Dr. Carolyn Dean MD, ND, is the author and coauthor of 15 books, including an eBook titled VidaCosta Good Health Encyclopedia.  Proficient in both conventional and alternative medicine, Dr. Dean serves as the medical advisor to YeastConnection.com, medical director of VidaCosta Spa el Puente in Costa Rica, and offers customized consultations for health by phone.

Guest Blogger Carolyn Dean:

Magnesium deficiency, according to current research, triggers or causes the following 22 conditions:

1. Anxiety and Panic attacks
2. Asthma
3. Blood clots
4. Bowel disease including constipation and IBS-constipation, and cramping.
5. Cystitis
6. Depression
7. Diabetes, Syndrome X, and Metabolic Syndrome, which includes high cholesterol
8. Fatigue, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
9. Heart disease including heart attack and heart failure
10. Hypertension
11. Hypoglycemia
12. Insomnia
13. Kidney disease including kidney stones
14. Liver disease including gall stones
15. Migraine headaches

16. Musculoskeletal conditions

17. Nerve problems (tics, numbness, tingling, burning pains, restless legs)

18. Obstetrics and Gynecology- Premenstrual Syndrome, painful periods, infertility, premature contractions, preeclampsia, and eclampsia in pregnancy, cerebral palsy, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

19. Osteoporosis

20. Raynaud’s Syndrome

21. Tooth decay

22. Toxicity with inability to clear heavy metals as in autism and Alzheimer’s

The introduction of magnesium either with a high magnesium diet (seaweed, dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains; organic green drinks; or magnesium supplements, can help alleviate these conditions.

Clearly, this wide and varied list flies in the face of what doctors learn in medical school. I was taught that one symptom causes one disease and can be treated by one drug or one surgical procedure. Medicine trains doctors to diagnose disease and treat with drugs and/or surgery. That’s it. Period! We did not learn about nutrition, we did not learn about vitamin and mineral supplements. We did not clinically apply our 200 hours of classroom biochemistry where anyone with eyes could see that every metabolic pathway in the body is driven by vitamin and mineral cofactors. And we certainly did not learn that the “vitamin-like” substance Coenzyme Q10 is the deciding factor in energy metabolism but it is killed off by statin drugs, antihypertensive drugs, and diabetic drugs. But that’s for another blog.

Science and medicine have both turned their backs on magnesium. Science opts out because, the scientific methodology is defined by being able to test one thing at a time ending up with one result. Science finds magnesium too difficult to corral, partly because it is responsible for the correct metabolic function of over 350 enzymes in the body. The creation of ATP-adenosine triphospate-the energy molecules of the body; the action of the heart muscle; the proper formation of bones and teeth; relaxation of blood vessels; and the promotion of proper bowel function are all under the guidance of magnesium. Medicine has turned its back on magnesium because most of the funding for medical research now comes from drug companies. Magnesium is not a patented drug and therefore will not be studied by drug companies, except to try to disprove its action.

Doctors have been prescribing magnesium for heart disease since the 1930’s. A review of seven major clinical studies showed that IV magnesium reduced the odds of death by more than half in patients suffering acute myocardial infarction (heart attack). One study, LIMIT-2 developed a protocol for giving magnesium as soon as possible after onset of the heart attack and before any other drugs. If those criteria were followed, heart muscle damage was greatly reduced, and neither hypertension nor arrhythmia developed.

Magnesium is able to dilate blood vessels; prevent spasm in the heart muscle and blood vessel walls; counteract the action of calcium, which increases spasm; help dissolve blood clots; dramatically lessen the site of injury and prevent arrhythmia; and act as an antioxidant against the free radicals forming at the site of injury. One of the main reasons that heart drug, digoxin, becomes toxic is because there is not enough magnesium in the body.

A drug trial, called ISIS sought to disprove the effects of magnesium. In the ISIS trial the protocol was not followed in that magnesium was not the first drug given, and often it was not given for many hours or days after a heart attack was well established, causing widespread damage and blood clotting. Yet, drug reps can dutifully tell their doctor clients that ISIS proved that magnesium is worthless for heart disease! Since the LIMIT-2 and ISIS trials, another smaller trial, with only 200 people, who were given IV magnesium at the onset of a heart attack, experienced a 74 percent lower death rate.

In spite of the fact that heart drugs, mainly diuretics, have the bad habit of depleting magnesium-along with potassium and even though magnesium is absolutely required for stabilizing heart muscle activity - magnesium is not utilized properly by conventional medicine.

One reason magnesium is not given its due is because there has been no lab test that will give an accurate reading of the magnesium status in the tissues. Only one percent of magnesium of the body is distributed in the blood, making a simple sample of magnesium in the blood highly inaccurate. That’s why most doctors who rely on blood tests for magnesium and not magnesium deficiency signs and symptoms will miss an important diagnosis. (Up to 80 percent of the population is deficient.)

Most minerals are lacking in the soil, but to get as much magnesium as possible in the diet, eat plenty of organic leafy green vegetables, nuts and seeds every day. Adding green drinks to your menu will help you achieve a higher magnesium status. However, if you are suffering from the following symptoms you may need supplemental magnesium: muscle twitches, tics, or spasms; “Charlie horse” (the muscle spasm that occurs when you stretch your legs); insomnia or restless sleep; stress; back pain; headaches, cluster headaches, migraines; stiff and aching muscles; bones and joints that need continued chiropractic treatment; weakness; hypoglycemia; diabetes; nervousness; hyperactivity; high blood pressure; osteoporosis; PMS; constipation; angina; kidney stones; aging; depression; heart attack; irregular heartbeat; attention deficit disorder; aggressive behavior; chronic fatigue syndrome; stroke; anxiety; confusion, muscle weakness; hiccups; seizures; high-strung; exhaustion from exercise.

The best absorbed magnesium supplements are angstrom-sized minerals; if you need the laxative effect, use magnesium citrate powder; if you want something in between, use magnesium dimalate. Magnesium oxide is the cheapest and most common form but it is only 4% absorbed, so you will mostly get a laxative effect!

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Update on Feb 27, 2008 by Editor

Seen At Reuters!