Magnesium for Relaxation and Health

SeaBreeze

Endlessly Groovin'
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USA
I take Magnesium Citrate daily, and am currently running an Epsom Salts bath for my husband. I think Magnesium is needed for good health either through food, supplements or both. More info here on its benefits. http://healthimpactnews.com/2016/magnesium-the-master-mineral-that-is-a-key-to-overall-health/

Magnesium is at the core of green plants’ ability to synthesize sunlight and carbon dioxide into oxygen. It is the heart of chlorophyll, which serves us by carrying oxygen into red blood cells and preventing anemia.

Supplementing calcium gets a lot of attention, but without magnesium it isn’t carried into bone structures where it belongs. Yes, there are other factors for absorbing calcium into bones, such as vitamins D and K2. Magnesium is a major factor though.

Some advocate supplementing with magnesium only. Too much calcium not absorbed into bone matter can lead to arterial calcification, which is likely more of a factor for heart disease than the mainstream medical bogey man cholesterol. This calcium issue over-simplifies magnesium’s role in our health. Consider it one example among others.

Cholesterol is vital for our cell walls and brain matter, including the myelin sheath. Lesions on the myelin sheath are symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Cholesterol helps create hormones in our bodies and help convert sunlight into vitamin D. Many Alzheimer’s cases can be associated with low cholesterol.

Talk about a bad rap, cholesterol has taken the brunt of medical disinformation. And magnesium is involved in the creation of cholesterol as well.

Amazingly, this relatively ignored mineral is a life giving foundational building block. There are well over 300 other functions known now even according to an interview of Dr. Carolyn Dean, MD, ND, author of Magnesium Miracle says,


 

Very good Tnt. I've been using the capsules, Natural Factors, 2 a day gives 300mg. Unless a softgel is tiny like a D3 or a Lutein, I have trouble swallowing pills. Used to take Magnesium Malate until they stopped the capsules and went to solid pills. I open all my capsules and mix them in the morning with orange juice, turmeric and chlorella. Easier to take for me that way.

 

I have a bottle of Magnesium Malate as well; I prefer the mag citrate as it has the digestive system 'enhancement' benefit with increased dosage....when needed.
 
I know Ruth, I sometimes use it in a foot bath too, along with Johnson's powdered foot soap.

That is a good side effect Tnt, if you need it. I've never had that effect from Magnesium, but I have taken Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) to bowel tolerance, mega doses, to kick out a cold.
 
I've been taking 500mg's of Magnesium Oxide daily for over a year now, as suggested by a holistic nutritionist to treat my embarrassing and inconvenient leaky bladder issue. It works!!
 
When I was hospitalized for meningitis last Spring,they said I was seriously deficient in magnesium and started me on it while I was there. I am still taking 400mg. a day and am going to continue.
 
Thanks for the info from all you posters :) I have just started taking a daily magnesium capsule, as I read it helps alleviate leg cramps at night
 
I have just started taking a daily magnesium capsule, as I read it helps alleviate leg cramps at night

I use Magnesium Oil for leg cramps, it relieves them almost immediately, but you have to have it handy, like on your nightstand, etc. I bought a small 8 ounce bottle from this company years ago, and I still have some left. http://www.globallight.net/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=245 You have to use very little, right on the cramp in most situations. I've tried another cheaper brand, but it wasn't as good.

It will tend to make your skin itchy when you use it, depending on where I apply it, it doesn't bother me too much, it doesn't last that long. But sometimes I'll put some lotion over the area afterwards, and that alleviates the itching. My husband gets good results with it too, when he gets a cramp. Luckily we don't get them that often.
 
I take about 450 mg of Magnesium Oxide daily for mild asthma symptoms and regularity. For clearing my airways, especially during allergy season, the oxide seems to work better than the citrate for me. I know it's supposed to be the other way around but I've tried both. I'm not sure why it would help asthma symptoms. I've researched it and can find very little that would even suggest it. But ever since I started using it about 3 years ago I haven't needed to use an inhaler at all. Go figure.
 
I take about 450 mg of Magnesium Oxide daily for mild asthma symptoms and regularity. For clearing my airways, especially during allergy season, the oxide seems to work better than the citrate for me. I know it's supposed to be the other way around but I've tried both. I'm not sure why it would help asthma symptoms. I've researched it and can find very little that would even suggest it. But ever since I started using it about 3 years ago I haven't needed to use an inhaler at all. Go figure.

So good that you got such positive results Blondie with your Mag Oxide, whichever form works for you is definitely the one to stick with. I've just read that people who are sensitive to Magnesium may be more subjected to loose stools with the Oxide as opposed to the Citrate. I've only used Citrate, and don't have a problem with the larger amounts I may take.

I've heard that Magnesium is useful for asthma too, helps relax the lungs and relieve constricted airways. Also, those with Magnesium deficiencies are shown to have a higher amount of histamines in their system. The Mag Oil I mentioned earlier can be used topically also in conjunction with the pills/capsules for added benefits if you like.
 
So good that you got such positive results Blondie with your Mag Oxide, whichever form works for you is definitely the one to stick with. I've just read that people who are sensitive to Magnesium may be more subjected to loose stools with the Oxide as opposed to the Citrate. I've only used Citrate, and don't have a problem with the larger amounts I may take.

I've heard that Magnesium is useful for asthma too, helps relax the lungs and relieve constricted airways. Also, those with Magnesium deficiencies are shown to have a higher amount of histamines in their system. The Mag Oil I mentioned earlier can be used topically also in conjunction with the pills/capsules for added benefits if you like.

It may not work for full fledged asthma. I've never had an actual asthma attack, just the tight feeling in my chest and shortness of breath. But still, it's very effective. My sister sometimes gets leg cramps at night. I'll have to tell her about the Magnesium Oil. I see they have that brand on Amazon.
 
Conversely, consuming too much magnesium typically causes diarrhea as the body attempts to excrete the excess. High magnesium foods include dark leafy greens, nuts, seeds, fish, beans, whole grains, avocados, yogurt, bananas, dried fruit, dark chocolate, and more. The current recommended daily value for magnesium is 400mg.I take a daily multiple vitamin that contains magnesium.

Eating a couple of bananas a day is supposed to be a good source also.
 
Imo, the best form is ionic magnesium citrate. I use a powder called Natural Calm by Natural Vitality. You mix with hot/warm water and it's rather soothing, especially knowing it's magnesium that is said to help with heart and nervous system.
 
How Magnesium and Magnesium Oil Helps Pain and Inflammation

I take Magnesium Citrate daily for muscle health, inflammation prevention, and magnesium oil for occasional leg, foot or hand cramps. Full article here.

Inflammation and Pain Management with Magnesium

Written By:
Dr. Mark Sircus

Magnesium literally puts the chill on inflammation. Heart disease begins with inflammatory chemicals that rage like a fever through your blood vessels. Cool the heat by getting the recommended daily minimum of magnesium suggests Medical University of South Carolina researchers. They measured blood inflammation levels–using the C-reactive protein (CRP) test–in 3,800 men and women and found that those who got less than 50% of the RDA (310 to 420 mg) for magnesium were almost three times as likely to have dangerously high CRP levels as those who consumed enough. Being over age 40 and overweight and consuming less than 50% of the RDA more than doubled the risk of blood vessel-damaging inflammation.[9]



Chronic inflammation destabilizes cholesterol deposits in the coronary arteries, leading to heart attacks and strokes.



A study performed by the VA Administration, published in JADA, 1998 on 10,000 US veterans, showed that most coronary heart disease started as an endothelial infection and in most cases was caused by pathogens .Recognizing the role of inflammation in arteriosclerosis represents a huge paradigm shift for cardiologists. The American College of Cardiology, the American College of Physician's and the American Heart Association largely ignores the involvement of inflammation in heart attacks and strokes and certainly they ignore unresolved psycho-emotional trauma, as well as the toxic build up of mercury which can lead to massive heart failure and sudden death even in the healthiest athlete.


Inflammation not only further damages the artery walls, leaving them stiffer and more prone to plaque buildup, but it also makes any plaque that's already there more fragile and more likely to burst.
A 2006 issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition an article showing that as consumption of magnesium fell, the levels of C-reactive protein went up. C-reactive protein, or CRP, is produced in the liver and has emerged as a strong predictor of clinical events of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks and stroke, even in cases where cholesterol levels may be normal. For this reason, CRP assays may become a routine part of blood tests for determining CVD risk. CRP levels in the blood are normally undetectable or very low; high levels are strongly associated with inflammation.


Inflammation is the missing link to explain the role of magnesium in many pathological conditions.



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Persistent asthma is an inflammatory disease that requires regular anti-inflammatory therapy with magnesium chloride.


This new view of inflammation is changing the way some doctors' practice but most cardiologists are still not ready to recommend that the general population be screened for inflammation levels. Cardiologists don't know it but when in rare instances they test for serum magnesium levels they are not measuring anything but strictly controlled magnesium levels in the blood. There continues to be a blind spot the size of the Gulf of Mexico in cardiologists' perceptions. They just are not able to get to the bottom of the inflammation story – which is magnesium deficiency.
Magnesium decreases swelling, and, "is effective in the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases.[10]



Scientists at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, have bred a strain of mice whose fat cells are supercharged inflammation factories. "We can reproduce the whole syndrome (diabetes) just by inciting inflammation," Dr. Steve Shoelson says. This suggests that a well-timed intervention in the inflammatory process might reverse some if not all the effects of diabetes. Some of the drugs that are already used to treat the disorder, like metformin, may work because they also dampen the inflammation response. In addition, preliminary research suggests that high CRP levels may indicate a greater risk of diabetes.


Whatever makes us become less efficient at using insulin is going to aid in the development of diabetes. Treatments for diabetes work by replacing insulin, boosting its production or helping the body make more efficient use of the hormone.



Modern medicine is just starting to admit that chronic inflammation is the main contributing factor to heart disease and it is just about to discover magnesium chloride as a supremely safe and effective anti inflammatory. Magnesium chloride safely reduces inflammation and systemic stress because magnesium deficiencies are in great part the cause of both conditions.


People with magnesium deficiency can't properly metabolize important fatty acids such as EPA and DHA, which are vital to heart health.



There are literally hundreds of physiological reasons to proclaim magnesium the ultimate heart medicine; its involvement in hundreds of enzyme reactions is just a start. Its use as an anti inflammatory makes magnesium absolutely indispensable to not only heart patients but also to diabetics, neurological and cancer patients as well. The treatment of chronic inflammation has been problematic for medical science because most of their treatments create more inflammation. Magnesium chloride does not do this.

 
Conversely, consuming too much magnesium typically causes diarrhea as the body attempts to excrete the excess. High magnesium foods include dark leafy greens, nuts, seeds, fish, beans, whole grains, avocados, yogurt, bananas, dried fruit, dark chocolate, and more. The current recommended daily value for magnesium is 400mg.I take a daily multiple vitamin that contains magnesium.

Eating a couple of bananas a day is supposed to be a good source also.

My husband drinks the fizzy magnesium powder supplement with water every night, but I eat every food on your list almost daily, so I haven't supplemented. I guess I should try his powder, too -- maybe I'll be able to leap tall buildings with a single bound afterward, heh.
 
For Stress

Full article HERE.

Stress Physiology


Our ancestors had to contend with a dangerous world; the body’s stress response developed as a survival mechanism. But the hazards they faced didn’t last along and after a stressful episode was over, the body went back to normal.


Today, most of the stress we encounter is low level and chronic. The body never gets a chance to reset, which over time can lead to cardiovascular woes and other health problems.
There are dietary factors that can have a calming effect—and one of the most effective is magnesium. Found in beans, seeds and leafy greens, magnesium is best known for partnering with calcium to build strong bones. But that partnership can help alleviate stress-related symptoms as well.


For example, calcium causes muscles to tighten, a common effect of stress. Magnesium, on the other hand, relaxes muscles, helping to protect against cramping and spasms. That also holds true for the muscles within artery walls. When these muscles tighten, blood encounters greater resistance as it flows, causing pressure to rise.

This explains why magnesium has been linked to reductions in blood pressure (Hypertension 5/16). Magnesium helps counter the insidious, harmful chronic inflammation that nonstop stress may lead to as well as the fatigue stress can create. In addition, this mineral supports proper operation of the nervous system and may help relieve depression.


Magnesium’s Many Benefits


Magnesium’s multiple uses within the body have led to increased research interest. Studies have linked it with reductions in the risk of developing diabetes and other metabolic disorders as well as lower chances of suffering from stroke or heart failure (Nutrients 3/17, BMC Medicine 12/16). Magnesium may even fight age-related muscle loss in women (Journal of Bone and Mineral Research 2/16).


Given that magnesium is present in a wide variety of foods, you would think deficiencies are not common. That assumption is wrong: Numerous investigations have found widespread less-than-ideal intakes of magnesium, particularly among people who consume a lot of processsed foods. Stress itself can also cause magnesium loss, as can digestive troubles and the use of some prescription medications.


Magnesium comes in several different forms. The most easily absorbed is magnesium citrate, especially when formulated into a drink powder.

Stress is an unavoidable part of our times. Fortunately, magnesium can make coping with life’s challenges a little easier.
 
Sigh. I really like magnesium. It is calming and if you have a "heart murmur," magnesium can make it beat smooth as butter.
 


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