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Magnesium
Magnesium's major role is to keep
nerves and muscles functioning properly. it is also essential for helping
your body make protein and release energy. In addition, it helps protect
your teeth from decay. even a slight deficiency of magnesium can cause
nausea, muscle weakness, irritability, and mental difficulties.
Defeats diabetes.
Researchers have known for a number of years that diabetes is linked to a
deficiency of magnesium in several ways. First, people with low levels of
magnesium are more likely to develop diabetes. Second, diabetics who take
insulin often develop a magnesium deficiency, which further increases their
risks of complications.
Evidence suggests that normal
amounts of magnesium can help prevent common diabetic complications such as
heart disease, eye disease, kidney disease, and high blood pressure. In
fact, diabetics who are given extra magnesium often have better blood sugar
control and require less insulin.
Even if you're not diabetic, low
levels of magnesium can increase your risk of becoming insulin resistant,
which can raise your risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
Boosts heart health.
Magnesium is a critically important mineral for your heart. Low levels of
magnesium can cause a number of problems, including skewing normal sodium
and potassium levels, which help maintain the proper electrical function of
your heart.
In addition, a 10-year ongoing
study of 2,182 men ages 45 to 59 suggests that dietary magnesium may provide
long-term heart protection, according to Dr. Peter Elwood of the Medical
Research Council Epidemiology Unit in South Wales. A good supply of
magnesium can also protect your heart from the ravages of high cholesterol,
which increases your risk of heart disease.
• Halts heart artery spasms.
Plenty of magnesium boosts your heart health in many ways, but it seems
particularly effective at protecting your heart from artery spasms. The
lower your body is in magnesium, the less able your heart is to stop the
spasms, which can lead to death. Magnesium can be especially helpful for
heart rhythm irregularities that occur after a heart attack has damaged the
heart muscle.
• Heads off high blood
pressure. Some studies show that magnesium lowers blood pressure.
Researchers suspect magnesium does this by relaxing blood vessels, which
allows them to open more widely. Wider blood vessels give blood more room to
flow and reduce blood pressure.
• Backs off blood clots. A
study led by Dr. Jerry L Nadler at the City of Hope Medical center in
Duarte, Calif., suggests that magnesium can help prevent blood clots, which
can block arteries and lead to heart attacks. Magnesium does this by slowing
the release of thromboxane, a substance that makes blood platelets more
sticky and more likely to clot.
• Help for a heart attack ?
several small studies have suggested that magnesium given during the acute
phase of a heart attack can reduce the risk of complications and death.
However, injections of magnesium following a heart attack remain
controversial. A recent study of 58,050 heart attack victims revealed that
magnesium injections may have no effect. Critics of the study contend that
magnesium had no effect because it wasn't administered at the proper time.
More studies need to be done to determine magnesium's true effect on heart
attack victims.
KO's kidney stone.
In people prone to develop kidney stones, extra magnesium appears to reduce
the number of new stones formed. Researcher speculate that people who have
problem with kidney stones are probably magnesium deficient. In other words,
the lack of magnesium lead to the stones.
Takes the misery out of
migraines. Several studies have shown that migraine sufferers often have low
levels of magnesium. Magnesium is sometimes called nature's calcium channel
blocker, a drug that is used to prevent migraines. Researchers theorized
that since magnesium acts like a calcium channel blocker, it would likely
affect migraines the same way.
Several studies support this
theory including a study of 3,000 women who were given 200 milligrams (mg)
of magnesium a day. About 80 percent, or 2,400, of those women experienced
relief from their migraines.
Outwits osteoporosis.
Low intakes of magnesium have been linked to bone loss. Although calcium and
estrogen are commonly recommended to combat osteoporosis, magnesium is just
as important.
That's because calcium ahs to
work with magnesium in order to activate the chemical reactions that form
new bone. A deficiency of magnesium slows bone formation.
Could put a stop to PMS.
A few studies have suggested that low levels of magnesium contribute to
premenstrual stress. Supplements of magnesium appear to reduce the severity
of PMS. Researchers speculate that a lack of magnesium can cause certain
brain chemicals to fall too low, contributing to the emotional swings common
to premenstrual syndrome.
May slash risk of stroke.
Some research suggests that maintaining normal magnesium levels may help
prevent the intense blood vessel spasms in the brain that can lead to
stroke.
Aces asthma ? Some
preliminary research has also indicated that magnesium may also be helpful
in the treatment of asthma.
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