| EFFECT ON MUSCLES & NERVES
* headaches, migraines * tight sore aching knotted muscles * backache, shoulder girdle ache, chest pain * cramps, twitches, spasm, * inability to sit still, fidgety, restless * restless leg syndrome, cold hands & feet * anxiety, agitated, nervy, ready to explode * panic attacks, irritable, apprehensive, aggressive * poor attention span & concentration, ADD |
| EFFECT ON SLEEP
* body jumps on point of going to sleep, * legs restless & jumping - (wears holes in sheet), * leg & anal cramps, body rocking, * grinding teeth, hiccups, lump in throat feeling * poor breathing, sleep apnoea, * wake stiff & sore * feet feel puffy, swollen, sore to walk on on rising can feel every pebble through shoes or crumb on sheet |
| MAGNESIUM & ASTHMA
1. Research show that many patients with asthma & other respiratory diseases have low magnesium. 2. Many drugs used to treat asthma cause a loss of magnesium so only make symptoms worse. 3. Patients treated with simple magnesium supplementation report marked improvement |
| MAGNESIUM & DIABETES
1. Magnesium deficiency may be an independent predictor of diabetes. 2. Diabetics both need more magnesium & lose more magnesium than most people. 3. Magnesium is necessary for the production, function & transport of insulin. |
| MAGNESIUM & the BRAIN
1. Magnesium protects the brain from toxic effects of chemicals such as food additives. 2. Magnesium is a natural blood thinner, preventing clots, strokes, blood vessel spasm & pain. 3. Magnesium relaxes head & neck muscle tension that makes migraines worse. 4. People with Alzheimer's & Parkinson's have been found to be low in Magnesium. 5. Low magnesium produces symptoms of anxiety, depression, fatigue, insomnia, anorexia, confusion, poor memory, apprehension, nervousness. |
Dietary Sources of Magnesium
- mg/100g
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MAGNESIUM DEPLETED BY
| DIETARY - alcohol, caffeine, soft drinks
* foods containing - dairy, lactose, sugar, fats * phytates (grains - wheat, rice, corn oats, seeds) * legumes - (beans, soya, coffee, peanuts) * oxalics (spinach, rhubarb, fig) |
| MINERALS - calcium, copper, fluoride,
iron, lead, mercury, phosphorous |
| PHYSICAL - excessive exercise,
sweating, stress vomiting, diarrhoea coeliacs, Crohn's malabsorption, kidney disease liver & gall bladder disease bowel surgery, dialysis gut infections & parasites |
| EFFECT ON HEART & BLOOD VESSELS
* abnormal heart rhythms, palpitations, racing pulse * high blood pressure, heart attacks * poor circulation, purple hands & feet * tingling, prickly feeling, crawling sensation on skin * light headed, dizzy, numbness * muscles seize up in cold due to constriction * skin sensitivity - sore to touch * noise sensitivity - TV too loud, lawn mower hurts ears |
| MAGNESIUM and the HEART
* Magnesium prevents clot formation * Magnesium prevents artery spasm * Clots form where blood vessels divide * Infection can damage arteries * Low magnesium = loss of elasticity |
| Weak points in heart blood vessels develop when low magnesium. Loss of stretch allows blood vessel to tear where it divides (think of it like the crutch of a pair of pants). The body tries to fix the weak spot with an inelastic clot made of cholesterol and calcium. Increasing available magnesium & Vit C restores elasticity and fixes wall. |
| MAGNESIUM, CHILDREN & ADD
Signs of low magnesium in children include - restless, can't keep still, body rocking, grinding teeth, hiccups, noise sensitive, poor attention span, poor concentration, irritable, aggressive, ready to explode, easily stressed, growing pains |
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| OSTEOPOROSIS, KIDNEY & GALLSTONES, PMT
1. Magnesium keeps calcium dissolved in blood so it is not deposited in joints as osteo arthritis, blood vessels as artheriosclerosis, kidney & gall stones, patches in lungs and beneath skin. Boron & magnesium help bone formation in fractures and osteoporosis. 2. Magnesium is needed for hormone production so helps prevent problems associated with PMT, meno-pause & depression. |
| WHAT HELPS MAINTAIN Mg LEVELS
1. Need stomach acid for absorption so take
lemon juice or apple cider
2. Nutrients
3. Exercise improves retention in body & incorporation into bone 4. Needs protein transport molecule (chelated magnesium has amino acid) 5. Water - drink 8 -10 glasses per day |
| MAGNESIUM and FOODS
1. Alcohol causes magnesium to drop causing headaches, dizziness, hangovers 2. Body acidity (meats & grains in diet) increase need for Mg to neutralise 3. Sugary foods use up more Mg |
| Mg ABSORPTION BLOCKED BY
1. FOODS - fatty foods, grains, soya, seeds, nuts diet sweeteners, diet drinks & foods, processed meats, soft drinks, dairy foods, coffee, alcohol, high protein diet, Aspartame ie nutra sweet 2. INDIGESTION & ANTACIDS low hydrochloric acid, fermentation of sugars in stomach, backflow of pancreatic enzymes. 3. CALCIUM in antacids cause excretion of Mg from body. |
| DRUGS THAT LOWER MAGNESIUM
1. Antibiotics (esp tetracyclines) 2. Anti-fungal (amphotericin) 3. Diabetic drugs (insulin) 4. Heart drugs (digoxin, beta-blockers, diuretics ie water pills) (NB beta-blockers are used for migraine too) 5. Asthma drugs (tablets,sprays, injections) 6. Hormonal (the Pill, HRT) 7. Chelation agents & chemo |
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