IMVA - Magnesium and Calcium

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Magnesium and Calcium

International Medical Veritas Association

 

Calcium and magnesium are opposites in their effects on our body structure.

As a general rule, the more rigid and inflexible our body structure is,

the less calcium and the

more magnesium we need.

 

Dr. Garry Gordon wrote, *If you have compromised cell membranes or low ATP

production for any reason, then the cell has trouble maintaining the normal

gradient. This is because the usual gradient is 10,000 times more calcium

outside

of cells than inside; when this is compromised you will have increased

intracellular calcium, which seems to always happen at the time of death.

Whenever

intracellular calcium is elevated, you have a relative deficiency of magnesium,

so whenever anyone is seriously ill, acute or chronic, part of your plan must

be to restore magnesium, which is poorly absorbed through oral means.*

 

The ratio of calcium to magnesium is vital for cell membranes

and the Blood Brain Barrier.

 

Countries with the highest calcium to magnesium ratios (high calcium and low

magnesium levels) in soil and water have the highest incidence of

cardiovascular disease. At the top of the list is Australia. In contrast, in

Japan with

its low cardiac death rate, the daily magnesium intake was cited as high as 560

milligrams.

 

Adequate levels of magnesium are essential for the heart muscle. Those who

die from heart attacks have very low magnesium but high calcium levels in their

heart muscles. Patients with coronary heart disease who have been treated with

large amounts of magnesium survived better than those with other drug

treatments. Magnesium dilates the arteries of the heart and lowers cholesterol

and

fat levels.

 

Magnesium taken in proper dosages can solve

the problem of calcium deficiency.

Dr. Nan Kathryn Fuchs

Author of The Nutrition Detective

 

It is magnesium that controls the fate of potassium and calcium in the body.

If magnesium is insufficient potassium and calcium will be lost in the urine

and calcium will be deposited in the soft tissues (kidneys, arteries, joints,

brain, etc.). Magnesium and calcium have competing effects on many of the

body's chemical pathways.

 

Calcium causes muscles to contract, while

magnesium helps them relax.

 

Magnesium and calcium are paired minerals. Several studies have reported that

increasing calcium in the diet significantly reduces the absorption of

magnesium. Calcium intakes above 2.6 grams per day may reduce the uptake and

utilization of magnesium by the body thus increasing magnesium requirements. So

much

stress is placed on the importance of calcium by the dairy industry that we

may, in fact, be harming magnesium absorption.

 

Up to 30% of the energy of cells is used

to pump calcium out of the cells.

 

A healthy cell has high magnesium and low calcium levels. The higher the

calcium level and the lower the magnesium level in the extra-cellular fluid, the

harder is it for cells to pump the calcium out. The result is that with low

magnesium levels the mitochondria gradually calcify and energy production

decreases. Our biochemical age could theoretically be determined by the ratio of

magnesium to calcium within our cells.

 

Magnesium is the mineral of rejuvenation and prevents

the calcification of our organs and tissues that is

characteristic of the old-age related degeneration of our body.

 

Without sufficient magnesium, calcium can collect in the soft tissues and

cause arthritis. Not only does calcium collect in the soft tissues of

arthritics,

it is poorly, if at all, absorbed into their blood and bones. Some

researchers estimate that the American ratio of calcium to magnesium is actually

approaching 6:1, while the recommendation for healthy living is actually 2:1.But

even

2 parts of calcium to 1 part of magnesium is probably too high, since current

research on the Paleolithic or caveman diets show that the ratio they used to

eat was 1:1.[1]

 

A diet high in dairy and low in whole grains can

lead to excess calcium in the tissues and

a magnesium deficiency.[2]

Dr. Nan Kathryn Fuch

 

According to Dr P Kaye, Emergency Department, Bristol Royal Infirmary, UK,

*Magnesium acts as a smooth muscle relaxant by altering extracellular calcium

influx and intracellular phosphorylation reactions. It may also attenuate the

neutrophilic burst associated with inflammatory bronchoconstriction by

attenuating mast cell degranulation. The principal trigger for this

degranulation is a

rise in intracellular calcium, which is antagonised by magnesium. It has been

shown experimentally to augment the bronchodilatory effect of salbutamol and

to inhibit histamine induced bronchospasm. Magnesium should be used as a safe,

easy to administer and effective second line agent in acute severe

asthma.*[3]

 

Medical authorities claim that the widespread incidence of osteoporosis and

tooth decay in western countries can be prevented with a high calcium intake.

However Asian and African populations with a low intake (about 300 mg) of

calcium daily have very little osteoporosis. Bantu women with an intake of 200

to

300 mg of calcium daily have the lowest incidence of osteoporosis in the

world.[4] In western countries with a high intake of dairy products the average

calcium intake is about 1000 mg. With a low magnesium intake, calcium moves out

of

the bones to increase tissue levels, while a high magnesium intake causes

calcium to move from the tissues into the bones. Thus high magnesium levels

leads

to bone mineralization.

 

 

Dr. Karen Kubena, associate professor of nutrition at Texas A & M University

indicates that even if you monitor your magnesium level like a maniac, you're

still at risk for migraines if your calcium level is out of whack. It seems

that higher than normal blood levels of calcium cause the body to excrete the

excess calcium, which in turn triggers a loss of magnesium.

 

" Let's say you have just enough magnesium and too much calcium in your blood.

If calcium is excreted, the magnesium goes with it.

All of a sudden, you could be low in magnesium, " says Dr. Kubena.[5]

 

If calcium is not taken with enough magnesium it will cause more harm than

good. The unabsorbed calcium can lodge anywhere in the body and provoke

practically any disease. For instances, if it lodges in your bones and joints,

it

leads to some forms of arthritis; if it lodges in you heart, it leads to

arterial lesions; it provokes respiratory problems if it lodges in your lungs,

etc.

 

 

Despite the crucial relationship between calcium and magnesium a recently

published study announced that most U.S. children don't get enough calcium in

their diets, and pediatricians should intervene to help remedy the problem.

These

guidelines were issued in Feb. 2006 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.[6]

The proportion of children who receive the recommended amounts of calcium

declines dramatically after the second year of life, reaching a nadir during

adolescence, said Dr. Nancy F. Krebs, of the University of Colorado in Denver,

who

headed the academy committee that wrote the guidelines.

 

Adolescent girls are faring the worst, Dr. Krebs and colleagues reported.

Only about 10% of girls ages 12 to 19 are getting the recommended amount of

calcium. For boys, the figure is about 30%, according to the guidelines, which

were

published in the February issue of Pediatrics. Not a word is mentioned about

magnesium as the committee goes on to recommend increasing calcium intake

through the use of fortified foods and calcium supplements. Is a medical crime

being committed when these pediatricians fail to address the crucial

relationship

between magnesium and calcium? Our affirmative answer is sustained when

reviewing the materials presented below.

 

Experts say excessive calcium intake may be unwise in light of recent studies

showing that high amounts of the mineral may increase risk of prostate

cancer. " There is reasonable evidence to suggest that calcium may play an

important

role in the development of prostate cancer, " says Dr. Carmen Rodriguez, senior

epidemiologist in the epidemiology and surveillance research department of

the American Cancer Society (ACS). Rodriguez says that a 1998 Harvard School of

Public Health study of 47,781 men found those consuming between 1,500 and

1,999 mg of calcium per day had about double the risk of being diagnosed with

metastatic (cancer that has spread to other parts of the body) prostate cancer

as

those getting 500 mg per day or less. And those taking in 2,000 mg or more had

over four times the risk of developing metastatic prostate cancer as those

taking in less than 500 mg.

 

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of calcium is

1,000 mg per day for men,

and 1,500 mg for women.

 

Later in 1998, Harvard researchers published a study of dairy product intake

among 526 men diagnosed with prostate cancer and 536 similar men not diagnosed

with the disease. That study found a 50% increase in prostate cancer risk and

a near doubling of risk of metastatic prostate cancer among men consuming

high amounts of dairy products, likely due, say the researchers, to the high

total amount of calcium in such a diet. The most recent Harvard study on the

topic, published in October 2001, looked at dairy product intake among 20,885

men

and found men consuming the most dairy products had about 32% higher risk of

developing prostate cancer than those consuming the least.

 

According to the University of Florida Shands Cancer Center a high level of

calcium in the blood, called hypercalcemia,[7] may become a medical emergency.

This disorder is most commonly caused by cancer or parathyroid disease but

underneath the primary etiology is probably magnesium deficiency. Hypercalcemia

is commonly attributed to either the cancer treatment or the cancer itself and

may make it difficult for doctors to detect hypercalcemia when it first

occurs. This disorder can be severe and difficult to manage especially because

doctors have not a clue about the underlying relationship between excess calcium

and low levels of magnesium. Severe hypercalcemia is a medical emergency that

can be avoided if magnesium levels are brought up to normal.

 

Calcium competes with zinc, manganese, magnesium, copper and iron for

absorption in the intestine and a

high intake of one can reduce absorption of the others.

 

Because of the totally distorted way medical science relates to magnesium the

medical profession makes mistakes with calcium. It*s still common to hear the

assumption about calcium*s ability to help prevent osteoporosis (weakening of

the bones usually associated with aging). The fact is that it*s the

increasing of magnesium intake that increase bones density[8] in the elderly and

reduces the risk of osteoporosis. " Higher Magnesium intake through diet and

supplements was positively associated with total-body bone mineral density (BMD)

in

older white men and women. For every 100 mg per day increase in Mg, there was an

approximate 2 per cent increase in whole-body BMD, " [9] said Dr. Kathryn

Ryder.

 

Magnesium is essential for proper calcium absorption and is

an important mineral in the bone matrix.

 

" Bones average about 1 % phosphate of magnesium and. teeth about 1% per cent

phosphate of magnesium. Elephant tusks contain 2 % of phosphate of magnesium

and billiard balls made from these are almost indestructible. The teeth of

carnivorous animals contain nearly 5 % phosphate of magnesium and thus they are

able to crush and grind the bones of their prey without difficulty, " wrote Otto

Carque (1933) in Vital Facts About Foods.

 

 

Some people, like a spokesperson for the UK-based charity, the National

Osteoporosis Society, continue to think that *magnesium deficiency is, in fact,

very rare in humans.* So they cannot get it through their neural circuits that

magnesium deficiency, not calcium deficiency plays a key role in osteoporosis.

Thus it is no surprise when we find more studies suggesting that high Ca intake

had no preventive effect on alteration of bone metabolism in magnesium

deficient rats[10] and that not only severe but also moderate dietary

restriction of

magnesium results in qualitative changes in bones in rats.[11] The results

from some of these studies may be surprising to some. While we have no reason to

question the importance of calcium in bone strength, we have plenty of reason

to doubt the value of consuming large amounts of calcium that are currently

being recommended for adults and young people alike.[12]

 

One of the most important aspects of the disease osteoporosis has

been almost totally overlooked.

That aspect is the role played by magnesium.

Dr. Lewis B. Barnett

 

While most sources understand that calcium is important in the growth and

development of children, little attention is paid to the role of magnesium or

magnesium deficiency or the need to maintain the intricate balances of each (and

other nutrients as well). Back in the 1950*s Dr. Barnett examined the bone

content of healthy people and compared it with the content of people suffering

from severe osteoporosis. He found there was little difference among the

calcium, phosphorus, and fluoride content of the bones of the individuals. The

magnesium content in the bones of the healthy people, however, was 1.26 %. That

of

the osteoporosis victims was .62 %. Many years ago Dr. Barnett conducted tests

on 5,000 people and found about % of them deficient in magnesium. Today we

find the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) placing that number

officially at 66 %. How is it that so many in the medical profession can ignore

this

clinical reality and go on pretending that magnesium deficiency in the general

population is rare?

 

Magnesium status is important for regulation of calcium balance through

parathyroid hormone-mediated reactions.[13]

 

The current focus on increased need for calcium in a magnesium deficient

population can easily push those already receiving adequate amounts of calcium

in

their daily diets over the edge to reaching too high levels, thus causing

depletion of magnesium and other problems. The American Diabetes Association in

their 2006 guidelines for diabetes and pre diabetes, when making treatment and

nutritional recommendations, join the Pediatricians and do not recommend

magnesium be addressed in any significant way despite the increasing evidence

over

the years that magnesium is even more deficient in diabetics and dietary

recommendations are not combating the issue. This medical review is important

exactly because large segments of the medical establishment are choosing

ignorance

in relationship to magnesium and calcium thus misleading the public and leading

them to the altar of iatrogenic disease, a place where billions of dollars

are made.

 

 

Despite the fact that serum levels of magnesium are not the best indicator of

adequate magnesium levels some studies have shown that when magnesium

deficiency was induced in humans, the earliest sign was decreased serum

magnesium

levels (hypomagnesemia). Over time serum calcium levels also began to decrease

(hypocalcemia) despite adequate dietary calcium. Hypocalcemia persisted despite

increased parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion. Usually, increased PTH

secretion quickly results in the mobilization of calcium from bone and

normalization

of blood calcium levels. As the magnesium depletion progressed, PTH secretion

diminished to low levels.

 

Along with hypomagnesemia, signs of severe magnesium deficiency included

hypocalcemia, low serum potassium levels (hypokalemia), retention of sodium, low

circulating levels of PTH, neurological and muscular symptoms (tremor, muscle

spasms, tetany), loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and personality

changes.[14] Hypercalcemia can cause magnesium deficiency and wasting.[15]

 

 

It is medical wisdom that tells us that magnesium is actually the key to the

body's proper assimilation and use of calcium, as well as other important

nutrients. If we consume too much calcium, without sufficient magnesium, the

excess calcium is not utilized correctly and may actually become toxic, causing

painful conditions in the body. Hypocalcemia is a prominent manifestation of

magnesium deficiency in humans (Rude et al., 1976). Even mild degrees of

magnesium

depletion significantly decreases the serum calcium concentration (Fatemi et

al., 1991).

 

 

The adverse effects of excessive calcium intake may include high blood

calcium levels, kidney stone formation and kidney complications.[16] Elevated

calcium levels are also associated with arthritic/joint and vascular

degeneration,

calcification of soft tissue, hypertension and stroke, and increase in VLDL

triglycerides, gastrointestinal disturbances, mood and depressive disorders,

chronic fatigue, and general mineral imbalances including magnesium, zinc, iron

and phosphorus. High calcium levels interfere with Vitamin D and subsequently

inhibit the vitamin’s cancer protective effect unless extra amounts of

Vitamin D are supplemented.[17]

 

 

William R. Quesnell, author of 'Minerals: The Essential Link to Health, said,

*Most people have come to believe nutrition is divisible, and that a single

substance will maintain vibrant health. The touting of calcium for the

degenerative disease osteoporosis provides an excellent example. Every day the

media,

acting as proxy for the milk lobby, sells calcium as a magic bullet. Has it

worked? Definitely for sales of milk; but for American health it has been a

disaster. When you load up your system with excess calcium, you shut down

magnesium's ability to activate thyrocalcitonin, a hormone that under normal

circumstances would send calcium to your bones.*

 

 

When it comes to magnesium and calcium neither can be divided from the other.

One is not divisible from the other in terms of overall effect. They are

paired minerals yet it is magnesium that holds the overall key for their paired

function. In truth magnesium holds the key to life. It is, as the Chinese say,

the most beautiful of all metals. It is a nutritional element that can and is

used as a medicine to great effect by all who know of its beauty and power.

 

 

Special Note: The International Medical Veritas Association is promoting

quality organic food sources ( http://www.bulknuts4you.com/ ) of magnesium,

spirulina, oral magnesium in the form of natural chelation products

( http://www.scienceformulas.com/ ) , transdermal magnesium

( http://www.globallight.biz/ ) and other related sea water healing agents.

We also support Paul Mason, the original magnesium librarian, who has worked

hard to have the government put magnesium in public drinking water supplies.

 

Mark Sircus Ac., OMD International Medical Veritas Association

http://www.MagnesiumForLife.com

http://www.imva.info

http://www.detoxchelationclinic.com

http://www.worldpsychology.net

Email: director

+55-83-3252-2195

www.skype.com ID: marksircus

 

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