If you suffer with chronic health problems, lack of energy, poor circulation, digestive problems, migraines, cramps and general body pains you may be deficient in a very important yet under-estimated mineral. Few realize how essential magnesium is to maintaining overall health and treating chronic diseases. When you consider all the cellular processes this mineral is involved in, and how likely you are to be deficient, it is easy to understand why many people are needlessly suffering with less than optimal mental and physical wellbeing.

Why are we so deficient?

In the good old days, there was plenty of magnesium in our water and soil so it was easy to take in enough through the diet. However, the mineral content of our soils has been severely depleted and we now drink bottled or softened water. In addition to that, we eat more processed foods and live in an age where we are constantly exposed to heavy metals and toxins. Even intense exercise, high protein diets, contraceptives, caffeine, alcohol, stress and sugar deplete levels of this crucial mineral.

So what do we need magnesium for?

Magnesium is necessary for every cellular process within our bodies because everything requires energy and the body’s high energy compound (ATP) must be bound to magnesium in order to be effective (1).

Few realize that this beautiful mineral is essential for both the production and action of insulin. A deficiency increases insulin resistance and the risk of developing diabetes (2,3,4,5).

Glutathione, the only known antioxidant to neutralize mercury (6) and is essential for detoxification and protecting our cells from chemicals and heavy metals, requires magnesium for synthesis (7).

Magnesium is the ultimate heart medicine, it lowers blood pressure by relaxing the blood vessel walls and keeping the blood thin, treats irregular heartbeats (arrythmias) (8,9,10,11,12) and can even prevent you having or dying from a heart attack (13,14)

If you are concerned about the strength of your bones, studies have found that it is not increased calcium intake that lowers the risk of osteoporosis (15) but in fact magnesium that increases bone mineral density in the elderly (16).

A magnesium deficiency can lead directly to cancer because of the role it plays in protecting the permeability and stability of cell membranes (17,18,19,20) Numerous studies have shown a link between magnesium levels and the development of cancer (21,22,23,24,25,26)

When it comes to mental health, magnesium regulates the excitability of the central nervous system and studies have shown that an association between magnesium levels and ADHD (27,28,29,30), aggression (31,32,33,34,35), Alzheimer’s disease (36), anxiety (37,38,39), bipolar disorder (40,41) and depression (42,43,44,45)

Magnesium is one of the few substances that can cross the blood-brain-barrier (46) and is given to stroke victims (47) because researchers believe it slows the chemical process that causes massive brain cell death and leads to permanent disability.

Orthopedic, abdominal and open-heart surgery decrease magnesium levels in the body (48, 49, 50, 51,52,53) and post operative complications such as atrial fibrillation, artery spasms, blood clots and rhythm disorders (54,55,56,57,58) are reduced with magnesium supplementation.

Now I know why you need it, how can I get more?

As already discussed it is extremely hard to get enough magnesium from the diet alone. You can take oral supplements but high doses may cause intestinal discomfort. The easiest way to get your levels up to where they should be, is to apply it to the skin. Not only does this allow you to take in more, but as an added benefit, it doubles up as a natural pain reliever. This is because the potent anti-inflammatory and muscle-relaxing properties of magnesium can be concentrated directly on affected areas such as diabetic neuropathy, sports injuries, arthritis, gout and muscle aches. There really is no reason for not supplementing magnesium and ‘no body’ that can function without it.

References:
(1)http://www.curesnaturally.com/Articles/Misc/Misc116.html
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[5] Kao WH, Folsom AR, Nieto FJ, Mo JP, Watson RL, Brancati FL: Serum and dietary magnesium and the risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. Arch Intern Med 159:2151, 1999

(6) http://www.dorway.org/blayautism.txt
(7) Virginia Minnich, M. B. Smith, M. J. Brauner, and Philip W. Majerus. Glutathione biosynthesis in human erythrocytes. Department of Internal Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, J Clin Invest. 1971 March; 50(3): 507–513.
(8) Ott, Peter and Fenster, Paul. Should magnesium be part of the routine therapy for acute myocardial infarction? American Heart Journal, Vol. 124, No. 4, October 1992, pp. 1113-18
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Author's Bio: 

My company (Veridical Light) introduced South Africa to transdermal magnesium at the beginning of 2010 to create awareness about this mineral therapy in South Africa and to make it easily accessible and affordable to all. We supply the public and health-care practitioners with Lamp of Life transdermal magnesium.