are in a negative calcium balance. That means they leak not

just magnesium (hypomagnesemia), but calcium too. They may have accelerated bone

loss perhaps from post menopausal osteoporosis or other diseases or disorders.

They are in a bad predicament. If they increase calcium they often become more

depressed. If they decrease calcium they believe that they risk breaking bones

from osteoporosis or osteomalacia. Magnesium deficiency is usually associated

with hypocalcemia (low blood calcium), hypophosphatemia (low phosphate), and/or

hypokalemia (low potassium). Hypokalemia or hypocalcemia are important clinical

complications of hypomagnesemia. When a person is unresponsive to treatment for

hypokalemia or hypocalcemia, magnesium may have been depleted. What to do? The

medical literature clearly supports taking more magnesium and taking boron

supplements or eating foods high in boron to help

prevent the loss of these critical minerals. Hypokalemia can also be treated by

switching from plain table salt (sodium chloride) to Morton's Lite Salt (50/50

sodium/potassium chloride), or preferably by switching to Morton's Salt

Substitute (nearly pure potassium chloride). Hypocalcemia has been treated with

calcium supplements, but in depression and hyperemotionality, the doses needed

are much lower and can be easily be obtained from lower calcium content food

(non dairy).

How about CalMax, the heavily TV promoted calcium supplement with

magnesium? NOT FOR US! NO! Why not? First, CalMax is very expensive, and second

it has a highly absorbable compound of calcium (calcium gluconate) and a poorly

absorbed magnesium compound (magnesium carbonate). Although CalMax is on the

right track, the ratios of calcium (400 mg per dose) versus magnesium (200 mg)

are biologically misleading because the calcium is so much better absorbed than

magnesium. I estimate that CalMax is the biologically functional equivalent of

400 mg calcium and about 75 mg of magnesium. Consequently, to get 1000 mg (for

example) of biologically available magnesium from CalMax daily, one would also

get over 5000 mg of calcium, which is decidedly unhealthy. How about Coral

Calcium? HA! How about Caltrate? HA! You figure these out for yourself!

Calcium has been hyped as an anti-cancer agent recently on TV. However,

these scientists reported in 1986 that large amounts of calcium supplements are

promoters of cancer relative to the clear anti-cancer action of both zinc and

magnesium supplements. These scientists reported in 2003 that large supplements

of calcium increase the rate of prostate cancer. This is not to say that normal

intake of calcium found in foods causes cancer, rather large amounts of

supplemental calcium does nothing to help prevent it and appears to promote

prostate cancer. Cadmium is a well-known cancer causative agent, which is

inactivated in the body by both zinc and magnesium supplements but not by

calcium supplements according to these scientists. Consequently protection

against cancer is afforded by zinc and magnesium supplementation, but not large

doses of calcium supplements; and very large intake of calcium supplements

should be considered to be promotive of cancer. In fact, a comprehensive

review of the evidence links the consumption of milk from cows treated with

bovine growth hormone (IGF-1 or insulin-like growth factor 1) with an increased

risk of breast, prostate and colon cancer. IGF-1 is known to stimulate the

growth of both normal and cancerous cells

I had an Exatest intracellular mineral test done in March of 2003, 3

years after starting and very carefully maintaining a low calcium diet (zero

calcium supplements, and nearly zero dairy products). I was concerned that after

3 years of extremely low calcium intake that perhaps I had " over done it " . I was

very surprised to find that my intracellular calcium was out-of-range-HIGH. The

high intracellular calcium made my intracellular phosphorous/calcium ratio

extremely low and my intracellular magnesium/calcium too low. I had tried to

limit my sodium intake (like our doctors tell us to do), and was amazed to find

that both my intracellular potassium and sodium levels were also

out-of-range-LOW. See my full report from IntraCellular Diagnostics here for

overall results and here for individual element concentrations and ratios. I

strongly urge all to take this test before starting a magnesium repletion

program and monitor progress after first month of treatment, and again on a

regular monthly or bi-monthly basis. You may be surprised to find very low

intracellular magnesium and very high intracellular calcium are seriously

affecting your health. To avoid possible circadian rhythm errors, test at the

same time each day, preferably between 9 and 10 AM. Why do you think we have

been lied to about the extreme importance to supplement our diets with calcium?

Why do you think that billions of people throughout the non-Western world have

never supplemented their diets with calcium and never drink milk and have no

osteoporosis?

This figure from Dr. Seelig's new book (The Magnesium Factor) shows that

in 1977 Western countries having the highest dietary calcium to magnesium ratios

(Finland, United States and Netherlands) had rampant ischemic heart disease.

More data here. On the other hand, Japan with a one to one ratio of calcium to

magnesium had about 1/10 the incidence of ischemic heart disease. Why do we keep

pushing the idea that more and more calcium is healthy; when in fact, it is a

principal cause, perhaps the main cause, of heart disease and deaths in the

United States? Are there some vested commercial interest at work here? Why

doesn't the National Institute of Health speak to this horrifying issue? Why

doesn't the Food and Drug Administration act? Why do doctors, nutritionists and

dietitians push this toxic drug? Are they stupid? If there is any good to come

from taking away our rights to free choice of vitamins, minerals, herbs and

amino acids through implementation of the treaty provisions

of CODEX, one would hope that calcium supplements would be prohibited. Not

likely! I suspect that vested interests will prevail and magnesium supplements

will be restricted, but not harmful calcium, sodium or sugar. Dr. Seelig points

out that immediately after this data was released in 1978, Finland took action

and people started consuming much more magnesium and potassium and much less

calcium and sodium, and that now Finland has a ischemic heart disease rate lower

than Japan. Did the U.S. take similar action? Ha! You gotta be kidding!

Like calcium and magnesium, phosphate is essential to every cell in

humans, plants, animals – every living thing. It is necessary for many of the

biochemical molecules and processes that define life itself. Phosphate is a

charged group of atoms, or ion. It is made up of a phosphorus atom and four

oxygen atoms (PO4) and carries three negative charges. The phosphate ion

combines with various atoms and molecules within living organisms to form many

different compounds essential to life. Some examples of phosphate’s role in

living matter include: (1) Giving shape to DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid), which is

a blueprint of genetic contained in every living cell. A sugar-phosphate

backbone forms the helical structure of every DNA molecule, playing a vital role

in the way living matter provides energy for biochemical reactions in cells. The

compound adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is extremely dependent upon

adequate magnesium for its function) stores energy living matter gets from

food (and sunlight in plants) and releases it when it is required for cellular

activity. After the energy, in the form of a high-energy phosphate bond, is

released the ATP becomes a lower-energy adenosine diphosphate (ADP)or a still

lower-energy adenosine monophosphate (AMP) molecule. These will be replenished

to the higher-energy ATP (or ADP) state with the addition of phosphate by

various mechanisms in living cells. The forming and strengthening of bones and

teeth. We get phosphate from the foods we eat.

These examples show the phosphorus content of some foods (mg/100 grams of

various foods).

Milk 93 Lean Beef 204 Potatoes 56 Broccoli 72 Wheat Flour 101

Cheddar Cheese 524

 

Do we get too much phosphate? For some people eating too much cheese,

yes, they are getting too much calcium and phosphate, contributing significantly

to magnesium deficiency. High phosphate (phosphoric acid) content soda (Coca

Colas and Pepsi Colas) probably should be avoided, if for no other reason they

are also high in glucose. Am I greatly worried about too much phosphate in our

diets? Not yet, but only if we avoid cheese and its dual phosphate and calcium

load.

In summary, we can do much with our diet. We can ingest enormous amounts

of magnesium (and fight off diarrhea), or we can save money by using less

magnesium, ingest few or no high carbohydrate foods (especially sugar, corn

syrup, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, bread, rice, cakes, pancakes, waffles

and potatoes), terminate our fascination with dairy and calcium (along with

cheese's excessive phosphate), and supplement with probiotics to regain our

mental health and defeat depression. Also, we will not need those nasty

antidepressants! What's Left To Eat?

After reading what not to eat (mainly calcium and sugar), you are

probably wondering what is left to eat. The natural food pyramid on the right

shows what I eat every day. It is different from the USDA fodder pyramid in that

no man-made refined carbohydrates are eaten, as per the strickest version of the

Atkins diet. I hardly ever (about once or twice a year - when trapped at

someone's party) eat refined wheat products, breakfast cereals, waffles,

pancakes, bread, cake, candy, french fries, pasta, rice or other starchy foods

of any kind. These highly refined carbohydrate foods are the entire bottom row

of the USDA fodder pyramid and are the main cause of obesity and ill health in

America. Even though fats have twice the calories of carbohydrates, fat people

have eaten vastly more carbohydrates than fats, often in an ill advised attempt

to prevent or control depression. The entire bottom row of the antiquated USDA

fodder pyramid is essentially " processed (man-made) foods " , and

many are also high in neurotoxic glutamates and very low in magnesium,

manganese, potassium and vitamins found in the raw grains from which they were

made. I avoided them entirely for a few months and lost ten pounds per month

during the first 5 months. I now feel much better about my weight. Then, my

weight stabilized at a very fit 165 pounds for my 5 foot 10 inch frame.

The benefits of the natural food pyramid include weight loss, high

vitamin and mineral content, lower food cost, low insulin requirements and

absolutely no food craving. Better yet, my blood pressure fell to 100/60 and my

blood sugar fell to 84 mg/dL. Why no craving? Because the carbohydrate foods

that I no longer eat have an addictive property due to insulin production. Once

a person stops eating them, the cravings disappear. Popcorn? Tacos? Yes!

Anytime! Cheese? Not for me, except for cottage cheese, which is low in calcium

and wonderfully high in taurine (1700 mg per cup). Meat? Yes, bring it on buddy!

Fish? Of course! Fresh beans, tomatoes, pears, apples, dates, raisins,

grapefruit, eggs, nuts, peanuts, cashews, vegetables of all kinds (except

potatoes), yes! WARNING: An alternate sources of potassium, which is high in

potatoes, is needed if potatoes are eliminated from the diet to avoid serious

health problems. Foods high in potassium include fresh tomatoes, bananas, beet

greens, dates, raisins, grapefruit, soybeans, lima beans and other foods shown

on this USDA list of foods (by their potassium content), or on this easy to read

table. When you think " bananas are high in potassium " , remember that it would

take about ten of them a day to give the RDA for potassium. Processed foods like

cakes, Twinkies, doughnuts, puddings, Jell-O, beer, chocolate or candy? No. Once

my carbohydrate intake dropped, my craving for them disappeared too, and I now

look at them like other people look at globs of fat! Yuck! Vitamins, minerals

and balanced sodium and potassium (Morton's Lite-Salt) salt? Yes, of course! One

would need be an idiot not to consume an adequate supply of repair parts for

one's mind and body!

We are what we eat, and I am built mainly of protein, not carbohydrate.

Why would anyone build their body with excess carbohydrates to be fat? Sure, we

need some carbohydrate for fuel and amino acid production, but an excess will

always be stored as fat. If you want carbohydrates as well as wonderfully

balanced minerals, try cashew nuts. Interestingly, significant avoidance of

dangerous trans fatty acids (trans fats) occurs on this diet. These are the

man-made fats (shortening, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and

hydrogenated vegetable oils). Eat butter and use olive oil and coconut instead!

They won't hurt you! Remember that the USDA's main role is to promote

agriculture, not necessarily human health. Read Marion Nestle's eye-opener book

Food Politics. Did Atkins discover something new? No. Apparently, the high

carbohydrate diet was first found to cause obesity in 1863 by William Banting,

and a diet very similar to this diet was found effective in weight loss and

appetite suppression.

According to Carol Hoernlein of the msgtruth.org site, we all must be

very careful when restricting carbohydrates, because an imbalance of certain

amino acids is possible with unintended, adverse consequences. Tyramine is an

amino acid that can be deadly to some taking certain medications like MAOI

inhibitors. The blood pressure can raise dangerously high. It is usually a

medicine - food interaction when it is deadly. In cases of folks who are

sensitive to MSG, tyramine usually just gives them a headache, but it is quite

upsetting. The other problem with tyramine is that amino acids like it and

tyrosine compete for uptake into the brain with tryptophane. Foods that were

found to have high (possibly dangerous) concentrations of tyramine included

chicken liver, air-dried sausage, soy sauce, draft beer, aged-cheese, tofu,

sauerkraut and others. When you don't eat enough carbohydrates (complex carbs

are best) - and eat just protein (a perversion of the Atkins diet), tyrosine

wins

the battle and gets to the brain first where it acts as an " upper " . Tryptophane

is the loser in the race, but the brain needs tryptophane to make serotonin -

the feel good calming stuff the brain needs to keep us from getting depressed.

Too much protein and tyramine and not enough carbs = depression and agitation.

Also, too much protein depletes magnesium. These reasons are probably why famed

psychiatrists Judith Wurtman and her husband Richard Wurtman of MIT recommend

carbohydrates for depression, and in particular, PMS related depression.

Unfortunately, abuse of this technique causes enormous illness in the U.S. and

Western culture. Please do not accept what I have written above to mean " no

carbohydrates " ; rather, please accept it as meaning one should eat foods that

are not refined. Body fat develops because the body does not have sufficient

minerals to burn the carbohydrates. That is why, IMHO, people can best loose

weight consuming diets low in refined carbohydrates,

supplemented with large amounts of magnesium and other minerals like manganese

and zinc. Tyrosine imbalance is the reason people - who have misinterpreted

Atkins to mean " eat all the steaks you want, but cut out all carbohydrates " -

become acutely ill.

After preparing the above natural food pyramid, I realized that the

bottom level foods (vegetables, meats and fruits) were the first foods eaten by

primitive humans millions of years ago, at the time our digestive systems were

designed. Only recently (relatively) were dairy products added to the human

diet. Even more recently people learned how to bake bread, prepare high

carbohydrate fancy-foods, and separate out fats and oils from foods. Clearly

vitamins and mineral supplements are a twentieth century invention.

Consequently, this is a reasonably " natural " food pyramid. What can be learned

here?

Warning! Following the dietary and supplement recommendations outlined

here will have the effect of preventing or correcting hyperinsulinemia, which

will result in life extension of between 30 and 50 years, and much better

health. These effects may ruin your personal relationship with your physicians

and nurses, reduce profits of major drug companies, reduce the profits of

processed food manufacturers, reduce hospital admissions, reduce employment

opportunities in those industries and otherwise adversely affect our national

Economy. Prevention of hyperinsulinemia by following these dietary suggestions

will consequently prevent most cases of atherosclerosis, vascular disease,

diabetes type 2, impotence, kidney failure, heart failure, liver damage, stroke,

obesity, neuropathy, retinopathy, gangrene and other illnesses. Proceed with

these dietary recommendations only if you agree that these " economic " side

effects are irrelevant to you and that you accept the risk of longevity

attendant with eating right. Read more about these horrific economic side

effects and prospects for longevity at the Healing Matters site. Exercise

Perhaps every person that has seen a psychiatrist for depression is told

to exercise. I wonder how many follow the doctor's advice. Exercise is good for

you, but not too much or it will stimulate appetite. Why? The fact is that

exercise changes the way our cells react with insulin. Exercise makes our cells

less resistant to insulin, and therefore more able to hold magnesium. Exercise

is mandatory for diabetics for the same reason. How much exercise? Well, the

doctors suggest brisk walking, and we all know that we feel better after a walk.

But the good feeling doesn't last. Why? Quite a number of papers show that

resistance training for insulin resistance is better than aerobic training.

Resistance training is referring to muscular exercises, body building and heavy,

but not exhausting exercise. If you just do a bicep curl, you immediately

increase the insulin sensitivity of your bicep. Walk briskly, and you

immediately increase the sensitivity of your legs to insulin. Just by

exercising you are increasing the blood flow to that muscle and decreasing

insulin resistance, and improving retention of intracellular magnesium. It has

been shown conclusively that resistance training, I.E. muscle building, will

increase insulin sensitivity. If we are so depressed that we can't exercise,

then we need to have someone exercise us, perhaps with an electric cattle prod

to get us up off our butts! Get a menial job stacking boxes in a hardware store,

stack lumber in a lumberyard, walk goats up a mountain, walk to the top of every

hill and mountain in your state, one per day. Go to the gym and lift weights all

day. Swim upstream in a fast moving creek. Think about the astronauts with their

enormous loss of muscle mass (30% per flight) and vicious loss of magnesium.

What do they do? They body-build with a vengeance, and so must we. They will

sometimes exercise while on TV being interviewed. What kind of exercise? Depends

on the person. Exercise enough that you sleep well

at night. Exercise enough so that you are truly tired at the end of a day. Do

fifteen minutes of exercise? OK, but do it each 30 minutes that you are awake!

See what I mean? EXERCISE as if your life depended on it! I recently hired a

laborer that very much impressed me. I had a large gully on a terrace behind my

house and I needed to have the gully up that terrace slope filled in with soil.

I hired a Mexican laborer, and with a shovel and wheelbarrow, that middle-aged

man filled in that gully with an entire 12-ton dump truck of soil in 8 hours.

How did he do it? One wheel barrow at a time walking up the hill. Can you

imagine being nearly fifty years old and pushing a wheel barrow full of dirt up

a hill all day long and then saying, " Para nada. Ése no es ningún problema.

Gracias por el trabajo. " He went home to a beer. Me? I was exhausted from

watching him work! Remember what you are trying to do, which is restore your

body's cells sensitivity to insulin, which restores their ability

to absorb and retain magnesium. How long will it take? Maybe six months, but

such is a short time for such an enormous benefit. Dr. Mildred S. Seelig, the

magnesium guru, points out the too much exercise will cause a loss of magnesium,

but I think the benefits of exercise outweigh this problem because we can simply

take more magnesium to compensate.

Salt is a subject of some controversy right now, particularly as it

applies to exercise. There is one vocal school that says too much salt (sodium

chloride) causes hypertension, and another that disagrees. Some say that our

high ratio of sodium relative to potassium intake is causing hypertension, a

point of view which has support at the NIH, and is my opinion too. The NIH's

point being that increasing fresh vegetable intake (naturally high in potassium)

and lowering salt (sodium chloride) ingestion reduces hypertension. For data

comparing the sodium and other electolyte ratio changes from the year 1900 and

2000 see this link in this page. Others say that our potassium to sodium

relative intake is dangerously low, and suggest increasing our intake of

potassium chloride. I prefer to leave this debate in the hands of your

physician, who after examining you can make an intelligent recommendation. Why?

Too little dietary sodium intake will cause death in climates where the

temperature is very high due to loss of salt in the sweat from excessive

exercise or hard labor. Anyone that has tasted sweat will notice that it has a

salty taste, clear evidence that one is loosing sodium and, to a lesser extent,

potassium through the sweat. On the other hand, people with kidney disease may

not be able to excrete sufficient sodium to clear excess dietary sodium, and

will need a low sodium diet (a natural food diet and not a processed foods

diet). The RDA for sodium is 2,400 mg per day (approximately 6,000 mg salt or 1

teaspoon of salt), while the estimated RDA for potassium is believed to be about

4,000 mg. In 1900 it was 6,000 mg, a time of very low incidence of heart

problems. Nutritionists and physicians that proclaim a ZERO additive salt intake

to be generally good advise actually provide deadly advise for people who sweat

excessively due to exercise or labor in high heat conditions. Also, the main

cause of death from protracted diarrhea is loss of salt

(sodium chloride).

On the other, other hand, injected potassium chloride instantly kills by

stopping the heart; and in fact, IV potassium chloride is used to execute

criminals. A friend of mine on Martha's Vineyard felt that if a little bit of

potassium chloride was good, then a bunch would be better. She took an entire

teaspoon of pure potassium chloride salt and it " melted a hole through her

stomach " . She immediately caused herself to throw up and probably saved her life

in the process, at least she saved herself a trip to the emergency room. Enough

said? I repeat! Potassium chloride must never be consumed straight! It must

always be dilluted in water or used as a seasoning in food and judiciously used.

I have experimented with judicious amounts of potassium chloride (1/4

teaspoon) dissolved in an 8-oz glass of water to lower my pulse rate. Good idea?

Actually, yes, it is a very good idea! If our pulse rates can easily be lowered

by reasonable intake of potassium chloride (in a glass of water or by simply

substituting it for regular table salt), then such seems to indicate a

deficiency situation that has been corrected. However, remember that metabolic

shock is hyperkalemia! Morton's Salt Company makes a mixture of sodium and

potassium chloride salt that is increasingly popular. Is it safe? Yes, I think

so because it is an equal 50/50 mixture of sodium and potassium salts. However,

many people eat processed foods which are already high in sodium chloride salt,

and their intake may be so high that use of Morton's Salt Substitute (nearly

pure potassium chloride) is absolutely necessary. The heathiest ratio of sodium

to potassium is about 1:30 (the ratio found in Americans in

1900), not the 2.5:1 ratio of today. Notice that Morton's Salt Substitute label

asks the user to consult with a physician before using. I think that is some

weird government regulatory scare tactic to keep us consuming toxic amounts of

sodium chloride. Why? I don't know, but refuse to believe in paranoid conspiracy

theories, and would rather write it off to stupidity. Limiting salt intake is

only one of several steps necessary to reduce total sodium intake. Nearly all

processed foods contain additive sodium, either as sodium chloride, or as some

other food additive such as monosodium glutamate (MGS), or drugs such as OTC

antacids and headache remedies. More on reducing hidden sources of dietary

sodium here. I think the best idea for most of us is to consider additive

dietary potassium chloride to be necesary, with preference given to eating high

potassium content natural foods, not processed foods (very high in sodium

chloride). Also, anyone that has developed muscle cramps from

working in high temperatures and sought medical advise is certain to have been

told that increasing potassium intake will help prevent muscle cramps.

Consequently, both sodium and potassium are needed in extra amounts in high

heat, sweat conditions. However, potassium chloride must never be consumed

straight! it must always be dilluted in water or used as a seasoning in food. In

your decision making on potassium and sodium intake, remember that sodium drives

down magnesium and potassium drives it up. Succeed! Depression is not

a psychosis! Diagnosis Of Magnesium Deficiency

Serum or blood levels of magnesium (typically found in clinical

laboratories) are a total waste of blood, money and time except in acute

alcoholism, starvation or diabetic acidosis. These tests have perpetuated the

myth that magnesium deficiency does not exist, and should be made illegal due to

the grave, national-health damage caused by them. There are only three tests

worthwhile: oral dosing, magnesium loading and intracellular spectroscopy,

although some still like the red blood cell test.

" Oral Dosing " is nothing more than giving magnesium at proper dosages and

observing improvement as described in my section on Dosage " . Never give toxic

forms of magnesium. This test does not require a physician or laboratory tests

and is considered definitive.

" Magnesium Loading " is considered the standard by the few physicians who at

least recognize the possibility of magnesium deficiency. The test is somewhat

tedious and frustrating to patients. First one has to collect every drop of

urine for exactly 24 hours. The urine is then analyzed for total magnesium and

creatinine output in a clinical laboratory. Then the patient is given

intravenously a specific " load " of magnesium and a second 24 hour urine is

collected and tested for magnesium and creatinine. If less than 50% of the

administered magnesium is excreted, this is " proof " of magnesium deficiency. In

fact, if less than 20% is excreted, " borderline " magnesium deficiency is

suspected.

" Intracellular spectroscopy " , the Intracellular Diagnostic's " EXAtest involves

a simple, painless scraping of the soft tissues, (epithelial cells) from the

floor of the mouth right under the tongue. This is an easy, non-invasive,

risk-free test. The oral epithelial (surface) cells from the mouth scraping are

placed on a slide and sent to a laboratory for x-ray analysis using an electron

microscope. At about the same cost as the magnesium load test and much better

patient compliance, this test also gives intracellular levels of magnesium,

calcium, potassium, sodium, chloride, and phosphorus, as well as equally

important ratios between these minerals. If your physician will or can not order

this important and accurate test for you, find another physician. If you have

any of the symptoms or illnesses that are being discussed on this page, it is

extremely wise to have this test done. The lab is: Intracellular Diagnostics,

553 Pilgrim Drive, Suite B, Commerce Park, Foster City, CA

94404, 800-874-4804. Their price, which was quoted February of 2003, was

$175.00, which they say is usually covered by insurance and Medicare. They will

refer you to the closest physician capable of doing the collection.

Red blood cell testing (not whole blood or serum tests) can be performed in

most medical laboratories and is reasonably accurate.

 

More on magnesium testing at the HeadachePainFree site. Succeed!

Depression is not a psychosis! The Essentiality of Boron

Boron is well known for its role in preventing urinary losses of both

calcium and magnesium. Apparently, it can raise both calcium and magneisum by

about 1/3. Consequently, boron is important in recovery from depression; and it

has the potential to reduce the amount of magnesium required to alleviate

depression, and increases resistance to diarrhea. Boron has recently been found

to be important in brain and psychological function. Published studies

consistently show that the administration of small amounts of boron (2-3 mg/day)

reduce the amount of calcium and magnesium urinary excretion. The effect of

boron in preserving critical minerals is more apparent when dietary intake of

magnesium is low. In response to boron supplementation, estrogen and

testosterone levels increase in postmenopausal women, which may restart menses.

Boron's function in bone formation appears to be related to magnesium

metabolism. Boron also appears helpful in treating and preventing autoimmune

diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis. In human deficiency studies,

supplementation with boron improved several parameters including mental

alertness, memory, mineral metabolism, and blood hemoglobin. Recently, the

National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine has set the tolerable upper

intake levels for boron at 20 milligrams per day, but did not establish a RDA.

Along with a diet high in boron, I also took 6 to 12 milligrams of boron (Twin

Labs Tri-Boron) in the morning. Many years ago, when boric acid was used as a

food preservative, 500 mg were found to have adverse effects in humans causing

severe gastrointestinal distress and problems with appetite. Some important food

sources of boron are shown in the following table.

Concentrations of Boron in Selected Foods (from: Futureceuticals)

 

FoodBoronFoodBoron(mg/100g)(mg/100g)Almond2.82Hazel Nuts2.77Apple

(red)0.32Honey0.50Apricots (dried)

2.11Lentils0.74Avocado2.06Olive0.35Banana0.16Onion0.20Beans

(Kidney)1.40Orange0.25Bran (wheat)0.32Peach0.52Brazil Nuts1.72Peanut

Butter1.92Broccoli0.31Pear0.32Carrot0.30Potato0.18Cashew

Nuts1.15Prunes1.18Celery0.50Raisins4.51Chick Peas0.71Walnut1.63Dates1.08Wine

(Shiraz Cabaret)0.86Grapes (red)0.50

I am also worried about toxic overloads of heavy minerals (lead,

cadmium, mercury, etc.), and the critical role of other nutrients in mental

health, which have only recently become of interest to physicians. The brain is

a chemical factory that produces serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and other

organic brain chemicals 24 hours a day. The only raw materials for their

syntheses are nutrients, namely, amino acids, cholesterol, essential fatty

acids, vitamins and minerals. If the brain receives improper amounts of these

nutrient building blocks or receives toxic heavy metals, which take the place of

essential nutrients (particularly minerals) in the brain, we must expect serious

problems with our organic neurotransmitters. For example, some depression

patients have a genetic pyrrole disorder which renders them grossly depleted in

vitamin B-6. A pyrrole is a basic chemical structure that is used in the

formation of heme, which makes blood red. Pyrroles bind with B6 and then

with zinc, thus depleting these nutrients. These individuals cannot efficiently

create serotonin (a neurotransmitter) since B-6 is an important factor in the

last step of its synthesis. Some people report 500 mg B6 to be needed daily to

stabilize their mood. Many of these persons appear to benefit from prescription

drugs like Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, or other serotonin-enhancing medications.

However, as with all non-nutritive mind-altering drugs, side effects occur and

the true cause of the mental difficulties remains uncorrected. Similar – and

more healthful – benefits can be achieved by simply taking sufficient amounts of

B-6 along with supporting nutrients such as magnesium, boron, taurine and

essential fatty acids. Succeed! Depression is not a psychosis!

 

 

Foods That Contain 100 mg or More of Either Calcium or Magnesium per 100 Grams

(3-1/2 oz)

The following figure shows the amount of magnesium and calcium in foods

wherein the amount of either magnesium or calcium exceeds 100 milligrams (1/4

the RDA for magnesium) per one hundred grams of that same food. A complete list

of hundreds of foods (fresh foods and processed foods by brand name) arranged by

their magnesium content is in this USDA report, which is a document that you

should print out and tape to your refrigerator. Here is the USDA index for all

nutrients alphabetically and by weight. The following foods shown in bold and

brown have more magnesium than calcium, while all other foods shown have more

calcium than magnesium.

milligrams Magnesium per 100 grams food milligrams Calcium per 100 grams food

Beverages & Mixes

Cocoa powder

520130 Chocolate drink15030 Milo210465 Ovaltine0270Biscuits,

Cakes, Cereals, Desserts Biscuit, chocolate40110 Biscuit, crispbread,

rye10050 Biscuit, gingernut25130 Biscuit, semi-sweet20120 Bran,

wheat520110 Buckwheat230114 Cake, sponge10140 Carob flour10350

Custard10140 Custard tart20110 Flour, soy (full fat)240210 Flour,

soy (low fat)290240 Flour, wholemeal14040 Milk pudding (e.g..

sago)10130 Millet16210 Pancake10120 Pizza, cheese & tomato20240

Rye11538 Scone20620 Sponge pudding, steamed10210 Wheat bran490120

Wheat germ33672 Wheat grain16046 Yeast, brewer's231210 Yeast,

dried bakers23080Egg & Cheese Dishes Cauliflower cheese20160 Cheese

soufflé20230 Macaroni cheese20180 Quiche Lorraine20260Fats & Oils

None Fish & Other Seafood Crab, canned30120 Haddock, fried30110

Mussels, boiled30200 Oysters,

raw40190 Prawns, boiled40150 Sardines, canned40460 Scallops,

steamed 40120Fruits Avocado1065 Figs, dried90280 Lemon

slices10110Meat & Meat Products Tripe, stewed20150Milk & Milk Products

Buttermilk10120 Cheese, Camembert20380 Cheese, Cheddar30800

Cheese spread30510 Cream cheese10100 Cheese, Danish blue 20580

Cheese, edam30740 Cheese, parmesan501220 Cheese, processed20700

Cheese, Stilton30360 Cheese, Swiss0950 Ice cream10140 Ice cream,

non-dairy10120 Milk, cow's, condensed skim40380 Milk, cow's condensed

whole10280 Milk, cow's dried skimmed1201020 Milk, cow's dried

whole801020 Milk, cow's evaporated, whole30280 Milk, cow's

flavored0110 Milk, cow's fresh skimmed10130 Milk, cow's fresh

whole10120 Milk, goat's20130 Milk shake, flavored0110 Yogurt,

flavored0130 Yogurt, fruit low-fat20160 Yogurt, natural low-fat20180

Yogurt, plain0145Nuts Almonds260250 Brazil410180 Cashews26738

Filberts18410 Pecans14273 Peanuts, raw in shells13040 Peanuts,

roasted salted18060 Pistachio, shelled0130 Sesame seeds - hulled0110

Sunflower seeds38120 Walnuts13060Sauces & Condiments Curry powder0645

Dulse (red seaweed)220300 Mustard powder0335 Olives, ripe0106 Oxo

Cubes60180 Pepper 50130 Worcestershire sauce0100Soups NoneSugars,

Jams & Spreads Fish paste30280 Peanut butter18040 Treacle,

black140500Sweets Caramel0140 Carob bar30160 Chocolate square,

milk60220 Fruit and honey bar20070 Molasses258684 Sesame bar14090

Toffee, mixed30100Vegetables Alfalfa230900 Broccoli24103 Collard

greens57250 Dandelion greens36190 Kale10250 Kelp (Warning! very

high in glutamate)7601110 Onions, spring10140 Parsley, sprigs50330

Tofu111128 Turnip

greens10250 Watercrest10150

No wonder we have trouble getting enough magnesium from our food! Calcium

is found in most of these foods in great excess over magnesium thus preventing

magnesium from being fully absorbed into the body. To us, calcium has become a

neurotoxin. Have we lost some degree of control over the normally exquisitely

regulated calcium ion concentration in our brains? Can we recover if we continue

to eat neurotoxins? I don't think so.

Remember, the amount of magnesium and calcium is shown for 100 grams of

the food. Some of these foods we eat in small amounts, so the data is not

particularly meaningful. However, milk and cheese products, which we eat in

great amounts, are loaded with calcium and harmful fats. We are not likely to

gain significant advantage from eating or drinking them in order to gain

magnesium. Want a pizza? How about a hamburger? I remember that my mother fed me

a lot of peanut butter sandwiches when I was young. I grew to dislike those

sandwiches there were so many. But it looks like mom knew best after all. She

also fed me lots of cocoa powder in water drinks. I hated them and demanded that

the cocoa powder be in milk (I thought she was being cheap). I still love

chocolate bars and drinks and I guess that is good. Chocolate contains many

drug-like compounds, some of which are very similar to anandamide, a substance

in the brain whose name literally means " internal bliss. " Anandamide

binds to and activates the cannabinoid receptors in the brain, mimicking the

effects of drugs such as marijuana. Almonds and peanuts I love, but I don't like

walnuts. Guess I need to develop a taste for them after all.

I am surprised at how little magnesium and calcium there are in foods

that I thought were good for us, like eggs, soups, fish, fruit, meat and

vegetables. Although meats and vegetables generally have more magnesium than

calcium, one would need to eat a lot of them to add up to a useful amount. I am

surprised that pizzas (gobs of calcium) and hamburgers (not much of anything)

are still legal. I am not surprised at the absence of magnesium and calcium in

fats, beverages (alcoholic beverages were zero), sugars, sweets, sauces and

condiments. What do your eat? Does this table suggest your choice of foods needs

to change to maintain a good mood?

The official USDA Nutrient Database for Magnesium content of selected

foods (30 pages) is here. The USDA nutrient database for all foods and nutrients

can be accessed here. Guess what characteristic the following foods have in

common according to the USDA: Margarine, M & M MARS candy, STARBURST Fruit Chews,

honey, radishes, corn syrup, frosting, whipped cream, salad dressings, butter,

cornstarch, beef broth soup, chicken with rice soup, pepper sauce, candy,

gumdrops, salt, alcoholic beverages, Honey Nut CHEX cereals, carbonated

beverages, and peanut, olive, sesame, sunflower, safflower vegetable oils.

ANSWER: Zero mg magnesium per 100 grams of the food. ZERO! Succeed!

Depression is not a psychosis! Non-Dietary and Non-Stress Causes of

Hypomagnesemia

From the Hypomagnesemia web site, causes of low blood magnesium

(hypomagnesemia) other than inadequate magnesium and boron intake and stress are

related to primarily to renal and gastrointestinal losses:

Renal and gastrointestinal (GI) losses:

Malabsorption of magnesium in the ileum results in hypomagnesemia.

Situations of decreased absorption include malabsorption syndromes (e.g., celiac

disease, sprue), radiation injury to the bowel, bowel resection, or small bowel

bypass.

Significant losses of magnesium resulting in hypomagnesemia may result

from chronic diarrhea, laxative abuse, inflammatory bowel disease, or neoplasm.

Renal losses from primary renal disorders or secondary causes (e.g.,

drugs, toxins such as mercury, hormones, osmotic load) may result in magnesium

wasting and subsequent hypomagnesemia.

Primary renal disorders cause hypomagnesemia by decreased tubular

reabsorption of magnesium by the damaged kidneys. This condition occurs in the

diuretic phase of acute tubular necrosis, post obstructive diuresis, and renal

tubular acidosis.

 

Drugs:

Diuretics (e.g., thiazide, loop diuretics), cisplatin (causes

dose-dependent kidney damage in 100% of patients receiving this drug),

pentamidine, some antibiotics, fluoride poisoning, oral contraceptives. See

larger list in this page here.

 

Endocrine disorders:

Primary aldosteronism decreases magnesium levels by increasing renal flow.

Hypoparathyroidism and hyperthyroidism may cause renal wasting.

 

Osmotic diuresis results in magnesium loss in the kidney:

Diabetic patients, especially those with poor glucose control, develop

hypomagnesemia from a glucose-induced osmotic diuresis.

Alcoholics become hypomagnesemic partially by an osmotic diuresis from

alcohol. Urinary losses have been reported to be 2-3 times control values.

 

Miscellaneous:

Extracellular volume expansion, as in cirrhosis or intravenous (IV) fluid

administration, may decrease magnesium levels.

Redistribution of magnesium into cells may cause lower magnesium levels.

Insulin causes this effect.

Excessive lactation may create a significant amount of magnesium loss.

Hungry bone syndrome may lead to lower serum magnesium concentrations.

Pregnant women have been found to be magnesium depleted, especially those

women who experience pre term labor.

Leaky Gut Syndrome. Always treat with probiotics.

Antibiotics because they lead to the overgrowth of abnormal flora in

the gastrointestinal tract (bacteria, parasites, candida, fungi) causing " Leaky

Gut Syndrome " . Treatment with probiotics and/or CoQ10 is often curative.

Caffeine and other strong gut irritants.

Foods and beverages contaminated by parasites like Giardia Lamblia,

Cryptosporidium, Blastocystis hominis and others. Always treat with probiotics

and/or CoQ10.

Foods and beverages contaminated by bacteria like Helicobacter pylori,

Klebsiella, citrobacter, Pseudomonas and others. Always treat with probiotics.

Chemicals in fermented and processed food (dyes, preservatives,

peroxidized fats).

Enzyme deficiencies (e.g. celiac disease, lactase deficiency causing

lactose intolerance.) NOTE: Scientists believe that lactose malabsorption may

interfere with the availability of L-tryptophan and the synthesis of the

neurotransmitter serotonin.

NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like ASA, ibuprofen,

indomethacin, etc.

Prescription corticosteroids (e.g. prednisone) and methotrexate.

High refined carbohydrate diet (e.g. candy bars, cookies, cake, soft

drinks, white bread).

Mold and fungal mycotoxins in stored grains, fruit and refined

carbohydrates.

Toxic mold in the walls of buildings.

Inadequate bile production.

 

 

 

 

 

 

More medical important information on hypomagnesia symptoms and causes

are here, and here on the Family Practice Notebook site. This google.com search

for " magnesium wasting may provide additional important information.

Succeed! Depression is not a psychosis! Magnesium and Calcium Ions in

Synaptic Function in Brain

This figure from LTP Lecture Notes from the University of California,

San Diego - Department of Cognitive Science, one can clearly see that magnesium

ions and calcium ions are involved in nerve cell electrical conduction activity

across brain cell synapses. Too much calcium ion and glutamate and not enough

magnesium ion, particularly in the hippocampus, play a vital role in brain cell

synaptic dysfunction leading to depression and other mood and behavioral

disorders.

The earliest indication that glutamate and many synthetic glutamate

receptor agonists are toxic was obtained in the 1970's (Olney and Ho, 1970).

However, most surprising was the finding that even endogenous glutamate may

cause neurotoxicity via over-excitation under certain conditions - a situation

called " excitotoxicity " . Processes that increase the sensitivity of glutamate

receptors or affect glutamate homeostasis often induce cell death usually

connected with Calcium2+ ion overload.

Most of the better known neurotransmitter systems - dopamine,

noradrenalin, serotonin (5HT), and acetylcholine in particular - have modulatory

roles; and when defective require specific drugs, preferably supplemental

natural hormones, to restore their balance. They are produced by a few neurons

located in specific clusters, and drugs affecting them often have specific

effects. Receptors for these neurotransmitters tend to operate fairly slowly,

taking milliseconds or longer to communicate. Rather than directly changing the

potential of the neuron, they often trigger second-messenger responses.

On the other hand, most of the brain's regular function operates

quickly, and involves the excitatory and inhibitory amino acids. The excitatory

amino acid neurotransmitters include glutamate (between 70 and 85 percent) and

aspartate. The receptors for amino acids are generally calcium and magnesium ion

channels and to a lesser extent zinc. When the receptor is activated, these ions

enter or exit the cell, which change its potential.

Taurine, Gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) acid and glycine are major inhibitory

neurotransmitters in the central nervous system (CNS), predominantly active in

the spinal cord and brain stem. Taurine and glycine also acts as a modulator of

excitatory amino acid transmission mediated by N-methyl-D-asparate (NMDA)

receptors.

NMDA receptors are unique for several reasons. Unlike most neuronal

receptors, they require two agonists (glutamate or aspartate, plus glycine)

before the channel opens. These two agonists bind to two different locations on

the NMDA receptor. After both agonists have bound to the channel, it opens

enough for potassium to enter. Normally, a magnesium ion is bound to a specific

location at the opening of the channel. The magnesium ion allows potassium to

pass through but prevents calcium. NMDA receptors are only activated following

depolarization of the postsynaptic membrane, which relieves their

voltage-dependent blockade by Mg2+ ions. Once the cell becomes activated enough,

the cell potential rises enough that the magnesium ion is no longer stuck to the

cell. Calcium can enter the cell through the fully open NMDA channel. Once

inside, calcium sets into motion a series of responses, which enhance the

strength of the synapse.

Calcium helps cells do many things, including carry nerve signals.

Neurons normally are very careful about the amount of calcium they allow in

because they use minute changes in levels of internal calcium to interpret

messages from other neurons. Too much calcium inside cells leads to cell death.

Over-stimulation of both non-NMDA and NMDA receptors with glutamate results in a

large influx of calcium into the cell interior, particularly the neuronal

mitochondria. Although normal levels are necessary for many cellular processes,

if the intra neuronal mitochondrial concentration of calcium is excessive, such

can result in a series of calcium-depended enzymes that are normally suppressed,

becoming activated. When these enzymes, like lipid peroxidase, nitric oxide

synthetase, and xanthine oxidase, are activated, they cause the production of

free radicals and nitric oxide, cytoskeletal breakdown, failure to generate ATP

(the cells' energy source), lipid peroxidation, and nucleic

acid fragmentation, which leads to neuronal death.

 

Similarly, in Wilson's disease (a serious copper accumulation disease),

zinc given to eliminate copper accumulation (in the brain) results in

elimination of depression found in Wilson's disease patients.

NMDA receptors are involved in excitotoxicity (nerve cell death via

over-stimulation). The chemicals that agonize (activate) NMDA receptors can also

kill the very same nerve cells they are activating. Glutamic and aspartic acid,

are capable of doing damage if present in sufficient amounts. This

excitotoxicity is directly responsible for much of the damage attributed to

various types of trauma and insult to the CNS from many diseases, and helps

explain why magnesium glutamate and magnesium aspartate worsen depression (These

compounds contain about 9 times the amount of these ligands than magnesium).

Note " PRECAUTIONS " concerning using magnesium glutamate and aspartate to treat

depression. If you want to dig into neurotransmitter biochemicals further, see

" Neurotransmitters " , but you will not find mention of magnesium ions.

Harold Murck writing in Nutritional-Neuroscience in 2002 pointed out

that there are several findings on the action of magnesium ions which support

their therapeutic potential in affective disorders. Examinations of the

sleep-electroencephalogram (EEG) and of endocrine systems point to the

involvement of the limbic-hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenocortical axis as

magnesium affects all elements of this system. Magnesium has the property to

suppress hippocampal kindling, to reduce the release of adrenocorticotrophic

hormone (ACTH) and to affect adrenocortical sensitivity to ACTH. The role of

magnesium in the central nervous system could be mediated via the

N-methyl-D-aspartate-antagonistic, gamma-aminobutyric acidA-agonistic or a

angiotensin II-antagonistic property of this ion. A direct impact of magnesium

on the function of the transport protein p-glycoprotein at the level of the

blood-brain barrier has also been demonstrated, possibly influencing the access

of corticosteroids to

the brain. Furthermore, magnesium dampens the calciumion-proteinkinase C

related neurotransmission and stimulates the Na-K-ATPase. All these systems have

been reported to be involved in the pathophysiology of depression. Despite the

antagonism of lithium to magnesium in some cell-based experimental systems,

similarities exist on the functional level, i.e. with respect to kindling,

sleep-EEG and endocrine effects.

Carman and Wyatt, writing in Biological Psychiatry as early as 1979

showed that decreases in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) calcium accompany mood

elevation and motor activation in depressed patients undergoing treatment with

ECT, lithium, and total sleep deprivation. Similarly, decreases in CSF calcium

occur during acute psychotic agitation or mania. On the other hand, periodic

recurrences of such agitated states are accompanied at their onset by transient

increases in serum calcium and phosphorus. Several observations suggest that

such serum ion shifts may trigger the more enduring and opposite shifts in CSF

calcium and, in turn, the manic behavior. Progressive restriction of dietary

calcium was earlier reported to mitigate and finally abolish both rhythmic rises

in serum calcium and periodic agitated episodes in one psychotic patient.

Lithium, which decreases the efficiency of alimentary calcium absorption, may

function similarly. Conversely, a modest oral calcium lactate

supplement (approximately one additional Recommended Daily Allowance of dietary

calcium) seemed to slightly intensify agitation in six patients.

Dihydrotachysterol (DHT), an analog of vitamin D, which more exactly mimics the

increase in both serum calcium and phosphorus, appeared in at least one

periodically psychotic patient to trigger and opposite shift in CSF calcium.

Moreover, in eight patients, manic symptomatology appeared de novo or grew

significantly and substantially worse during 2 to 6 weeks of oral DHT

administration. On the other hand, in 12 patients, subcutaneous injections of

synthetic salmon calcitonin (SCT) decreased serum calcium and phosphorus,

increased CSF calcium, and decreased agitation while augmenting depressive

symptomatology. SCT also decreased quantified motor activity, frequency and

severity of periodic agitated episodes, serum CPK and prolactin, and nocturnal

sleep, while DHT or calcium lactate had opposite effects on the same parameters.

Succeed! Depression is not a psychosis! Calcium Channel Blockers

Calcium channel blockers, especially magnesium ions, alter influx of

calcium from the extracellular fluid to the cytosol of cells through calcium

channels, which is important for the release of neurotransmitters from

presynaptic neurons. Thus magnesium ions act presynaptically rather than by

blocking receptors postsynaptically to prevent over stimulation by calcium, and

are therefore nature's true calcium-channel blockers.

In health, exquisite homeostatic regulation of serum calcium levels

exists, and alterations from the norm in calcium serum levels are well known to

cause serious mental illness. Free intracellular calcium-ion concentrations are

elevated in platelets and lymphocytes of manic and bipolar depressed patients

but not in control or unipolar depressed patients or in patients made euthymic

(normal, neither elated nor depressed) by various medications or

electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Some element of hyperexcitable as shown by

Weston in 1921, or an imbalance in calcium/magnesium ratio (either induced by

stress, improper diet, or calcium toxicity) in tissues are most likely necessary

for magnesium supplementation to provide benefits observed in the treatment of

the general class of symptoms called " depression " . I find interesting that

beneficial mechanisms of action of many dangerous, prescription psychiatric

drugs and ECT on manic and bipolar illness is restoration of proper calcium

serum/magnesium balance, a property easily restored with over-the-counter

magnesium taurate.

Prescription calcium channel-blockers often produce mental depression as

a side effect in cardiac therapy, while magnesium used as a calcium channel

blocker in cardiology does not. I find it interesting that cardiology has

embraced magnesium to rescue patients, while psychiatry has not.

The earliest substance to be reported having calcium-channel blocking

effects was magnesium ion. These findings were reported by Weston 80 years ago

to ameliorate excited psychotic states. See journal pages at: Weston, PG.

Magnesium as a sedative. American Journal of Psychiatry, 1921–22;1:637–8. Weston

showed that 220 doses out of 250 doses of magnesium sulfate given to 50 patients

having various types of agitation, with half being patients having agitated

depression, caused patients to relax and sleep from four to six hours. This is

about a 90% success rate. He noted that side effects from giving too much

magnesium were quickly and easily reversed by giving calcium chloride. With such

vital effects known for 80 years, it seems unlikely that psychiatry will,

without political force, in this century embrace magnesium in the treatment of

depression. Due to the strong pharmaceutical company lobby, deference will be

given to the known SSRIs and other patentable and highly

profitable anti-depressant drugs, even though magnesium plays a much wider role

in mental health, particularly depression and other hyperexcitability states.

The pharmaceutical drug lobby is simply too strong. Perhaps the only person in

the United States government sufficiently interested in improving health capable

of bringing magnesium to the attention of the public in a meaningful way is U.S.

Senator from Utah, Orrin G. Hatch. Wouldn't federal and state laws reading in

part, " Treatment by physicians of disease with drugs having any significant side

effect without treating underlying malnutrition attributed to causing such

disease, shall be considered malpractice " really change medicine for the better?

Succeed! Depression is not a psychosis!

 

 

 

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