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"Magnesium: How an important mineral helps
prevent heart attacks and relieve stress"
by Alan R. Gaby, M.D.
A Keats Good Health Guide
Keats Publishing, Inc., New Canaan, CT
Copyright 1994
ISBN 0-87983-602-4
46 pages

Excerpts from the book:

[ functions of magnesium...] Magnesium participates
in more than 50 different biochemical reactions in the
body. This mineral is necessary for growth and development,
wound healing, immune system function, temperature regulation,
and many activities of the brain and nervous system.
Magnesium also plays a role in muscle contraction (both
heart and skeletal muscle), muscle relaxation (i.e.,
reducing muscle spasm), and in regulating blood clotting.
In addition, magnesium is required for the production of
adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the molecular "power cell"
on which the body depends to perform nearly all of its
physical, mental, and biochemical work. As a result,
magnesium is involved in some way or other in just about
every bodily function.

Certain drugs have been found to cause magnesium
deficiency. These include thiazide diuretics
(hydrochlorothiazide, chlorthalidone, etc.);
loop diuretics (furosemide and bumetanide);
some antibiotics (including gentamicin, carbenicillin,
and amphobleomycin); cyclosporine (used to prevent
organ rejection in transplant patients); cortisone
and related drugs; digoxin; and some of the stimulant
drugs used to treat asthma. Chronic laxative abuse
and excessive consumption of alcohol may also
deplete magnesium.

[a vicious cycle example...] Magnesium deficiency
increases sensitivity to noise and causes a greater
release of epinephrine in response to stress. The
additional amount of epinephrine in turn causes
more magnesium to be lost. These factors would
presumably set up a vicious cycle of greater
magnesium depletion and more severe illness. As disease
progresses, cells lose their ability to function properly.
Most of the cells of the body maintain a very high magnesium
concentration relative to that in the blood serum. For
example, there is about ten times as much magnesium inside
the cells of a healthy heart as there is in the serum.

The symptoms of magnesium deficiency include
fatigue, depression, anxiety, irritability, fear,
restlessness, insomnia, faintness, hyperventilation,
muscle cramps and twitches, intestinal complaints,
tightness in the chest, poor attention, confusion,
and memory loss. Most of these symptoms have more
than one cause, and some are also manifestations of
neurosis or other psychological problems. However,
when magnesium deficiency is involved, correcting
the deficiency will relieve the symptoms. When
magnesium deficiency is severe, it can result
in abnormal gait, vertigo, and even convulsions.

In my experience, taking magnesium orally usually
relieves the symptoms caused by magnesium deficiency.
However, a substantial minority of patients with these
symptoms fail to improve after taking oral magnesium
for months or even years. In these cases, administering
magnesium by injection is necessary to overcome their
problems. These people are probably locked into the
vicious cycle of magnesium deficiency I described
previously. While they may not have any problems
absorbing magnesium from their intestinal tract,
the tissues in their body that are ailing have probably
become less efficient at pulling magnesium into the cells.
For example, an individual with heart disease may have
subnormal amounts of magnesium in the heart muscle, despite
normal levels elsewhere in the body. The diseased tissues
cannot obtain the amounts of magnesium they need unless
the magnesium concentration in the bloodstream is raised
well above normal.

...oral magnesium does not raise serum concentration by
more than 10 or 20 percent. ...Intravenous injection
can raise serum levels by as much as 200% or more. Intramuscular
injection can also raise levels... Although magnesium
levels remain elevated only for several hours after injection,
that is apparently long enough to give the ailing cells
what they need. The situation is comparable to a flood plain
that is protected from the river by levees, but which becomes
flooded when the water level rises above the levee. Sometimes,
a series of magnesium injections breaks the vicious cycle
by helping the ailing tissues to heal. In those cases,
oral supplementation will maintain the improvement without
additional injections. In other cases, however, tissue damage
has progressed so far that periodic magnesium injections are
required for months or even years.

[ fibromyalgia treatment... ] Because of its beneficial
effect on muscle spasm and fatigue, magnesium seems like
a logical candidate for the treatment of fibromyalgia.
In one study of more than 200 patients with chronic depression
and/or pain, 75 percent had low levels of magnesium in their
red blood cells or white blood cells. When magnesium
was given intravenously to these patients, their symptoms
improved rapidly. Muscle pain responded most often, but
depression also improved. These results were confirmed
in a second study. Oral magnesium may also help relieve
fibromyalgia, provided it is given in combination with another
natural compound known as malic acid. In a recent report,
15 individuals with fibromyalgia received daily 300 to 600 mg
of magnesium and 1200 to 2400 mg of malic acid. After 4 weeks,
there was a significant improvement in muscle pain, which was
even greater after 8 weeks of treatment.

[ kidney stones... ] Magnesium inhibits the formation of
calcium oxalate crystals and was suggested as early as the
17th century as a preventive for kidney stones. In a more
recent study, 55 patients with recurrent kidney stones
were given 500 mg per day of magnesium, in the form of
magnesium hydroxide, for up to 4 years. During that time,
the average annual recurrance rate fell by 90 percent;
from 0.8 to 0.08 stones per person. As many as 85 percent
of the patients receiving magnesium remained stone-free,
compared to only 41 percent of a similar group of patients
who did not receive magnesium. Similar results were
obtained in another study. ...Adding a small amount of
vitamin B6 may enhance the effect of magnesium.

Magnesium deficiency causes atrophy of the thymus, an
important component of the immune system.

[ side effects and precautions... ] In general, magnesium
supplements are quite safe. However, excessive amounts
may cause diarrhea. Some individuals are unusually sensitive
to magnesium and develop diarrhea even with small doses.
In those cases, magnesium may be better tolerated by taking
even smaller amounts, three or four times a day with food.
Individuals with chronic kidney failure may accumulate
magnesium in their body if they take a supplement. Since
excessive magnesium levels can be dangerous, people with
renal failure should not take magnesium without medical
supervision. If you are taking medication for diabetes,
heart disease, or high blood pressure, you should also
consult your doctor before taking magnesium.

[ interactions with other nutrients...] There is some
evidence that the effects of magnesium are enhanced by other
nutrients, including vitamin B6, vitamin E, thiamine, zinc,
andb essential fatty acids. Studies have shown that
deficiencies of vitamin B6 or vitamin E reduce tissue levels
of magnesium. Because nutrients work in the body as a team,
magnesium therapy may work best when taken as part of a
comprehensive multiple vitamin and mineral program.