- 80 % of people living in USA experience dietary deficiency in Magnesium
- 70% of UK population are Magnesium deficient
- Most are unaware of it and continue to suffer insomnia, cramps, chronic back/ neck pain, depression and seek expensive and drug based treatments
- Are you one of them?
- Without Magnesium, muscles can't fully relax resulting in cramps & backache,s nerves malfunction, sleep is seriously affected, depression / anxiety attacks and heart attack risk increases
- Australian soil has one of the lowest Magnesium content in the world
- Check symptom list below to see if you are deficient
- Magnesium may fix your nagging chronic problems
- Ever had a physical or mental condition that your doctor seem clueless about?
- He may blame stress and by default prescribe anti-depressant, steroids, painkiller or sedatives
- Did you notice he didn't spend much time asking and analyzing what you ate or don't ?
- An average man needs 400 mg of magnesium a day in his diet
- Deficiencies in dietary Magnesium in UK, Europe & Australia due to nutrient depleted soil
- The secret of the Mediterranean diet is Magnesium ?
List of Magnesium deficiency symptoms
( If you experience 3 or more of these below, you may be Magnesium deficient)Muscle related issues
- chronic back pain / spasms, may include herniated or slipped disc problem not improving after several years of physio or chiropractic treatment, especially if it was not caused by injury
- Take That singer and my fav musician, Gary Barlow could have fixed his ' Back for Good ' and be spared lower back pains during the Big Red Nose Kilimanjaro Charity 2009 climb if only someone advised about Magnesium powder !Why else is this Magnesium supplement powder for back pain sold ? > click here
Simply put, non trauma injury type back pain (pinched nerve or slipped disc) may be alleviated when surrounding muscles are relaxed ie. no more spasm ( when enough magnesium is present in muscles ) allowing the nerve to be 'unpinched' automatically or for the disc to return to its original place. These self-corrections are not unusual and occur daily in young children and athletes who put significant strains on their back yet suffer no chronic back pain ........why? - they have enough magnesium in their diet ! - cramps - at night or after exercise
- chronic stiff neck or back that defies chiropractic or physiotherapy attention
- eye lid twitch - occasional
- leg shaking - aka Restless Leg Syndrome RLS - occasional
- hand tremors ( shakes ) - credit to Philip Kewley for pointing this one out to me !
- RSI ( hand) pain ( Repetitive Stress Injury ) - chronic
- body aches all over - aka Fibromyalgia
- feeling like there's a lump in your throat (globus), sensation of lump, difficulty swallowing
Sleep issues
- insomnia : difficulty falling asleep, restless sleep or waking up frequently
- leg jerk whilst asleep
- teeth grinding (Bruxism) during sleep, often waking up with sore jaw
- back ache upon waking
Depression
- Chronic or teenager adolescent depression
- Anxiety or Panic attacks
- Fearful
- Nervous
- Feeling stress is overwhelming
- Less able to handle stress
- Feel melancholic
- Tired, fatigue
- Jittery or easily startled by noises
Memory
- Forgetfulness
- Foggy mind
- Unclear thinking
- Short attention span ( especially when you were not like that younger)
Temperament
- Magnesium relieves Anxiety and Stress >>> read more here
- Irritable
- Easily startled, jumpy at sudden sounds
- Easy to anger
- Frustrated
- Apathy
- Autism >>>> read more here
- ADHD or ADD > more here - Magnesium link to ADD & ADHD
Heart
- Hypertension ( high blood pressure )
- Arrhythmia or Palpitations that are unrelated to any known heart condition . .(get doctor's confirmation first) ....they may be early
indicators of more serious but preventable heart problems like this ( Healthy young athletes without known heart disease, dropping dead mid field due to excessive loss of magnesium via sweating)
A cramp of the heart = Heart Attack ! If you already suffer leg cramps, that maybe an early indicator you may be short of Magnesium, Potassium etc! - Mitral Valve Prolapse aka Barlow's Syndrome
Others
- Tinnitus ( ringing in ears )
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - CFS
- Migraine or frequent headaches
- Type 2 diabetes
- Constipation not caused by lack of fibre
- Osteoporosis - bones are not just made of calcium, but magnesium as well
- Bad teeth - cavities that cannot be explained despite regular cleaning
- Premature births unexplainable by any other reason
- Tourette's Syndrome < click to see evidence !
Conditions that cause Magnesium deficiency
- Alcohol causes body to excrete Magnesium. The more you drink, the more Mg is lost. If you drink wine regularly or are alcoholic, you may suffer depression and other magnesium deficiency symptoms. Zinc and Vitamin B's (vital for mental health & mood) are also lost
- Fizzy drinks causes your body to excrete Mg due to Phosphoric acid
This may explain why some teens suffer teenage adolescent depression - Sweating due to weather, prolonged exercise ( marathons - which is why many have cramps at the end of the race) long hot showers / baths or saunas. Watch out if you exercise daily
- Physical or emotional stress causes Magnesium loss, just when you need it the most
- Excessive processed foods ( white flour, rice or white sugar ) devoid of Magnesium (Mg is found in outer layer of wheat grain but is stripped off when white flour is made, same story for white rice)
- Diet deficient in Magnesium ie. if you don't eat enough dark green LEAFY Vegetables, whole grains, nuts or beans
- Tap water is deliberately 'softened ', a fancy term for the process of removing natural minerals such as magnesium from drink water to ensure pipes won't get clogged so soon
- Tap water that has practically no Magnesium in it. Flouridation makes Magnesium unavailable to the body
- Soy milk contains phytates that bind Magnesium, Calcium, Zinc and Iron...This is why some Vegetarians who drink Soy are deficient in Magnesium, Iron, Zinc
- Tea contains tannins that bind Magnesium, Calcium, Zinc and Iron ( Green tea contains the least tannins, Black the most ). Therefore tea is best consumed empty stomach 1 hour after or 30mins before a mineral rich meal
- Taking too much Calcium supplements or Dairy products such as milk or cheese inhibits Magnesium absorption thereby worsening Osteoporosis. Calcium and Magnesium balance must always be observed else neither is absorbed well. Too much Calcium may clog arteries via calcification
- Australian soil has one of the lowest Magnesium content in the world. What about your own country?
- Modern farming methods use fertilizers containing little Magnesium. Veggies grown on such magnesium depleted soil may look big but are mineral deficient and misleadingEating such organically grown vegetables may leave you wondering why you are still mineral deficient
- Noise: Regular exposure to loud sounds causes the body to excrete Magnesium. This is relevant to people working in noisy environments such as train drivers, heavy machinery operators and listening to loud music for too long. Remember tinnitus ( ringing in ear) is linked to Magnesium deficiency .
This argument may also apply to music producers who have to listen to sound much more than others - Diuretics (common in some weight loss formulas and tea ) and many prescription drugs cause massive excretion of Magnesium
- Magnesium helps you cope with stress, alongside Vitamin B complex.
- For some people Magnesium pills may have had no effect due to digestion/ absorption problems. Try the better method or magnesium powders ( see below)
Fixing your Magnesium problem
- Drink mineral rich bottled water: Evian, San Pellegrino or Unique Water etc - check the mineral content on the bottle. Mineral water is a natural source of magnesium and is probably the most absorbable form, far better than many Magnesium pills. You may like to try the mineral water option as a first resort to confirm if indeed you have a magnesium deficiency problem. If symptoms improve after 10 days of drinking Pellegrino next try powder next and pills last . If old symptoms return, return to water. Magnesium rich mineral water is best absorbed if taken on empty stomach 30mins before or 1 hour after a meal.
You need to drink at least one 750ml bottle daily over 10 days to experience effects. But at that rate, you are still only getting 10% ie 400 milligram of Magnesium, of your daily requirements of 400milligrams ( male). If you continue to drink alcohol or sweat or stress a lot, during these 10 days, remember this flushes magnesium out of your body....you need to stop this for a while whilst trying to determine if the Magnesium water or powder / pills have an effect - Eat more dark green leafy vegetables ( Choy Sum, Bok Choy, Spinach, Silver beet, Kale - forget about Lettuce, it's 95% water )
- Eat more nuts, whole grains & beans ( lentils, dahl etc)
- Avoid or minimise alcohol, soy ( tofu is OK) and soft drinks consumption
- Drink tea at least 60mins after or 30 before a meal... but never, never during meals as is customary in Britain, and ironically in Chinese restaurants
- Get enough B complex vitamins, Vitamin D3 (sunlight or pills ) for Magnesium to work well
- Powder Supplementation is better than Pill but keep this in mind:
Avoid:
Magnesium Oxide, Magnesium Hydroxide..... these have absorption issues for many who can't produce enough stomach HCL Hydrochloric acid...inspect labels before buying !
Best forms of Magnesium for absorption:Magnesium Chelate, Magnesium Orotate, Magnesium Bicarbonate (in bottled water), Magnesium Citrate, Magnesium Aspartate. - Magnesium supplements in powder form is MUCH better absorbed than in pill form or nuts
- I suggest taking powder form ( capsule powder ok ) instead of hard pills as pills have known absorption issues and may upset the acid/ alkaline balance in the intestines.
Magnesium works best if your body is NOT also deficient in Vitamin B6 ( Pyridoxine), Vitamin D (or enough sunlight) and Zinc
* Warning
Please check with a medical doctor if you have a known kidney condition before taking any Magnesium supplements. In such cases your kidney may not be able to eliminate excess Magnesium. Also if you have Myasthenia Gravis, seek advice from a nutritionally minded doctor before any supplementation.
As well, if you are Magnesium deficient, it's likely you are also deficient in Zinc ( white spots on nails, low libido, dull sensation during orgasm, reduced sensitivity to smells & taste, depression & anxiety, insomnia, cracked nails, ridges on nails). Zinc deficiency has some symptom common with Magnesium deficiency. A Zinc blood test is reliable... Magnesium blood test is not accurate, due to fact Magnesium is mostly in bone and tissue and muscle..very little in blood)
Magnesium supplements are typically sold without a doctor's prescription, but to be sure, ask a medical doctor if it's safe to take Magnesium. You may not need to ask if you need it. Watch out for evasive answers, that may hide a lack of knowledge about Magnesium benefits ... Many physicians rely on drugs not food to treat problems. For more information, I encourage you to consult qualified Naturopaths, Nutritionists or Nutrition minded medical doctors.
As well, if you are Magnesium deficient, it's likely you are also deficient in Zinc ( white spots on nails, low libido, dull sensation during orgasm, reduced sensitivity to smells & taste, depression & anxiety, insomnia, cracked nails, ridges on nails). Zinc deficiency has some symptom common with Magnesium deficiency. A Zinc blood test is reliable... Magnesium blood test is not accurate, due to fact Magnesium is mostly in bone and tissue and muscle..very little in blood)
Magnesium supplements are typically sold without a doctor's prescription, but to be sure, ask a medical doctor if it's safe to take Magnesium. You may not need to ask if you need it. Watch out for evasive answers, that may hide a lack of knowledge about Magnesium benefits ... Many physicians rely on drugs not food to treat problems. For more information, I encourage you to consult qualified Naturopaths, Nutritionists or Nutrition minded medical doctors.
References:
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