Magnesium

discernente (76)in #nutrition • 8 years ago (edited)

It is an alkaline earth metal, as well as calcium.

In general, foods containing dietary fiber and leafy greens (especially swiss chard and spinach) provide magnesium:

Pumpkin seeds

Spinach

Dark chocolate

Soybeans

Sesame seeds

Quinoa

Black beans

Cashews

Sunflower seeds

Turnip Greens

Nuts (especially brazil nuts, cashews and almonds)

Magnesium is a macromineral. Deficiency causes hypomagnesia.

It's easy to boost magnesium levels with whole foods. Dark chocolate provides 176 mg of magnesium in a 3.5 ounce bar. Other high magnesium foods include seaweeds, dark leafy greens (especially spinach and Swiss chard), broccoli, beans, whole grains (especially brown rice and quinoa), almonds, cashews, filberts, sesame seeds, lentils, avocados, spirulina and chlorella.

Magnesium is considered "the lamb of life" (http://drsircus.com/medicine/magnesium/magnesium-the-lamp-of-life). Without Chlorophyll, plants are unable to convert sunlight and carbon dioxide. There is no life without magnesium.

Magnesium is primarily an intracellular cation; roughly 1% of whole-body magnesium is found extracellularly, and the free intracellular fraction is the portion regulating enzyme pathways inside the cells. Life packs the magnesium jealously into the cells, every drop of it is precious.

Magnesium is an important mineral that helps cells use insulin and metabolise fat. Controlling the level of blood sugars is only one of the many functions of insulin. Insulin plays a central role in storing magnesium but if our cells become resistant to insulin, or if we do not produce enough insulin, then we have a difficult time storing magnesium in the cells where it belongs. When insulin processing becomes problematic magnesium gets excreted through our urine instead and this is the basis of what is called magnesium wasting disease. There is a strong relationship between magnesium and insulin action. Magnesium is important for the effectiveness of insulin. A reduction of magnesium in the cells strengthens insulin resistance.

Magnesium participates in a wide range of vitally important physiological functions, including the creation of ATP (adenosine triphosphate, the energy molecules of your body), the synthesis of RNA and DNA, the pumping of your heart, proper bone and tooth formation, relaxation of your blood vessels, and proper bowel function.

Magnesium plays a role in the stability of all polyphosphate compounds in the cells, including those associated with the synthesis of DNA and RNA.

Magnesium has been shown to benefit your blood pressure and help prevent sudden cardiac arrest, heart attack, and stroke, yet an estimated 80 percent of Americans are deficient in this important mineral.

Magnesium is an essential plant nutrient. It has a wide range of key roles in many plant functions. One of the magnesium's well-known roles is in the photosynthesis process, as it is a building block of the Chlorophyll, which makes leaves appear green.

Too much magnesium from food does not pose a health risk in healthy individuals because the kidneys eliminate excess amounts in the urine. However, high doses of magnesium from dietary supplements or medications often result in diarrhea that can be accompanied by nausea and abdominal cramping. Forms of magnesium most commonly reported to cause diarrhea include magnesium carbonate, chloride, gluconate, and oxide. The diarrhea and laxative effects of magnesium salts are due to the osmotic activity of unabsorbed salts in the intestine and colon and the stimulation of gastric motility.

Although the quantity of magnesium in your bones is significantly less than that of calcium and phosphorus, magnesium remains an important contributor to bone strength. Approximately 60 percent of the magnesium in your body resides in your bones, enhancing their strength and stability. In addition to promoting bone health, magnesium supports muscle activity and functions as an essential cofactor in energy-producing metabolic processes.

A likely reason for this deficient magnesium intake is the tendency of the average U.S. diet to focus predominantly on heavily processed convenience foods at the expense of the green leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds, and legumes that are among our best food sources of the mineral. Increasingly, researchers are becoming aware of a link between poor magnesium nutrition and risks of several important chronic conditions.

Magnesium supplements come in many forms including oxide, citrate, carbonate, aspartate, and lactate. Magnesium oxide is the least expensive but also the most difficult for the body to absorb.

In the Mexican study, participants were given magnesium chloride. The chloride form has special benefits. It has been called the most effective form of magnesium for cellular detoxification and tissue purification.

According to Dr. Mark Sircus, the other forms of magnesium have to be converted into chlorides before the body can use them. In order to absorb other forms of magnesium, the body needs to produce additional hydrochloric acid. But many older people already have difficulty producing hydrochloric acid. They may not produce enough to absorb their magnesium supplement.

The nominal value for magnesium reserves within the body is approximately 24 to 28 grams. During adulthood, the requirement value is 400 mg per day.

Magnesium is excreted via the intestines and the kidneys:

Only approximately 5% of the amount filtered by the kidneys is ultimately excreted. The major part returns to the blood vessels via the ascending limb of Henle's loop.

Magnesium is also employed in cardiac patients, in order to compensate for the increased magnesium excretion under diuretics or digitalis treatment.

Calcium antagonism

The magnesium ion (Mg 2+ ) is larger, in its hydrated state, than the calcium ion (Ca2+ ) and is therefore capable of displacing the latter. This calcium antagonism acts centrally on both muscle and nerve cells: the magnesium ion occupies the calcium binding sites on muscle cells, thereby displacing calcium into the calcium channel without undergoing the same migration itself.

- The blood vessels dilate.

- The oxygen balance of the cells is improved - on the one hand, via an increased supply and on the other hand via lower consumption.

In digestive problems, a side - effect of magnesium becomes a "virtue": at high doses, magnesium has a laxative effect. Pregnant women in particular therefore value magnesium as a mild, pain-free laxative.

http://www.exatest.com/mineral2.htm

Benefits of magnesium

Aids digestion: Magnesium activates enzymes that promote good digestion, absorption and utilisation of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Without sufficient nourishment, the body craves more food in an effort to obtain vital nutrients, which could cause us to gain weight.

Stimulates energy production: Magnesium is needed for the chemical reactions that allow insulin to ferry glucose into cells to create energy. If there is not enough magnesium to do the job, both insulin and glucose levels rise. The excess glucose is stored as fat and contributes to weight gain.(ii) More worryingly, regularly elevated insulin predisposes us to Type 2 diabetes.

Helps control appetite: There is a connection between high leptin and ghrelin levels and low magnesium levels. Leptin is the appetite-control hormone released by the fat cells to let the brain know when the tank is full, but when we regularly overeat, levels remain high. The action of ghrelin, the appetite-stimulating hormone, can be increased by lack of sleep or poor sleeping patterns, prompting us to eat more.(iii)

Encourages deep sleep: Magnesium plays a major role in promoting deep and undisturbed sleep, so it’s not surprising experiments indicate those who regularly get eight hours per night have greater weight loss success than those who sleep six hours or less.

Acts against stress

Tackles toxins: Magnesium is involved in many of the detoxification pathways and is necessary for the neutralisation of toxins.(iv) The liver is the major fat burning organ in the body but struggles to do its job efficiently if it is overburdened with toxins.

The total body magnesium of an adult male is approximately 1 mol (24 g).1 Approximately 66% is distributed in bone, 33% in muscle and soft tissues, and less than 1% in blood. In blood 55% of the magnesium is free (ionised) and physiologically active, 30% is bound to proteins (primarily albumin), and 15% is complexed to anions.

Magnesium is also required to activate tyrosine kinase, an enzyme that functions as an “on” or “off” switch in many cellular functions and is required for the proper function of your insulin receptors.

Magnesium deficiency is also connected to chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, amongst others. It means that, having a deficiency causes the body to overproduce insulin and then that extra glucose goes into the cells, causing inflammation. It’s a very slippery slope.

Magnesium

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