The Essential Nutrient Magnesium - Key to Mitochondrial ATP Production and Much

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The Essential Nutrient Magnesium - Key to Mitochondrial ATP Production and

Much More

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by Andrea Rosanoff, PhD* June 8, 2009

 

 

**While it was estimated in 1968 that magnesium was a required cofactor

for over 300 enzyme systems, that number is now more reliably estimated at

700 to 800.**

 

 

Magnesium is an essential nutrient for all living things.

 

 

• In plants it holds the central position in the all-important chlorophyll

molecule which transforms sunlight’s energy into life’s form of

chemical-energy, ATP (adenosine triphosphate).

 

 

• Along with calcium and phosphorus, magnesium (Mg) is considered a major

element in human nutrition, as opposed to the trace elements such as iron

(Fe), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), selenium (Se), etc., and is one of the four

electrolytes along with calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), and potassium (K).

[Electrolytes are minerals in body fluids that carry an electrical charge and

conduct electrical impulses in the body. A balance is essential to control the

amount of water in the body, blood acidity, muscle action, and more.]

 

 

Biochemically, a large part of magnesium’s essentiality comes from its

combination with ATP - life’s high energy chemical battery.

 

 

This Mg-ATP complex is required for the cells’ energy-producing structures

(mitochondria) to produce ATP; the breakdown of food energy (glucose and

fat) into water, carbon dioxide and energy as ATP.

 

 

When glucose and/or fatty acids are metabolized, the end products are ATP,

water, and carbon dioxide. We breathe out the carbon dioxide. The water

goes into our system, as we are 90+% water.

 

 

The metabolism requires oxygen, which we breathe in; protein synthesis for

growth and enzyme production; DNA replication, and RNA synthesis. While it

was estimated in 1968 that magnesium was a required cofactor for over 300

enzyme systems, that number is now more reliably estimated at 700 to 800.

 

 

At the cellular level, magnesium joins with the other electrolyte ions in

a cell-controlling dance.

 

 

These ions are carefully and meticulously separated in living cells:

 

• Calcium and sodium ions, for the most part, are kept outside cells,

 

• While magnesium and potassium ions are kept mainly inside cells.

 

 

Energy in the form of the Mg-ATP complex is necessary to maintain this

ionic “packaging†as well as to alter it in a regulated way when warranted.

Magnesium has been called “nature’s physiological calcium channel

blocker.â€

[blocking calcium from getting inside cells.]

 

 

When this “blocker†function is breached or when magnesium becomes

depleted within the cell from its normal level, calcium rises inside the cell.

This altered state results in a change in the intracellular Mg:Ca ratio,

which appears to have an impact on cell function.

 

 

For example, a lower-than-normal Mg:Ca ratio:

 

• In blood vessel smooth muscle cells - causes vasoconstriction, arterial

stiffness, and/or hypertension;

 

• In heart cells - causes enlargement (hypertrophy);

 

• In blood platelet cells - causes increased aggregation, stickiness and

clotting;

 

• Makes fat and skeletal muscle cells less able to respond to insulin

(insulin resistance);

 

• Causes pancreatic beta cells to produce more insulin, causing

hyperinsulinemia [which may lead to hypoglycemia and sodium

retention/hypertension];

 

• Increases nerve cell activity as well as the response of endocrine

tissues.

 

 

In a life-threatening crisis, such reactions are warranted, necessary, and

can be life-saving as they allow an animal to perform with unusual

strength and speed. Indeed, all these cellular responses to a low Mg:Ca

cellular

ratio can be aspects of the stress response or “fight-or-flight†reaction.

 

 

In healthy individuals, when the stress or crisis is over, magnesium

increases inside cells to its normal level, its calcium blocker function is

restored, calcium moves back outside cells, reestablishing normal electrolyte

“

packaging,†and the stress response subsides.

 

 

However, when these responses to a lower-than-normal Mg:Ca ratio are a

result of a magnesium nutritional deficiency state, some predictable disease

states can occur.

 

These include:

 

 

1. Cardiovascular Diseases. All the usual markers (or risk factors) for

heart disease such as hypertension (high blood pressure), high total

cholesterol, low HDL (‘good’) cholesterol, high LDL (‘bad’)

cholesterol, high

homocysteine, and high C-reactive protein, can be the result of low magnesium

status.

 

Recent studies show that high anxiety and depression (symptoms of human

magnesium deficiency) can predict heart disease even more than the

traditional risk factors.

 

 

2. Hypertension. Chronic high blood pressure (essential hypertension) can

be caused both directly and indirectly by a magnesium deficiency.

 

• Low magnesium:high calcium in blood vessel muscle cells cause them to

contract, which results in a hypertensive state.

 

• In addition, a low cellular magnesium impedes a healthy sodium to

potassium ratio, which is necessary for normal blood pressure.

 

 

3. Type 2 Diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is seen as part of a syndrome,

Syndrome X or metabolic syndrome, which includes hypertension, obesity,

unhealthy

blood cholesterol levels, and high blood sugar coupled with cells’

inability to properly respond to insulin (insulin resistance).

 

These, with the exception of obesity, have been linked to low Mg:Ca

cellular ratio, and the type of obesity most predictive of this syndrome,

abdominal obesity, has been shown to be assuaged with a long term diet

containing

high magnesium foods and a regime of regular exercise.

 

 

4. Osteoporosis. Many people take calcium supplements to prevent depletion

of minerals from bone that can lead to osteoporosis. To properly use this

extra calcium, a body needs to have a healthy magnesium status.

 

 

If magnesium is low, extra calcium can increase the severity of the

magnesium deficiency, which causes improper calcium metabolism as one of its

symptoms. One of the first signs of a magnesium deficit can be low blood

calcium.

 

 

Other disease states that may be associated with a magnesium deficiency

include:

 

• Asthma,

 

• PMS,

 

• Pregnancy induced hypertension,

 

• Migraine headache due to constriction of blood vessels in the head,

 

• Depression,

 

• High anxiety.

 

 

Some of the initial problems seen in people who have or are developing

magnesium deficiency are neuromuscular.

 

These are presumably due to the abnormal muscular contraction-nerve firing

states brought on by a low Mg:Ca cellular ratio, which can be a result of:

 

• Chronic low magnesium intake,

 

• Very high calcium intake,

 

• Or a combination of the two.

 

 

Quantifying human magnesium status and the degree of magnesium deficiency

in populations of the industrialized world is difficult given the current

lack of a widespread biomarker. Commonly available tests of serum and red

blood cell magnesium have not reliably been associated with overall

nutritional magnesium status. [As Dr. Paul Cheney has suggested, _blood tests

don't

tell the whole Mg story, because they are not sensitive to intra-cellular

magnesium_ (http://www.prohealth.com/library/showArticle.cfm?libid=12084) .]

 

 

Most health professionals are taught and many believe that magnesium

deficiency is rare, occurring mainly in alcoholism or with general

malnutrition,

and that most diets give a person enough magnesium given that magnesium is

widespread in foods.

 

The research does not support this widespread view.

 

 

Diets of the industrialized world can be quite low in magnesium. [The

large majority of Americans (65%) get much less magnesium than is required for

health, according to _a national USDA survey_

(http://www.centerformaged.org/index.php?page=Balancing+Supplements) .]

 

 

Refined grains and refined sugar are among the lowest foods in Mg content,

so when these are high in the diet, Mg intake can be quite low. (See

_chart indicating the magnesium content of common foods_

(http://www.centerformaged.org/index.php?page=Magnesium+Density+in+Foods) –

from cocoa, highest,

to white flour products & sugar, lowest.)

 

 

Given the wide use of refined sugar and flour in processed foods, the

widespread use of calcium supplements, and the increased practice of fortifying

foods with calcium, daily magnesium supplements can be protective.

Magnesium supplements can be found in various forms such as inorganic MgO and

MgCl2, in tablets and capsules and in a better-absorbed organic form such as

water soluble Magnesium Citrate.

 

 

Note: Individuals with kidney disease (renal failure) must not take any

magnesium supplements.

____

 

 

* This article is reproduced with kind permission from _Peter Gillham’s

Natural Vitality website_ (http://www.petergillham.com/news_index.php) . Peter

Gillham is a clinical nutritionist, chemist, and pioneer in magnesium

research. Dr. Andrea Rosanoff is directing scholar for the Hawaii-based _Center

for Magnesium Education & Research_

(http://www.centerformaged.org/index.php?page=About) , and coauthor of the book

titled _The Magnesium Factor_

(http://www.amazon.com/Magnesium-Factor-Mildred-Seelig/dp/1583331565) .

---------------

 

The Magnesium Miracle

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More than seventy-five years ago, medical scientists declared magnesium to

be an essential nutrient, indispensable to life. When this mineral is part

of your diet, you are guarding against and helping to alleviate health

threats such as heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, diabetes, depression,

arthritis, and asthma. But while research continues to reaffirm magnesium's

irreplaceable contribution to good health, many Americans remain dangerously

deficient. In The Magnesium Miracle, _Dr. Carolyn Dean_

(http://www.jigsawhealth.com/carolyn-dean.aspx) , an authority on this mineral

who has used it

with dramatic success in her own practice, explains the vital role that

magnesium plays in the control of many serious ailments from painful muscle

spasms and bladder problems to traumatic brain injury and complications of

pregnancy and childbirth.

 

 

Whether you need help with a serious health problem or merely want to

protect the good health you already enjoy, The Miracle of Magnesium will answer

all your questions. It may even save your life.

 

 

Magnesium (Mg) deficiency triggers or causes the following conditions and

taking magnesium can either eliminate or help eliminate these conditions:

1. Anxiety and Panic attacks - Mg normally keeps adrenal stress

hormones under control.

2. Asthma - Both histamine production and bronchial spasms increase

with Mg deficiency.

3. Blood clots - Mg has an important role to play in preventing blood

clots and keeping the blood thin - much like aspirin but without the side

effects.

4. Bowel Disease - Mg deficiency slows down the bowel causing

constipation, which could lead to toxicity and malabsorption of nutrients, as

well

as colitis.

5. Cystitis - Bladder spasms are worsened by Mg deficiency.

6. Depression - Serotonin, which elevates moods, is dependent on Mg.

A Mg-deficient brain is also more susceptible to allergens, foreign

substances that can cause symptoms similar to mental illness.

7. Detoxification - Mg is crucial for the removal of toxic substances

and heavy metals such as aluminum and lead.

8. Diabetes - Mg enhances insulin secretion, facilitating sugar

metabolism. Without Mg insulin is not able to transfer glucose into cells.

Glucose and insulin build up in the blood causing various types of tissue

damage.

9. Fatigue - Mg-deficient patients commonly experience fatigue

because dozens of enzyme systems are under-functioning. An early symptom of Mg

deficiency is frequently fatigue.

10. Heart disease - Mg deficiency is common in people with heart

disease. Mg is administered in hospitals for acute myocardial infarction and

cardiac arrhythmia. Like any other muscle, the heart muscle requires Mg. Mg is

also used to treat angina, or chest pain.

11. Hypertension - With insufficient Mg, spasm of blood vessels and

high cholesterol occur, both of which lead to blood pressure problems.

12. Hypoglycemia - Mg keeps insulin under control; without Mg episodes

of low blood sugar can result.

13. Insomnia - Sleep-regulating melatonin production is disturbed

without sufficient Mg.

14. Kidney Disease - Mg deficiency contributes to atherosclerotic

kidney failure. Mg deficiency creates abnormal lipid levels and worsening blood

sugar control in kidney transplant patients.

15. Liver Disease leading to liver failure - Mg deficiency commonly

occurs during liver transplantation.

16. Migraine - Serotonin balance is Mg-dependent. Deficiency of

serotonin can result in migraine headaches and depression.

17. Musculoskeletal conditions- Fibrositis, fibromyalgia, muscle

spasms, eye twitches, cramps and chronic neck and back pain may be caused by Mg

deficiency and can be relieved with Mg supplements.

18. Nerve problems - Mg alleviates peripheral nerve disturbances

throughout the whole body, such as migraines, muscle contractions,

gastrointestinal spasms, and calf, foot and toe cramps. It is also used in

treating

central nervous symptoms of vertigo and confusion.

19. Obstetrics and Gynecology - Mg prevents Premenstrual Syndrome;

prevents dysmenorrhea (cramping pain during menses); is important in the

treatment of infertility; and alleviates premature contractions, preeclampsia,

and eclampsia in pregnancy. Intravenous Mg is given in obstetrical wards for

pregnancy-induced hypertension and to lessen the risk of cerebral palsy

and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Mg should be a required supplement

for pregnant mothers.

20. Osteoporosis - Use of calcium with Vitamin D to enhance calcium

absorption without a balancing amount of Mg causes further Mg deficiency,

which triggers a cascade of events leading to bone loss.

21. Raynaud’s Syndrome - Mg helps relax the spastic blood vessels that

cause pain and numbness of the fingers.

22. Tooth decay - Mg deficiency causes an unhealthy balance of

phosphorus and calcium in saliva, which damages teeth.

 

The Magnesium Miracle Reviews

“Every doctor and patient should read this comprehensive book on the many

roles of magnesium. . . . I loved this book. Clearly written and packed

with information, it offers a compendium on natural medicine and is an

invaluable resource for both practitioner and public alike. It is the most

comprehensive and well referenced guide to the myriad benefits of magnesium

published to date.â€

–Dr. Carolyn DeMarco

Author of Take Charge of Your Body: Women’s Health Advisor

 

“Throughout this volume and with utmost clarity, Carolyn Dean presents

invaluable recommendations–based on the latest magnesium research. Virtually

every American can benefit.â€

–Paul Pitchford

Author of _Healing With Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition

(3rd Edition)_

(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1556434308?ie=UTF8 & tag=jigsawhealth-20 & linkCod\

e=as2 & camp=1789 & creative=9325 & creativeASIN=1556434308)

 

“Physicians and therapists have paid scant attention to this very

important element, which is also involved in maintaining our good health. The

massive evidence is here in this important book on magnesium. I am pleased to

have been taking magnesium for so many years.â€

–Abram Hoffer, M.D.

Author of _Putting It All Together: The New Orthomolecular Nutrition_

(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0879836334?ie=UTF8 & tag=jigsawhealth-20 & linkCod\

e

=as2 & camp=1789 & creative=9325 & creativeASIN=0879836334)

 

Material excerpted from Dean, Carolyn. The Magnesium Miracle (Ballantine

Books: NY, NY. 2007.)