Page 34 - Fall2010

Magnificent Magnesium

The Neglected Mineral We Cannot Live Without

by Katherine Czapp

agnesium is an alkaline earth metal, the eighth
most abundant mineral found in the earth’s crust.

MBecause of its ready solubility in water, mag-
nesium is the third most abundant mineral in sea water,

after sodium and chloride. In the human body, magnesium
is the eleventh most plentiful element by mass—measur-

ing about two ounces. Most magnesium contained in the
body is found in the skeleton and teeth—at least 60 to 65

percent of the total. Nearly the entire remaining amount
resides in muscle tissues and cells, while only one percent

is contained in our blood.

The importance of magnesium ions for all life itself, as well as for
overall vibrant health, is hard to overstate. Magnesium is required to give
the “spark of life” to metabolic functions involving the creation of energy
and its transport (ATP, the body’s fundamental energy currency), and the
creation of proteins—the nucleic acid chemistry of life—RNA and DNA,
in all known living organisms. In plants, a magnesium ion is found at the
center of every chlorophyll molecule, vital for the creation of energy from
sunlight. Magnesium is an essential element for both animals and plants,
involved in literally hundreds of enzymatic reactions affecting virtually all
aspects of life.

34 Wise Traditions FALL 2010