Magnificent magnesium

Magnesium is probably one of the most important minerals for optimal human health. It is one of the most highly prescribed minerals in my practice. Let’s see why. The entire, delicately intricate and complex process of producing (a unit of) energy is ultimately a magnesium-dependent mechanism. Magnesium turns protein, carbohydrates and fats from our diet into cellular energy.

It is also responsible for glycogen storage and release, acid-alkaline balance and membrane permeability. It has a major role in the activation of most vitamins and has a seriously profound effect on nerve cell excitability. A magnesium deficiency can also seriously affect other key mineral levels. It is difficult to maintain adequate body levels of potassium, calcium and sodium unless our magnesium stores are optimum.

There is a strong relationship between reduced intake of magnesium and increased risk of functional impairments affecting neuromuscular, cardiovascular, immune, hormonal and neurological systems. Conditions associated with suspected magnesium deficiency include depression, anxiety, eclampsia, asthma, constipation, migraine, atherosclerosis, hypertension, osteoporosis, PMS, insomnia, diabetes, mellitus and congestive heart failure. So a fairy important mineral wouldn’t you agree?!

There has been a dramatic decline in the average elemental intake today compared to the last century. In the early 1900s the average intake of magnesium was approximately 500 mg per day, today the intake has fallen to an average of 175 mg per day. The recommended daily intake is between 400–420 mg for males and between 310–320 mg for females, and higher for women who are pregnant or lactating.

Signs and symptoms of magnesium deficiency include muscle cramps, muscles twitches, insomnia, irritability, difficulty concentrating, faintness, a sensation of a lump in the throat, loss of appetite or mild nausea, constipation, mild palpitations, difficulty breathing and noise sensitivity. Indeed some patients report finding the sound of a doorbell so shocking it makes them jump sky high, and another poor patient said that the ticking of a clock became inordinately annoying and intrusive. Where magnesium is deficient, cells remain in a state of hyper-excitability, unable to return to their normal, calm resting state.

Supplementing the diet with magnesium often needs to be for extended periods to achieve efficacy.

And it is essential to choose the right type of magnesium to achieve bioavailability and optimal cell uptake. (Never take magnesium carbonate, difficult to absorb and is a strong laxative.)

A number of human clinical studies have indicated that organic forms of magnesium such as citrate, orotate and amino acid chelate are more bioavailable than inorganic salts, such as carbonate and oxide. (Indeed, magnesium oxide, the most common form of magnesium sold in pharmacies and supermarkets has been shown to have as low as a 4% absorption rate.) In addition each form of organic magnesium
possesses unique characteristics. While magnesium citrate for example has superior bioavailability, magnesium amino acid chelates improve absorption in patients with compromised digestion. Not all chelate forms are created equal and quality is essential. Quality chelates contain easily metabolised ligands, electrical neutrality and stability. I frequently use a mixed combination for dosing in the clinic which helps to account for individual variances in magnesium transportation.

In conditions of extreme fatigue for example I will commonly use a combination of magnesium orotate and magnesium aspartate. Magnesium orotate (Vitamin B13) is more efficient in transporting magnesium into the mitochondria, the power house of a cell where energy (ATP) is manufactured. Whereas magnesium aspartate moves magnesium into the cytoplasm (fluid) of the cell, where it is critical for improving oxygen utilization in all muscle tissue and increases creatine phosphate. (Creatine increases the muscle’s ability to uptake energy and recovery nutrients.)

The consumption of alcohol, the use of diuretics, diarrhoea, the presence of fluoride and high levels of zinc and vitamin D, increase the body’s need for magnesium. Poor insulin production also adversely affects our body’s cellular stores of magnesium. Those with diabetes mellitus are particularly susceptible to magnesium deficiency. Diuretic therapy and cytotoxic and immunosuppressant drugs may also cause magnesium losses. Excessive consumption of soft drinks, coffee and profuse sweating similarly decreases our magnesium levels.

Sources include grains, such as millet, buckwheat, brown rice, wheat, oats, dark green vegetables (magnesium being a component of chlorophyll), almonds, Brazil nuts and cashews, seafood and kelp. Bear in mind however that the magnesium content of foods will always depend on the magnesium levels in the soil where the food is grown.