Magnesium, probably the greatest predictor of all aspects of heart disease

It is a fact that more than 50% of Americans are magnesium deficient. I cannot stress enough the importance of recognizing magnesium deficiency as a serious health problem here in the United States. Magnesium plays a key role in more than 350 enzymes in the body and is involved in virtually every metabolic process. Its involvement is significant with overall cardiovascular health, blood pressure regulation and muscle relaxation. A deficiency in magnesium, referred to as hypomagnesemia, has been associated with cardiac arrhythmias, ischemic heart disease, sudden cardiac death, hypertension, transient ischemic attacks (TIA), and stroke. Interestingly, cardiovascular disease research studies dating as far back as 1937 found that a low magnesium level, and not cholesterol or saturated fat intake, is probably the greatest predictor of all aspects of heart disease.

Researcher Andrea Rosanoff, PhD, Director of Research & Science Information Outreach Center for Magnesium Education & Research, Pahoa, HI, conducted an ongoing comprehensive review of magnesium and cardiovascular disease for over 10 years, building upon work originally done by Mildred Seelig, MD, who studied this relationship for over 40 years. Rosanoff discovered that low magnesium was shown to be associated with all known cardiovascular risk factors, such as cholesterol and high blood pressure, atherogenesis, hardening of the arteries and the calcification of soft tissues. According to Dr. Rosanoff, “By 1957 low magnesium was shown to be, strongly, convincingly, a cause of atherogenesis and the calcification of soft tissues. But this research was widely and immediately ignored as cholesterol and the high saturated-fat diet became the culprits to fight.” Since then, research has continued to show that low magnesium is associated with cardiovascular risk factors.

In addition, Dr. Rosanoff noted that after years and years of Americans focusing solely on increasing dietary calcium intake without paying equal attention to magnesium, dietary calcium-to-magnesium ratios have increased over time, and research shows that calcium supplementation that is not balanced with magnesium can actually contribute to an increased risk of heart disease.

Sources of magnesium

Magnesium gets its name from the Greek region Magnesia, near where it was first discovered. It is the central ion of chlorophyll, making leafy green vegetables one of the best food sources of this mineral. Other sources include nuts and seeds, legumes, and whole, unrefined grains. One thing to consider, however, is that the presence of phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors in grains and legumes may interfere with magnesium absorption, unless steps are taken to neutralize these substances through specific preparation and cooking techniques such as soaking, sprouting, or fermentation. Also, many common prescription drugs are known to deplete magnesium, including certain oral contraceptives, antacids, diuretics, and antibiotics.

How much magnesium is enough?

Unfortunately, we do not have a great way to measure magnesium status. For example, serum magnesium represents only 1% of the body’s magnesium stores. Magnesium is homeostatically controlled in the serum and measuring serum magnesium levels provides many false negatives. By the time your serum magnesium is low, you are very deficient, meaning that the body cannot maintain the serum magnesium levels. So, serum magnesium is not the answer. Magnesium, RBC is definitely better and can be done by most labs and all functional medicine labs. I test RBC magnesium levels on all my patients and it is surprising to see how many patients who are deficient in this critical mineral. In addition, for patients with high blood pressure and other cardiovascular-related conditions, it is important to assess other minerals such as potassium, magnesium, zinc, copper, selenium, and calcium, as well as laboratory markers that include cardio CRP, homocysteine, fibrinogen, CoQ10, and vitamin D 25-OH.

By Dr. Michael Jurgelewicz, DC, DABCN, DCBCN Magnesium Depletion and Chronic Disease

For reasons that elude me (perhaps it’s because calcium is the most common mineral in the human body), calcium has historically been the primary dietary mineral that has received the most attention in both medical research and the mainstream media. Over the last couple of years however, the mineral magnesium has quickly been the focus of intense scientific study, recently culminating with the latest report that suggests that magnesium may be just as important, if not more so, to children’s bone health than calcium.

While magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body, it is needed for more than 300 biochemical reactions. It is involved in supporting proper nerve function and a healthy immune system. It helps keep heart rhythm steady and bones strong. Magnesium also helps regulate blood sugar levels, promotes normal blood pressure, and is involved in energy metabolism and protein synthesis.

The metabolism of carbohydrates and fats to produce energy (which includes ATP production) requires numerous magnesium-dependent chemical reactions. Magnesium is also required for a number of steps during DNA and RNA synthesis. Glutathione, an important antioxidant, requires magnesium for its production.

Only 1% of magnesium is found in the blood, the rest being bound in the tissues and bones. Therefore the mineral is hard to test for and as a result, magnesium deficiency can be difficult to detect. Symptoms of magnesium deficiency can be varied and potentially fool even the best clinician. Insomnia, irritability, nervousness, fatigue, anorexia, muscle twitching, abnormal heart beat and poor memory are some of the signs. When you take into consideration the myriad functions magnesium performs and the multiple systems the mineral affects, a magnesium deficiency can affect virtually every system of the body. Magnesium deficiency has even been associated with epilepsy and M.S.

Additionally, if you look closely at the symptoms of magnesium deficiency and apply some of them to a child, would this not describe symptoms of ADHD?

Magnesium deficiency has also been shown to be a predictor of both diabetes and heart disease, providing some direct evidence that greater intake of dietary magnesium may have a long-term protective effect on lowering risk in both conditions or, in the case of its long term, chronic depletion/deficiency, directly participate in the development of both conditions.

In the case of diabetes, it is suggested that insulin resistance can be directly related to long-term magnesium exhaustion while in cardiovascular heath, hypertension and endothelial dysfunction appear to be associated with chronic decline as well.

Finally, several studies have shown an increased cancer rate in regions with low magnesium levels in soil and drinking water (the same for selenium). In Egypt, the cancer rate was only about 10% of that in Europe and America. The main difference was an extremely high magnesium intake of 2.5 to 3g in these cancer-free populations, ten times more than in most western countries.

In the face of magnesium’s incredible importance in human health, it goes without saying that the possible deficiency of this mineral in the clinical setting may need to be more closely scrutinized, as the consequences could be quite impactful.

Michael Fuhrman, D. C. Magnesium Salt Baths

Most of us begin to relax by simply envisioning a restful soak in hot, steamy bath water swirling with lavender-infused Epsom salts. It is almost as inviting as the smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls … Paleo-style, of course. As practitioners, we are often encouraging individuals to create habits that will de-stress and relax, knowing the physiological consequences of stress and tension. Magnesium salt baths have become a common recommendation for relaxation, sleep, pain, and neuromuscular issues.

So, what exactly makes this 100-year-old practice so beneficial? Is it the hot water? The magnesium salts? The essential oil? Perhaps, it is a combination of all.

A Historical Elixir

One hundred years ago, in 1917, Colonel R.D. Rudolf, a professor of therapeutics, published an article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal that summarized the history and use of Epsom salts. Discovered 300 years earlier, in 1618, a small well in Epsom, England seemed to produce water that cattle would not drink. Thinking the water must be medicinal, the locals began applying it topically for an assortment of sores and infections. By 1688, physicians were ordering therapeutic visits to Epsom, and the town became known as a spa town.

By the early 1900s, the medicinal effects of Epsom salts were well-established. In Rudolf’s publication, he quotes Dr. N.H. Choskey concerning Epsom salts: “The anaesthetic effects resulting from its subcutaneous application, however, induced Dr. Henry Tucker of Philadelphia General Hospital, to apply it for the relief of pain in local inflammatory condition, with rather surprising results. For apart from the relief of pain and discomfort, it was found that it controlled and eventually led to the cure of the inflammatory process.”

Nearly 100 years later, modern medicine and research is publishing peer-reviewed studies on the anti-inflammatory effects of Epsom salt baths.

Effects on Inflammatory Mediators

Perhaps the greatest healing quality of Epsom salt baths is their ability to modulate inflammatory pathways. In vitro studies have shown that magnesium ions down-regulate the expression of inflammatory mediators, tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) and nuclear factor κβ (NFκβ). Various inflammatory conditions such as asthma, arthritis, atherosclerosis and neuroinflammation are rooted in dysfunction of these inflammatory pathways, making Epsom salts a helpful therapy in their management.

Effects on Skin Health, Hydration & Appearance

Magnesium salts can bind water, while also encouraging the proliferation and differentiation of dermal cells. In a 6 week studyinvestigating the efficacy of magnesium salt baths on atopic dry skin, test subjects submerged atopic skin in a magnesium salt bath or tap water for 15 minutes each day. At the end of the study, skin hydration, skin roughness, and skin redness as a measure of inflammation were all significantly improved in the test group that submerged atopic skin in a magnesium salt bath, illustrating improved skin barrier function and stratum corneum hydration, and reduced inflammation.

Another study investigating the effects of topical magnesium on diaper dermatitis, an inflammatory skin condition of infants, found that a 2 percent magnesium cream was more effective than a control botanical (also applied to the magnesium test group) in shortening the duration of recovery. As with the former study, magnesium improved skin hydration and skin barrier function, while also decreasing inflammatory mediators that would contribute to all forms of skin dermatitis, including the common diaper rash.

Effects on Neuroinflammation

Dermal inflammation may seem a very reasonable application for magnesium salt baths, but what about chronic, systemic inflammation that affects mood, muscle tone, neurology and sleep habits? Interestingly, evidence exists for the use of magnesium salts in this realm, too. Very recently, a study was published in Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy that sought to understand the role of magnesium salts in neuroinflammation and oxidative stress. Test mice were given an injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to elicit neuroinflammation and depressive-like behavior following treatment with either magnesium isoglycyrrhizinate (a magnesium salt) or the control pharmaceutical, fluoxetine, otherwise known as Prozac. Not only did this study reveal significantly improved immobility time and locomotion, but also decreased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress in serum and the hippocampus. Magnesium salts effectively reduced neuroinflammation, which could impact mood, neurological symptoms and sleep.

Mode of Absorption

The anti-inflammatory roles of the mineral, magnesium, have been well-established as well as the current state of deficiency in most individuals. This has spearheaded an awareness of the need for magnesium replenishment with various modes of absorption being available. Oral magnesium is a convenient option for many, and dermal absorption has been cited as an excellent method of replenishing cellular magnesium. Magnesium ions easily penetrate the epidermis, facilitated by hair follicles, and quickly enter circulation, followed by cellular absorption and interaction with inflammatory mediators. The lungs also become a vehicle for magnesium absorption, as is shown in a study in which a 4 week stay at the Dead Sea showed significant improvement in the lung function of asthmatics, due to the anti-inflammatory properties of the magnesium salts. This makes an Epsom salt bath an effective way to quickly impact inflammatory pathways and achieve clinical results.

Clearly, we can owe the clinical benefits of Epsom salt baths to the presence of magnesium sulfate, provided in a readily absorbed medium. Of course, the hot water and the addition of essential oils can enhance the therapeutic effect, but let’s not underestimate the value of this ancient practice in a culture that is suffering from the debilitating effects of chronic, systemic inflammation.