Magnesium - The Fountain
Of Youth & Health
By Dr. Luise Light and Mary Sparrowdancer
While the USDA, the FDA, news media and nearly all of "modern medicine" promote vaccines, chemicals, surgery and radiation as the "accepted" way of dealing with the growing number of illnesses and symptoms prevalent in the US, it now appears that magnesium may be the miraculous, essential mineral that has been kept hidden from us for about 100 years. Needed by every cell in the body, a magnesium deficiency can be catastrophic and has now been associated with heart attacks, arrhythmias, cancers, diabetes, asthma, Crohn's disease, premature aging, hair loss, twitches, cramps, high blood pressure, stroke, fibromyalgia, migraines, bone and joint pain, ADD, ADHD, shortness of breath, osteoporosis, muscle wasting, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, constipation, memory loss, sensitivity to light and loud noises, hearing loss, insomnia, fatigue, anxiety, tuberculosis, aggression, hyperactivity, panic attacks, nail fungus, Tourette syndrome, PMS, toxemia of pregnancy, numbness and tingling, eczema, psoriasis, depression, violence, gum problems, tooth decay, calcium deficiency, and virtually all chronic and autoimmune diseases now common in the US, including chronic fatigue syndrome.
If the list of symptoms associated with a magnesium deficiency comes as a surprise, the list of ailments that nature's natural magnesium has been used to successfully treat is even more of a surprise. Although there is usually little mention of the near-miraculous magnesium connection in mainstream media, conditions that magnesium has been successfully used to treat include polio, diphtheria and tetanus. In 1985, a Harvard team found that Toxic Shock Syndrome associated with tampon usage in women, resulted when certain ultra absorbent materials in some tampons absorbed the magnesium that is normally present in a woman's body. When magnesium is no longer present, Staphylococcus aureus produces "up to 20 times as much toxin."
Various data sources, including the US government, suggest that the number of Americans now deficient in magnesium is approximately 90%, with some data suggesting the number is even higher. The mineral, responsible for all the electrical impulses of the body, is critically needed for normal muscle and nerve functions, healthy heart rhythms, strong bones, a healthy immune system, normal blood sugar, normal blood pressure, normal brain function and a healthy GI tract. In short, while we can live with minimal amounts of this mineral, we cannot live well or in a state of optimum health and happiness without it.
Factory foods and many industrially farmed foods are deficient in magnesium because most of the US soils are now deficient in magnesium and loaded with chemicals that force plants to grow artificially. Organic foods grown on magnesium-rich soils are a preferable way to obtain magnesium from food. Good food sources of magnesium are spinach, wild garlic, raw (non-pasteurized) almonds, corn and other whole grains, oysters, pumpkin seeds, cashews, seaweed, sunflower seeds, raw wheat germ (which is usually removed from industrial cereals, breads and pastas in order to prolong shelf-life), and dark green olive oil. Since magnesium is reportedly destroyed by heating, it is important to consume fresh, raw vegetables, fruits and nuts daily. Unfortunately, all raw almonds grown in the US must now be "pasteurized" by high heat or chemicals due to industrial regulations, and spinach is soon destined to be irradiated. The consequences of these damaging processes on consumer health are unknown.
In a shining example illustrating why we should no longer be depending upon our government for its ideas about our health (and how to ruin it), the following information is taken from the website of the National Institutes of Health. "The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research. Helping to lead the way toward important medical discoveries that improve people's health and save lives, NIH scientists investigate ways to prevent disease as well as the causes, treatments, and even cures for common and rare diseases."
In the NIH area devoted to magnesium, they state that while a "substantial" number of people fail to consume adequate magnesium, incredibly, "symptoms of magnesium deficiency are rarely seen in the US." This is the same group of "experts" who continue to suggest that the entire US population needs to be mass-medicated with unknown doses of a HAZMAT toxic chemical called fluoride in our drinking water, while they have yet to acknowledge or recognize the symptoms of a simple magnesium deficiency in the US population.
Since our government scientists are making it increasingly difficult for us to obtain magnesium from the poor American food and water supply, Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) may be used as a time-honored way of replenishing one's magnesium. Soaking in Epsom salts has long been known to help relieve bodily aches and pains, as well as restore a sense of energy, calmness and well-being by providing a good dose of absorbed magnesium. Magnesium is easily absorbed through the skin, and a simple foot soak in a tub of non-fluoridated water in which Epsom salts have been dissolved, is a pleasant way to spend a quiet 20 minutes. Other forms of magnesium that can be absorbed or added to the diet include magnesium citrate (which can be dissolved in a glass of drinking water), magnesium oxide (pellets added to fluoridated water reportedly remove the fluoride), and magnesium chloride from evaporated sea water. If you have kidney failure consult your physician prior to any self-administration of magnesium due to your special circumstances.
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Mary Sparrowdancer is an independent, investigative journalist and the author of "The Love Song." www.sparrowdancer.com
Luise Light is the creator of the original USDA Food Pyramid, which was later altered by government workers before being given to the unsuspecting public. She is the author of What to Eat; The Ten Things You Really Need to Know to Eat Well and Be Healthy, www.luiselight.com For information about menopause and the health problems linked to well-known menopause drugs, please visit: www.themenopauseadvisor.com, and www.premproadvisor.com.
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References and suggested reading:
National Institutes of Health, PubMed, ADD, hyperactivity and magnesium.
Sodium magnesium-chlorophyllin isolated from conifer needles is active against viruses of the herpes group, vaccinia virus, and the flu.
Fluoride Magnesium interaction.
Time Magazine: The Magnesium Connection and Toxic Shock Syndrome. 1985.
Magnesium treats polio.
Dr. Norman Shealy studies magnesium importance.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Magnesium
National Institutes of Health describes itself.
National Institutes of Health unaware of magnesium deficiency symptoms.
Magnesium oxide ? a simple method of de-fluoridating water. 1986.
Magnesium oxide uses: "Fluoride removal in water treatment."
Magnesium oxide to remove fluoride from drinking water.
Carribbean Food and Nutrition Institute, Magnesium, Nutrition and Health, in NYAM News, August, Nos. 1 &2, 2005, ISSN 0255-8203 (http://www.paho/cfni.org)
Magnesium in the Diet, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002423.htm
Oral Magnesium Therapy Improves Epithelial Functioning in Patients with
Coronary Artery Disease; M Shechter, M Sharir, MJP Labrodor, J Forrestor, B Silver, and CNB Merz. Circulation 2000 102:2353-2358
WHO Meeting of Experts on the Possible Protective Effect of Hard Water Against Cardiovascular Disease: Final Statement April, 2006.
Doheny, K. 2008. "Magnesium Sulfate Reduces Threat of Cerebral Palsy." Health Day News, August 27. (Report based on article in Aug. 28, 2008 issue of New England Journal of Medicine)
Medline Plus, Antioxidants, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/antioxidants.html
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, http://www.cdc.gov/cfs/
Galen, P, et al. 1997. Dietary Magnesium Intake in a French Adult Population. Magnesium Research 10:321-328
Larsson, S. C., L. Bergkvist, and A. Wolk. 2005. "Magnesium Intake in Relation to Risk of Colorectal Cancer in Women". J. American Medical Association 293 (1): 86-89.
Herzog WR, FJ Materese, and D Atar. 1995. "Reactivity of coronary arteries in relation to serum magnesium levels in patients with ischaemic heart disease--a quantitative coronary angiographic study". Magnesium Research : Official Organ of the International Society for the Development of Research on Magnesium. 8 (1): 57-63.