Magnesium - The Master Mineral

Proactivity is not a recognised feature of the symptom-treating, modern medical machine and we are all paying the price for this lack of foresight. 70% to 80% of us are deficient in a mineral that is directly linked to most of the degenerative diseases that plague us! There are literally hundreds of published papers that quantify these links and yet this widespread deficiency remains and the nutrition neglect continues. Magnesium is profoundly linked to heart health, mental health and disease protection and it is often the mineral most missing in the wellness equation. In this article I will look at the reasons for the shortage, the symptoms of magnesium deficiency, the multiple roles of this mineral and exciting new technology to speed the delivery of magnesium and reduce the time it takes to reclaim optimum levels of this critically important mineral in our bodies.

Sick Biology Stems the Flow

As usual it all begins in the soil. The most important mineral ratio in high production, biological agriculture is the calcium to magnesium ratio and this also happens to be the most important ratio in the human body. Magnesium is the centrepiece of chlorophyll, the green pigment upon which photosynthesis is dependant. The green plant is the only food producer on Earth, so photosynthesis is arguably the most important planetary process. Magnesium is to chlorophyll what iron is to blood, except a deficiency is termed chlorosis rather than anemia. A poor calcium to magnesium ratio in the soil creates a soil that struggles to breathe and this limits delivery of oxygen to the trillions of aerobic microorganisms in the soil. These creatures fix nitrogen from the atmosphere, release locked up minerals in the soil, protect the plant from pathogens and deliver nutrients to the plant. A magnesium imbalance in the soil (whether too much or too little) tends to create a shortage within the plant.

NTS conducts thousands of leaf tests and we rarely find food plants that contain the luxury levels of magnesium associated with maximum production. In effect, this suggests that our diet will inevitably be lacking in magnesium because leaf tests are literally measuring what is in our food. There are actually two "microbe bridges" that have been bombed in the name of modern food production and processing. Many of the soil microbes responsible for mineral delivery to the plant have been compromised with farm chemicals and faulty soil management practices. There is a direct parallel in our digestive tract where 100 trillion microbes should reside. Food stabilisers, prescription drugs, antibiotics and processed food have combined to directly impact the balance and health of our digestive flora, and reduced magnesium uptake in the gut is just one of the consequences. So the magnesium starts out lower than it should be in our food and our damaged gut-life further affects the delivery of magnesium from the digestive tract into our blood. However, there are several other factors negatively influencing our magnesium levels.

Ten Reasons Why We Lack Magnesium

1. Phytic acid found in all cereal grains can complex magnesium and zinc making these minerals insoluble.
2. Magnesium is a fairly soluble mineral so boiling food can leach out the magnesium.
3. Food processing can remove magnesium. For example, the conversion of wholemeal flour to white flour (80% of Australian bread sales) removes 80% of the magnesium content.
4. Magnesium is lost via perspiration through humidity and excess sugar consumption (which increases sweating and urination.
5. Magnesium absorption is compromised following surgery, in diabetics, in those with liver problems and in people suffering intestinal malabsorption (often linked to a lack of hydrochloric acid).
6. Phosphoric acid found in all soft drinks can bind with magnesium forming an insoluble compound.
7. Asthma medication, diuretics (including tea and coffee), insulin, nicotine and cocaine can all cause magnesium deficiency.
8. Acidity can cause renal magnesium losses – often termed "magnesium wasting".
9. Stress can diminish magnesium reserves and reduce magnesium absorption.
10. Calcium supplementation, in the absence of sufficient magnesium is actually more damaging than not supplementing calcium. In this instance the calcium to magnesium ratio becomes worse, with serious consequences.

Symptoms of a Shortage

Classic symptoms of magnesium deficiency include insomnia, irritability, rapid heartbeat, poor digestion, seizures, cramps, muscle weakness, cardiac arrhythmia, hypertension, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, osteoporosis, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, migraine headaches and coronary heart disease. There is a problem in testing for magnesium as less than 1% of the body’s magnesium storage is found in blood serum and yet this is what is commonly used to determine magnesium status. 60% of the 60 grams of magnesium typically present in our bodies is found in our bones and 27% is found in muscle tissue. The blood must remain in a very tight pH range and this alkalising mineral is often called upon to stabilise pH. Obviously this makes blood a poor indicator of cellular magnesium and it is at the cellular level that everything happens. Often the answers to a simple questionnaire can offer a reasonable guideline.

For example, if you are involved in physical work, sports or use a sauna regularly, if you consume 7 or more alcoholic drinks per week, if you favour white bread over whole grain and drink soft drinks regularly then you may be magnesium deficient. If you regularly eat sweets, suffer muscle cramps and twitches, take HRT or the pill or have high blood pressure you may also be missing magnesium. If you have problems sleeping, have high blood sugar, find that chiropractic adjustments don’t hold or suffer from Coronary Heart Disease then you probably need magnesium. Hair testing can be unreliable for checking magnesium as high levels in this test can actually reflect low levels of magnesium in the body. Total red cell magnesium is a better indicator than standard serum tests but the best test is a serum ionised test developed by American researcher Dr Bella Altura. The roles of magnesium are many and varied and we will look more closely at some of them.

Magnesium and Syndrome X

Metabolic Syndrome or Syndrome X is a plague condition characterised by a group of conditions including some or all of the following: abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, high tryglycerides, high LDL and low HDL cholesterol, high blood glucose and a high cellular calcium to magnesium ratio. Syndrome X was originally identified by Dr Gerald Reaven in 1988 but it was Dr Lawrence Resnick from Cornell University who found that magnesium was low inside the cells of all patients suffering from hypertension and then found the same low levels in patients suffering from insulin resistance. Dr Resnick showed that as a cell’s magnesium ion level fell the calcium ion level increased. It is all about the ratio between these two key minerals. Resnick’s research revealed that an imbalance between calcium and magnesium may be the root cause of insulin resistance, too much insulin production (hyperinsulinemia), hypertension, a tendency for blood to clot, dislipidemia (an unhealthy balance of blood fats), diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Dr Resnick’s research also revealed several factors that influence the level of magnesium within the cell. He found that ageing and pregnancy lower cellular magnesium as does excess glucose. Insulin sponsors magnesium losses through urine, while glutathione increases cellular magnesium. Resnick’s breakthough findings have been largely ignored by a medical community that continue to treat this cluster of symptoms separately. This approach often involves multiple drug therapy involving oral hyperglycemics, nitrates, calcium antagonists, beta blockers, ace inhibiters, statins, estrogens, alpha blockers and even anti-depressants and tranquilisers. This bankrupt approach is virtually the total opposite of a holistic philosophy and it becomes easier to comprehend how prescription drugs have become our 4th largest killer. Doctors often recommend the traditional, "heart healthy", low fat, high carbohydrate diet but this sponsors glucose and insulin and can actually make Syndrome X worse. A high magnesium diet involving vegetables, whole grains, nuts and fruits is a much better idea. The ten most magnesium dense foods include: wheat bran, prawns, pumpkin seeds, coconuts, cashews, cocoa, raw oats, dates, sesame seeds, brown rice and brazil nuts.

Magnesium and Stress

In my travels around the globe I often ask my audiences a simple question to gauge relative stress levels in differing conditions and cultures. I ask, "How many amongst you can honestly say that you do not feel stress and low level anxiety (that you would rather not feel) on a regular basis?". There are very few hands raised, even in crowds exceeding 1000 people. We have created an absurdly stressful world and I find that this applies everywhere. You would imagine that somewhere like South Africa, with the highest crime rate on the planet and brewing political unrest, would be very different from an idyllic sub-tropical paradise like Norfolk Island. However, in both locations the raised hands are few and far between! Magnesium deficiency is profoundly linked to stress. In fact, a magnesium deficiency can feed itself, in that a magnesium deficiency produces stress symptoms which further deplete magnesium. When these symptoms are treated with drugs, as they so often are, then the drugs also deplete magnesium. Stress hormones create a sudden rise in magnesium dependent reactions. The "fight or flight" response involves increases in energy, nerve impulses, and muscle function and heart and blood vessel responses. These are all magnesium-hungry functions so magnesium is often mobilised from the bones to satisfy demand. The temporarily elevated magnesium levels in the blood can be misread by the kidneys which excrete the excess magnesium via the urine. Cell membranes consist of fatty acids held together by magnesium ions. Magnesium deficiency weakens the cell membranes and can facilitate further loss of "the mineral most needed during stress" when magnesium flows out through the faulty membrane and is often replaced by calcium. Again the kidneys excrete the temporary excess and this is how stress can turn a slight magnesium deficiency into a severe one that can precipitate a stroke or heart attack.

Researched, magnesium depleting stressors include things like trauma, injury, surgery and hospital stays but fear, anxiety, anger and depression are also right up there. I even found a paper where children who had to listen to their parents fight on a regular basis, had depleted magnesium levels as a result. The Type A personality is characterised by a state of self-maintained stress where driving ambition, restlessness, impatience, competitiveness and a constant sense of urgency can fuel easy aggression and anger. Under identical conditions Type A people have been shown to lose magnesium more rapidly than Type B people. If you recognise any Type A tendencies in yourself then it is essential that you supplement magnesium.

Magnesium and Mental Health

Magnesium is intimately connected to neurological disorders due to its critical role in neurotransmitter production, energy production and the integrity of the blood brain barrier. For example, a magnesium shortage can cause a serotonin deficiency with associated depression, suicide and irrational violence. In 2002, The National Institute of Health officially listed depression as a sign of magnesium deficiency. Zinc is the other key mineral for mental health as deficiencies have been linked to apathy, depression, irritability, lethargy, mental retardation and paranoia.

Numerous studies have linked nutrition to behaviour including the fascinating school study conducted by Dr Barbara Reed Stitt. In a Wisconsin school, that required the permanent presence of a police officer she was able to initiate remarkable changes in behaviour simply by changing the diet of the students from processed foods to wholesome fresh food. The 3-year study hoped to produce a measurable change of about 20% in behaviour and academic performance using a set of criteria where teachers reported on a variety of behavioural issues every week. The researchers were flabbergasted to see a complete reversal of problem behaviour with a 100% improvement in everything measured.

There is also a strong magnesium link to neurotoxins including the "exitotoxins" that are now found in so much of our food. Glutamate and aspartate are the most abundant amino acids found in the brain. These aminos are neurotransmitters but they can become destructive exitotoxins if oversupplied (MSG and Aspartame) or if the glutamate removal mechanism is compromised. The worst culprit is the heavy metal, mercury, which has been so closely linked to autism. The most successful autism treatment involves the removal of wheat and dairy products from the diet combined with the detox of mercury. One reason that wheat and dairy are a problem is because gluten contains 43% glutamate and casein features 23% glutamate. If mercury has reduced your capacity to remove this influx of glutamate then these foods become poisonous. The two conditions that shift glutamate from neurotransmitter to exitotoxin are a lack of neuronal ATP and a lack of magnesium in the neurons.

The Statin Scam and Magnesium

The cholesterol lowering drugs accounted for 23 billion dollars in sales last year, even though there is ample evidence that they are doing more harm than good. There is no research to support any link between total blood cholesterol and heart disease in people over 60 and this is the age bracket where the vast majority of heart attacks occur. There are no studies to support a high total cholesterol/heart disease link in women of any age and yet over 30% of women aged 60 and over are now prescribed this drug in the US. Cholesterol is an important nutrient and antioxidant and there are multiple consequences in shutting down its production. Eighteen published papers have highlighted the capacity of magnesium to raise HDL cholesterol, to lower LDL cholesterol and to reduce high triglycerides since the 1957 finding that magnesium could lower cholesterol levels in animals. High density lipoproteins (HDL) transport fat out of the arteries while low density lipoproteins (LDL) have been linked to hardening of the arteries. LDL is not negative in its own right. In fact, it helps transport fat soluble antioxidants like carotenes and vitamin A around the body. The problem is that these small, dense particles are more susceptible to oxidation and if you are lacking antioxidants (as many of us are) then oxidised LDL causes inflammation which compromises arteries.

The difference between natural cholesterol management with magnesium vs control with statins is profound. Here is how it works – magnesium, in conjunction with ATP, deactivates an enzyme called HMG-CoA reductase. This enzyme converts HMG-CoA to mevalonate from which both cholesterol and CoQ10 are made. If the body needs more vitamin D, sex hormones or bile acid neutralised (all functions of cholesterol) or it needs more CoQ10 then HMG-CoA reductase can be reactivated. Unlike the statin drugs, which shut down the same enzyme, the door can be reopened and the important nutrient, cholesterol, is regulated as required. In the absence of sufficient magnesium there is uncontrolled production of mevalonate and excessive LDL can be a result. It is now acknowledged that the cholesterol-lowering drugs shut down 40% of the production of CoQ10 and this important heart protector is already deficient in most people over 60. Unfortunately, this is not the only undesirable side effect. The statins also shut down the separate supply of cholesterol to the brain were it is critically important for protecting brain cells. The statins have now been linked to increasing brain fog and loss of memory as your brain cells are not replaced like other cells in the body and must last a lifetime. Cholesterol is a big player in achieving this cellular longevity. The statins have also been recently linked to an increase in lymphatic cancers as they halt the formation of glutathione peroxidase (from glutathione and selenium), an important cancer protector.

The magnesium connection strengthens in light of French studies which showed that magnesium deficient animals had reduced production of an enzyme called lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT). Subsequent human studies have shown that we can normalise both "good" and "bad" cholesterol by supplementing magnesium. Cholesterol levels can actually be a reflection of magnesium status rather than fat intake.

The Cal/Mag Ratio and Heart Health

It has been suggested that a great deal of human illness is a function of dirty pipes. Certainly, stroke, atherosclerosis and Coronary Heart Disease are all about the clogging of pipes through plaque, clots and calcification. Most people with CHD, for example, have build-ups of cholesterol, fats, calcium and clotting factors termed "atherosclerotic plaques". Magnesium can contribute to all of these plaque factors including the formation of "sticky" blood platelets. A lack of magnesium in blood vessel cells allows the unwanted entry of calcium and associated calcification, promoting stiff, narrow arteries – arteriosclerosis. At this point I should clarify how calcium and magnesium work together in our bodies and why the ratio between these two minerals is so important.

Calcium and magnesium are chemically similar but their biological function is very different. They are, in fact, two sides of a physiological coin. They have opposing actions yet function as a team. Calcium is found mostly outside the cells while magnesium is found inside. Calcium excites nerves while magnesium calms them down. Calcium (with potassium) is required for muscle contraction while magnesium relaxes muscles. Calcium sponsors blood clotting for wound healing while magnesium keeps blood flowing freely when clotting reactions would be dangerous. Calcium gives bones their hardness while magnesium gives flexibility to bones and protects from brittleness. The health of the human organism is all about balance and the delicate dance between calcium and magnesium is a fine example of this principle. What is the optimal balance between these minerals? Well, a healthy cell should contain 10,000 times more magnesium inside the cell than calcium. If magnesium levels fall then calcium ions flow into the cell with undesirable consequences. The cells become hyperactive and promote muscle contraction which leads to muscle cramping, a key symptom of magnesium deficiency. High calcium within the cell, due to low magnesium, makes things stiff and hard – a phenomenon, called calcification. Calcification of artery and heart cells is a major link to heart disease. The promotion of calcium-rich food and supplements to protect our bones is a major mistake if low magnesium is ignored as it serves to worsen the all important calcium to magnesium ratio. Countries with the highest cal/mag ratios in their soils have the highest incidence of cardiovascular disease. Similarly the people who consume the most calcium have the highest mortality rates (Scandinavia, USA and NZ). The Japanese, whom have amongst the highest levels of magnesium in their diet and very low calcium consumption, have very low cardiac death rates.

Magnesium researcher, Dr Thomas Levy, suggests that "there is a lot of calcium in most diets so regular calcium supplementation can result in undesirable, rock like, non-biological deposits of calcium in the tissues". The correct cal/mag ratio is 2:1, although this ratio in the caveman’s diet was 1:1. The ratio in the modern western diet is around 6:1. When magnesium is low, calcium floods the smooth muscle cells of our blood vessels creating spasms which can cause high blood pressure. Similarly, constriction of airways can cause asthma and constriction of the blood vessels in the temple can cause migraine headaches. Too much calcium, without magnesium protection, can also irritate and eventually kill delicate nerve cells in the brain through over excitation. The maxim "seeing is believing" is often relevant in terms of motivating lifestyle and dietary changes and it is possible to conduct a simple DIY experiment to drive home the negatives of ignoring magnesium when supplementing with calcium. Here’s how it works – crush and dissolve a calcium tablet into 30 mL of water and there will be considerable undissolved residue on the bottom of the glass. Now crush a magnesium tablet into the same glass and watch the remaining calcium dissolve. The same thing happens in your bloodstream, heart, brain and tissues if you lack the magnesium to keep calcium dissolved. Fibromyalgia, hardening of the arteries and kidney stones are just some of the potential consequences.

Surviving the Sugar Sickness

New research suggests that up to 1 in 3 of us are "pre-diabetic" and Type 2 diabetes is seen as the coming plague. In Australia, diabetes amongst children has increased tenfold in the last 5 years. Insulin resistance has been linked to every major degenerative disease, including ageing, and it is a key marker for heart health issues. Magnesium is a major player in the manufacture and utilisation of insulin and it is a little known fact that insulin also stores magnesium. If your cells become resistant to insulin you can’t store magnesium so you lose it through urination. Intracellular magnesium relaxes muscles so when it cannot be retained, the blood vessels constrict which raises blood pressure. There is also a reduction in energy as intracellular magnesium is required for all energy producing reactions within the cell. A vicious cycle can develop as extra magnesium will be used to manufacture extra insulin and to fuel the hormone. In effect, an increase in insulin always means a loss of magnesium and the cells become even more insulin resistant. Blood vessels constrict and glucose and insulin can’t get to the tissues, which makes them even more insulin resistant so, in response more insulin is produced and more magnesium is used up in the process.

It is now understood that this process can actually begin before we are born. Insulin sensitivity can begin at conception. If a pregnant woman consumes a high GI diet then the foetus can become more insulin resistant. New research shows that if the foetus happens to be female, then the eggs of that fetus are also more insulin resistant. So the idea "we are what we eat" becomes "we are what our Grandmother eats". This is hugely important information because it drives home the cumulative effect of a bad diet with each generation suffering progressive degeneration. In this context, the work of Dr Francis Pottenger becomes profoundly significant. In his famous study of 900 cats over 4 generations, Dr Pottenger showed that, when fed a diet comprising only processed food, the cats degenerated at an alarming rate with each generation. In fact, the 4th generation could barely walk and only survived a few months.

Magnesium and the Enzyme Lifeforce

Enzymes are protein molecules that have a measurable lifeforce and can not be synthesised. They are intimately linked to every bodily function including immunity and detoxification. Magnesium is the "master mineral" from an enzyme perspective. There are 350 magnesium-dependant enzymes and thousands of enzymes indirectly related. Enzymes act like a train controller in relation to biochemical reactions. They ensure that these critical reactions occur at the right time, the correct speed and at the required rate. Magnesium is directly required for the enzymes that break down glucose (blood sugar management), make protein, break down fats, control cholesterol production and make nucleic acids such as DNA. It is also critically important for the enzymes that keep potassium inside the cells and sodium outside the cells, hence the strong link between magnesium and hypertension. However, the most important magnesium-based enzyme reaction involves the creation of energy. Magnesium activates adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the powerhouse of all living creatures. The Chinese symbols for magnesium means "beautiful mineral" and it is thought that ATP might be what the Chinese call qi or lifeforce. ATP is like the battery of life. It is a substance that can store and release energy back and forth as required, like a switch. However, this can only occur in the presence of magnesium.

Magnesium and Detox

Our two-phase detox system is impacted in three ways when we lack magnesium. There is a measurable increase in free radical pressure when magnesium is low. Glutathione production and performance is hindered and the sodium/potassium pump is inhibited in the absence of magnesium. Both phase 1 and phase 2 detoxification are enzyme-based and this energetic process is fuelled by ATP in conjunction with magnesium. One of the reasons for increased free radical pressure relates to the fact that the absorption and metabolism of the two most important antioxidants, vitamin C and vitamin E, are magnesium dependant and the B group vitamins are similarly related. Glutathione is a powerhouse detox agent, synthesised from the amino acids glycine, cysteine and glutamate. However, ATP and magnesium ions are also required to produce glutathione. Glutathione is our most important mechanism for the removal of heavy metals. Magnesium deficiency reduces glutathione production and compromises heavy metal detox and our defence against a host of environmental toxins including alcohol and cigarette smoke. New research reveals links between autism, magnesium deficiency and the associated reduction in capacity to detox mercury.

Magnesium – The Stroke Saviour

Stroke, caused by the disruption of blood flow to the brain, is the third largest killer in the developed world (killing over 700,000 people in the US alone last year). 50% of stroke victims suffer paralysis on one side, 35% suffer depression and 30% can’t walk without assistance. A key strategy to reduce the likelihood of these negative outcomes is to use neuro protective agents immediately following a stroke to save ischemic neurons in the brain from irreversible injury. In a recent study, intravenous magnesium sulphate administered within 2 hours of a stroke resulted in dramatic early recovery in 42% of patients and a good 90-day outcome in 75% of treated patients. Magnesium increases regional blood flow, antagonises voltage-sensitive calcium channels and blocks the NMDA receptor. Several prescription drugs manipulate these same pathways but, unlike the natural magnesium solution, there are invariably unpleasant side-effects.

20 million people in the US take aspirin each day to protect against stroke and heart attack but it is a poor choice. Four large early studies with aspirin had shown no benefit until a study using bufferin (a combination of aspirin and magnesium) showed a 40% reduction in the number of non-fatal heart attacks. Magnesium prevents platelet clumping (clots), dilates blood vessels and normalises dangerous heart rhythms so it is highly likely that it was the magnesium rather than the aspirin that caused the decrease. Aspirin is an enzyme inhibitor and anything that compromises enzymes should be avoided. Dr Edward Howell asserts that we are born with a certain potential for enzyme production and the faster we deplete the bank account the shorter our lifespan. Your daily dose of aspirin, in effect, represents the equivalence of a daily enzyme withdrawal and this is not desirable, particularly when there are numerous herbal blood thinners without the side effects (500,000 Americans each year develop complications from NSAIDS with 80,000 hospitalised and 8000 people dying).

Nurturing the White Knights

White blood cells are the body’s first and foremost defence against infection. They gobble up invaders at a wound site and do the same with any foreign body entering the bloodstream. There should be one white blood cell for every 150 red blood cells and this ratio is important as their destructive capacity can be counterproductive (e.g., leukemia). The key is to increase the protective capacity of white blood cells without increasing numbers. In the 1940s French scientist, Dr A Neveu, discovered a technique to achieve exactly this and he achieved some amazing results. In 1943, Dr Neveu used a magnesium chloride solution to successfully treat multiple cases of diptheria and then achieved the same results treating polio. At that time he invoked the wrath of a medical community who had embraced vaccination. Another French researcher, Dr Pierre Delbert, showed that a magnesium chloride solution increased the killing power of white blood cells by 75% without increasing their numbers. J. I. Rodale’s book, "The Nutrient That Could Save Your Life", descibes the remarkable work of Dr Delbert in treating colitis, Parkinson’s Disease, acne, eczema, psoriasis, impotency, enlarged prostate and many allergic disorders.

Getting Back In the Game

You may have realised at this point that you are amongst the vast majority of us who are lacking this critically important “master” mineral and you may be wondering how best to address the deficit. How do we get back into the game most efficiently? The traditional approach is to pop a pill but a variety of factors influence the uptake of magnesium from oral supplementation. Phytic acid, from all cereal grains complexes with magnesium, forming an insoluble magnesium phytate that is excreted. Many of the common prescription drugs inhibit the uptake of magnesium but it is malabsorption that poses the biggest problem. Many of us have a rubber-like coating lining our digestive tracts which impedes nutrient uptake. This coating, often called mucoid plaque, is based upon undigested protein usually caused by a deficiency of protease, the enzyme responsible for protein digestion and/or a lack of beneficial gut organisms. An interesting website, called blessedherbs.com, offers a herbal mix that strips this dense coating from the bowel walls and seriously improves nutrient uptake as a result. In addition to these problems people with low magnesium (most of us) have reduced capacity to absorb magnesium. This is due to the fact that the intestinal wall loses its ability to absorb magnesium in those lacking the mineral. Researchers have recently found that it takes a minimum of six months to restore magnesium levels with oral supplementation. There are more rapid ways to restore magnesium but they are neither cost-effective nor user-friendly. Intramuscular injections involve 90 seconds of sharp pain and must be repeated regularly. 1.5 grams of magnesium chloride given intravenously over a 50-minute period and repeated ten times in a two-week period is the fastest way back into the game but not that convenient for most of us. There is, however, a new delivery option that seems to be generating great excitement in the natural health world.

The Skin’s The Thing

The skin has massive unrecognised absorption potential and hence the justified concern about products like sunscreens, which can contain dangerous chemical additives which are absorbed. Similarly, you should be prepared to eat your face cream because it is being absorbed just as if you had swallowed it! Chlorine, household chemicals and pesticides can also easily become unwanted contaminants when absorbed through your skin. Conversely, there are great gains associated with swimming in the ocean as you are absorbing the perfect balance of all seventy minerals. The same balance found in the first cell that emerged from the Pre-Cambrian ocean. New research shows major remineralising benefit associated with a daily swim in the ocean. Similarly, mineral baths, mountain salt baths and essential oils offer concentrated mineral or nutrient delivery through the skin.

Transdermal magnesium involves a source of magnesium that is directly absorbed through the skin. This is a liquid concentration of magnesium chloride concentrated from ancient sea bed deposits. It has an oily texture and is often termed "magnesium oil" (although it is not actually an oil).

The Advantages of the Transdermal Solution

Magnesium oil (MagSorb™ from NTS Health) contains around 35% magnesium chloride and, if applied topically in conjunction with a daily foot bath, you can recharge your magnesium levels in just 4 weeks! Magnesium chloride is superior to magnesium sulphate in that it is hygroscopic (attracts water) so it remains moist and much more likely to be absorbed than magnesium sulphate which dries back to a powder. This new tool allows you to take charge of your own magnesium nutrition without the cost, pain and inconvenience of injections. The multiple benefits of magnesium are much more obvious when levels are rapidly increased.

Ten Transdermal Benefits

• Memory and Cognitive – Magnesium deficiency has been linked to decreased memory and learning ability. Luxury magnesium levels can improve cognitive function in children, the elderly and those involved in stressful study.
• Supports Immune Function – A healthy immune system is driven by white blood cells that require good magnesium levels.
• Sports Nutrition – Magnesium is the most important mineral supplement due to losses through sweat. It can reduce fatigue and stress and is a component of every healthy muscle cell.
• Dental Health – Creates a highly alkaline environment when used as a mouthwash. MagSorb™ can help to strengthen teeth and support gum health.
• Skin Health – Can assist with the rejuvenation of sun damaged skin, sunspots, healthy hair and wrinkle reduction.
• General Tonic – Can increase energy, strength and endurance related to the 350 enzymes directly linked to magnesium.
• Muscle Health – 27% of magnesium is found in the muscles. MagSorb™ can rapidly relieve muscle pain and reduce cramps associated with magnesium deficiency.
• Longevity – Magnesium is directly linked to the body’s production of DHEA, often called the 'Feel Good Hormone'. DHEA levels dramatically decline with age.
• Stress – MagSorb™ can help to relax and balance the nervous system to help counter the stresses of modern life.
• Detox – MagSorb™ can help with the removal of toxins and heavy metals at a cellular level.

How to use MagSorb™

Magnesium oil can be applied to the skin, used in footbaths and full body baths or sprayed into mucus membranes.

• 30 mL can be added to a warm footbath and the feet soaked for 30 minutes.
• 60 mL of MagSorb™ can be added to a bathtub and this will be more cost effective if the bath is shared!
• Topical applications can vary from 5 to 10 mL. It can be sprayed under the arms (doubles as a highly effective deodorant) and on the feet. Up to 30 mL can be sprayed or massaged all over the body. Begin with low dosage and dilute if stinging occurs.

Every 30 mL of MagSorb™ contains 3300 mg of actual magnesium, which is absorbed in as little as 30 minutes. This is far more than can be tolerated by the digestive system during oral magnesium supplementation.

In Conclusion

Magnesium deficiency is largely ignored by the medical fraternity and yet correction offers a host of benefits. Proactive health management is about addressing root causes and this is one ridiculously simple step that could provide incalculable benefits. The concept of "institutionalised magnesium management" has tremendous merit but is not part of strategic planning in the health sector in the foreseeable future. There is no choice but to reclaim responsibility for our own wellness and addressing "the mineral most missing" is a solid step on the road to health and happiness.

Click here for MagSorb™ – Transdermal Magnesium Oil