Are YOU Magnesium Deficient?

How to Balance Magnesium and Calcium and the Vitamins D and K2.

Researchers have established that 45 percent of people in developed countries are magnesium deficient, and 60 percent do not reach the RDI (recommended daily intake) on a daily basis.¹ ² Some researchers and clinicians believe the number of people that are deficient approaches 80 percent!

Unfortunately, there isn’t a good way to find out if we are deficient in magnesium (Mg). Tests for magnesium deficiency determine how much magnesium is in your blood serum, or your saliva or urine. These tests aren’t accurate because most of the magnesium in your body is in your cells.

Our bodies have developed wonderful ways to protect us from damage, and the way it protects us from magnesium deficiency further complicates testing. If you are deficient, magnesium is pulled from your muscle and bone cells and put into your blood, so, deficient or not, your blood serum always contains about the same amount of magnesium. The results are that the most commonly used test, the blood serum test, always results in positive results, even if your bone and muscle cells don’t have enough magnesium.

Fortunately, there is safe and effective way to make sure we are getting the magnesium our bodies need. Below I describe step-by-step how to let your body tell you when it has enough magnesium.

Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body, and the second most abundant mineral in the cells.¹ Magnesium controls the activity of roughly 80 percent of the enzymes involved in metabolic (energy creation) processes.² It has been linked to about 700 different biological processes, some of which are the same processes that require vitamin D, and the list is still growing. It is a critical mineral without which we couldn’t live.

According to research published ion the journal, Nutrients in 2018, “Given the role of magnesium in the transport of calcium and potassium transport, cell signalling, energy metabolism, genome stability, DNA repair and replication, it is not surprising that hypomagnesaemia is now associated with many diseases…”²

S Johnson, in an article published in Medical Hypotheses described magnesium deficiency in no uncertain terms:

“Mg levels are decreased by excess ethanol, salt phosphoric acid (sodas) and coffe intake, by profuse sweating⁸, by intense, prolonged stress, by excessive menstruation and vaginal flux, by diuretics and other drugs and by certain parasites (pinworms). The very small probability that all the variables affecting Mg levels will behave favorably, results in a high probability of a gradually intensifying Mg deficiency. It is highly regrettable that the deficiency of such an inexpensive, low-toxicity nutrient results in diseases that cause incalculable suffering and expense throughout the world. The range of pathologies associated with Mg deficiency is staggering: hypertension (cardiovascular disease, kidney and liver damage, etc.), peroxynitrite damage (migraine, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, Alzheimer’s disease, etc.), recurrent bacterial infection due to low levels of nitric oxide in the cavities (sinuses, vagina, middle ear, lungs, throat, etc.) fungal infections due to a depressed immune system, thiamine deactivation (low gastric acid, behavioral disorders, etc.), premenstrual syndrome, Ca deficiency (osteoporosis, hypertension, mood swing, etc.), tooth cavities, hearing loss, diabetes type II, cramps, muscle weakness, impotence (lack of NO), aggression (lack of NO), fibromas, K deficiency (arrhythmia, hypertension, some forms of cancer), Fe accumulation, etc.”²¹

Note: “NO” is the chemical symbol for the molecule,  nitric oxide, which plays a major role in artery and blood vessel health. Fe is the symbol for iron. Excessive iron concentrations are toxic. This is especially a problem for men because menstruating women lose iron every month. In men it builds up over time. Most natural practitioners suggest men donate blood monthy to keep iron concentrations at healthy levels.

Soil Depletion

The population in the united States in 2018 was 327.8 million people. World population in the same year was 7.7 billion humans. Farmers don’t replenish the magnesium content of soil, so the more food we grow the more magnesium depleted the soil gets.

In an article published in 1986, Marier reported that magnesium levels in developed countries soil have been declining since 1940. In the UK back in 1986 for example, beef lost 4 to 8%, bacon—18%, chicken—4%, cheddar cheese—70%, whole milk—21% and vegetables—24%. He also reported that the loss of magnesium during food refining/processing is significant: white flour (-82%), polished rice (-83%) starch (-97%) and white sugar (-99%).⁵

Magnesium levels continue to decline.

Magnesium and Body Function

One of the most important processes magnesium participates in is the creation of energy. Your mitochondria create APT (adenosine triphosphate) which is combined with magnesium to form an active energy molecule, Mg-ATP. Without the magnesium, ATP is inactive and does not energize the cell.²³

If your cells don’t have enough magnesium to create the Mg-ATP you can suffer from metabolic symptoms and disorders such as obesity, chronic fatigue, muscle cramps, weakness, tremors, dizziness, difficulty swallowing, type II diabetes, and heart disease.

Magnesium is one of the four electrolytes. The other three are calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), and potassium (K).²² The electrolytes carry electrical charges and are involved in cell communication and nerve stimulation.

Magnesium as a communicator is probably most recognized for its role in relaxing muscles. Calcium causes muscles to contract. When you run or lift or just flex your muscles to show how strong you are, calcium caused the muscle contraction. When it’s time for the muscle to relax, magnesium takes over. If you don’t have the proper balance of magnesium to calcium, your muscles can contract, and stay that way. This is the most common cause of muscle cramps.

Another important role of magnesium is to transport calcium to the places in your body that require it. A magnesium deficiency causes calcium to be deposited where it isn’t needed. Examples include kidney or gall stones, or as calcium deposits in soft tissue, all of which can be next to impossible to get rid of without lots of pain or tissue damage.

The plaque that builds up in your arteries that you’ve been told is caused by cholesterol is actually a combination of calcium and oxidized oils. Adequate magnesium in your body helps control the deposit of calcium and protects against clogged arteries.

Cardiovascular disease is when the arteries that feed oxygen-rich blood to your heart get clogged by the plaque described above. When this happens your heart is starved for oxygen and stops beating. Adequate magnesium in your body helps prevent calcium from combining with fats and prevents cardiovascular disease.^13,14

Your Heart and Magnesium

The most important muscle in your body is your heart, and there is more magnesium in your heart than anywhere else in your body. Magnesium is like a bunch of tiny men running around in  your heart throwing switches to keep your heart beating smoothly. It’s quite a job. There are a lot of switches to throw, and the calcium team of little men are continuously throwing switches to make your heart contract. If you don’t have enough little men on the magnesium team to keep your heart relaxing after a contraction, they can get behind, and your heart can freeze in a contracted condition, just like the muscle in your leg when it cramps. This is called cardiac arrest. The magnesium team and the calcium team need to be in balance to keep your heart healthy.

Magnesium not only protects against your heart muscle cramping, it also regulates heart rhythm to keep it running smoothly and not too fast or too slow.^1,16,17

Balance Magnesium with D3, K2, and Calcium

Magnesium and calcium work together to contract and relax your muscles, and magnesium helps make sure calcium isn’t deposited in your arteries or other tissues. However, both minerals are involved in many other bodily processes. It is important to note that neither calcium nor magnesium can do their jobs right without the vitamins D3 and K2:

• In addition to all of its other functions magnesium combines with calcium to carry the calcium where it is needed.
• Calcium is used as an electrolyte all over your body. It is also the most plentiful mineral in your bones, giving them strength and flexibility.
• D3 controls how much calcium your blood absorbs. If you have too much calcium in your blood it is deposited in places where it isn’t needed or wanted. For example, your arteries or soft tissue.
• K2 activates proteins that control where calcium is deposited.

Too much calcium ties up magnesium and creates a magnesium deficiency. Just having too much calcium in your stomach can create a secondary magnesium deficiency.^6,7 A secondary deficiency is when a surplus of one mineral uses all of the binding sites in your intestines, blocking the absorption of other minerals.

Too much D3 without adequate levels of K2 results in more calcium than our bodies know what to do with.⁸ Again, because of the excess, the calcium is simply dumped in places in our bodies where it isn’t needed and shouldn’t be.

I know, it seems like this is all very complicated. It is, in fact. It is also a wonderous miracle that our bodies can sort all this out, even if our brains can’t.

Like magnesium, the active form of vitamin D3 is hard to test for. However, having the right amount of vitamin D3 is very important.

The form of D3 that lets us best determine vitamin D deficiency is 25-hydroxy vitamin D. This is the form that you take when you ingest a supplement. Your kidneys then convert it to 1,25 hydroxy vitamin D, the active form.

Forms of Magnesium — Which One is Best?

While magnesium deficiency isn’t the only thing that can cause some of these disorders, if you experience any of them it’s a good idea to make sure you are getting enough magnesium. Even if you are taking a supplement, you may not be getting enough to your cells, where it is most needed.

The Most Common Magnesium Supplements and their properties:

Magnesium citrate, oxide and hydroxide — Mostly used as laxatives these compounds contain relatively high levels of elemental magnesium but are poorly absorbed in the stomach. They pass through into the intestines and stimulate the body to get rid of them, causing different levels of diarrhea, from loose stools to violent expulsion, depending on the quantity ingested.

Magnesium sulfate — This compound is commonly known as Epsom Salts. Ingested it is very much like the oxide forms. However, it is often used in a bath as a soak, and it is a small enough molecule to penetrate the skin and enter the body. It does increase magnesium levels when used in this way. I’ve found it useful when treating people with mercury poisoning. Their stomachs are, in some cases, inflamed and rendered extremely sensitive by the mercury so that there are many foods and substances they can’t tolerate. Soaking in Epsom Salts gets magnesium into people with mercury poisoning without traumatizing their system.

Magnesium malate — Magnesium malate is often used as a supplement. Malate is a naturally occurring chemical found mostly in fruits. However, our bodies also make malate. Like magnesium, malate plays a role in the creation of energy. Magnesium and malate together provide synergistic properties to generate energy. Because of this, magnesium malate is often used to help recover from extreme exercise. Malate also bonds to metals. It is often used as a chelating compound to remove aluminum and other metals from the body. Use this supplement only with the supervision of a competent natural practioner.

Magnesium taurate — This magnesium molecule is primarily used to promote heart health and a regular heart beat. It contains only about 8.9 percent elemental magnesium, so you have to take about 3 grams to get 300 mg of magnesium. Taurate is produced by the body and used in the digestive tract. Taking more than 3.3 grams per day is considered unsafe.

Magnesium orotate — Magnesium orotate is not very soluble in water, so it doesn’t cause laxative symptoms. It is mostly used for patients who are hypoxic (aren’t getting enough oxygen) because it provides it’s own binding sites.²³ It is also used for heart patients.

Magnesium glycinate — This form of magnesium is acceptable as a supplement. However, it is only about 14 percent elemental magnesium. In a 120 mg. capsule, only 16.8 mg. is magnesium, the rest is glycine. Our bodies use glycine. It is a non-essential amino acid that our bodies make if we don’t have enough. It is mostly known for it’s role in muscle and bone health, nervous system health, and heart health  The issue is that in order to get enough magnesium you need to take at least 12 pills per day of the standard supplement size. Your body may quit making its own glycine as a result of supplementing so much.

Magnesium chloride — is considered one of the best forms for bio-availability. It is heavily promoted online. However, it is only 12 percent magnesium and the balance is chloride. It is often sold in liquid form, which makes it easier to get enough magnesium. Chloride is used by the body as an essential electrolyte and to make hydrochloric acid in the stomach. It is hard to get enough to be harmful, so you can take enough magnesium chloride to satisfy your body’s magnesium needs.

Magnesium L-Threonate — Is a new supplement. It has achieved wide acceptance by practitioners because it easily crosses the blood-brain barrier to provide magnesium to your brain cells in addition to the benefits provided by other magnesium supplements. Research suggests it improves memory, cognitive ability, neurodegenerative conditions, and relieves depression.

Pico magnesium — The fform of magnesium I recommend is pico magnesium. It is a very small molecule that easily penetrates the cell walls and provides 100% absorption into the cell. It provides all of the benefits of magnesium where it is most needed.

Suggested Supplemental Dosages:

Warning: Many doctors over-prescribe calcium and vitamin D. Some prescribe a synthesized version, D2, that your body can’t use properly. This can be very dangerous and, in addition to the issues discussed above, can lead to osteoporosis, pyronies disease, and many other serious health problems. Read the dosage suggestions below carefully, and use them as a guide. If a health-care professional prescribes vitamin D or calcium and doesn’t discuss magnesium and K2, find another doctor. In most cases, naturopathic doctors are a better choice for help with nutritional issues.

Pico Magnesium:

300 mg to 500 mg. In the introduction to this article, I promised a safe way to determine how much magnesium your body needs. The answer is; let your body tell you. When you get too much, your body discards the the excess by depositing it in your urine and intestines, causing diarrhea. Do the following to determine how much magnesium your body needs:

1. Start with about 100 mg. and build up  about 100 mg. every week until you start to feel a little diarrhea starting.
2. Stop supplementing for two days.
3. After two days, resume supplementing about 50 mg lower than the dose that caused diarrhea. You should be about where your body needs you.
4. If you still develop diarrhea, stop and cut back another 50 mg. Reapeat steps 2 and 3.