All about Magnesium and Me! ~ Mariella

As a teenager, I suffered from night cramps in my calves. The pain was shocking, always blasting its way through some dream, like having a bucket of cold water thrown over my sleeping form! After a few years I learnt to stretch my calf muscles through the pain and go back to sleep. Also, I was seen as a ‘lazy’ teenager, always lethargic, uninterested, untidy, not one to concentrate for long. Blood tests revealed that I was low in Magnesium and supplements were issued. They didn’t improve things to a great degree.

http://www.freshearth.co.za/store/p-3037-allisone-mag-phos180.aspx

One day, years later, while standing in the queue at a health shop, I remarked on how I grind my teeth. The shop keeper overheard and said, ‘You’re short of magnesium, Mag Phos tissue salts should sort it out!’ My grinding stopped and so did the calf cramps. Years later I went for a hair analysis test which showed that I was still, in fact, Magnesium deficient, so I was put on a super potent Naturopath-brewed supplement complete with homeopathics and tissue salts and told to take 4 tablets a day, 2000ml! The body expels copious amounts of Magnesium when under stress, I was told.

(The U.S.A. Office of dietary supplements says, ‘Too much magnesium from food does not pose a health risk in healthy individuals because the kidneys eliminate excess amounts in the urine.')

http://www.freshearth.co.za/store/p-1757-solgar-chelated-magnesium-100s.aspx

It took about a month for the changes to show, my home was neater, I suddenly had more 'time' on my hands for exercise, my memory was improved, I could remember names and numbers, I didn’t freeze in the middle of conversations anymore. I felt keener and sharper. I did a little research.

Here are just a tiny few ways in which Magnesium can benefit your health:

(Again, it was a good quality supplement, 4x the dosage of what I was taking before and a well-read Naturopath who knew his stuff which made the difference to my health)

-Keeps your heart healthy

-Promotes healthy nerve impulses, muscle contraction, and normal heart rhythm.

-Helps strengthen your bone structure

- Helps regulate sleep

-Helps healthy muscle growth

-Loosens tight muscles and reduces lactic acid

-Keeps teeth strong

-Relieves constipation

-Magnesium aids insulin secretion, facilitating sugar metabolism. Without Magnesium, glucose is not able to transfer into cells. Glucose and insulin build up in the blood, causing various types of tissue damage, including the nerves in the eyes.

Symptoms of Magnesium deficiency:

-Behavioral disturbances

-Irritability and anxiety

-Lethargy

-Impaired memory and cognitive function

-Anorexia or loss of appetite

-Nausea and vomiting

-Seizures

-Muscle spasms, cramps, weakness and fatigue

-Hyperactive reflexes

-Impaired muscle coordination

-Tremors

-Involuntary eye movements and vertigo

-Difficulty swallowing

-Increased intracellular calcium

-Hyperglycemia

-Calcium deficiency (remember, taking a Cal-Mag doesnt count as the Mag is there only to help the body absorb the Cal)

-Potassium deficiency

-Irregular or rapid heartbeat ( I’ve had this, rather distressing)

-Coronary spasms

-Hyper-excitability

-Dizziness

-Personality changes

-Magnesium plays an important role in carbohydrate metabolism and its deficiency may worsen insulin resistance, a condition that often precedes diabetes, or may be a consequence of insulin resistance.

I’ve heard from more than one Alternative healer that South African soil is deficient in Magnesium and therefore a deficiency which we as a nation may be more likely to exhibit. If you grow your own veggies, composting beetroot leaves will increase the Magnesium in your soil. Here’s a list of foods high in Magnesium:

-Almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts

-Green leafy vegetables like spinach

-Black beans and lentils

-Potatoes and sweet potatoes

-Brown rice, millet, quinoa

-Bananas

-Raisins

-Broccoli

-Apples

-Avo’s

-Figs

-Dark chocolate (oh goody!)

We all have those dietary things which we struggle to hold in balance, Magnesium is one of mine. And it took me until now to resolve it to the degree that I started to feel the difference. I learnt through this that if there’s something going on its always something (real deep, I know!) pay attention to your body's signals, the sooner you do, the sooner you can improve!