Page 35 - Fall2010

Every single cell in the human body demands acteristic of asthma, migraine headache or painful menstrual cramping.
adequate magnesium to function, or it will perish. Magnesium operates as a natural calcium channel blocker and is respon-
Strong bones and teeth, balanced hormones, a sible for relaxation—counter to calcium’s contraction. Thus magnesium is
healthy nervous and cardiovascular system, well- pivotally important to the healthy functioning of our parasympathetic nervous
functioning detoxification pathways and much system. It may be hard to believe, but our bodies were actually designed to
more depend upon cellular magnesium sufficiency. operate for the most part in a calm, relaxed parasympathetic state, rather than
Soft tissue containing the highest concentrations of in the heart-pounding, stress- and adrenaline-driven mode of sympathetic
magnesium in the body include the brain and the nervous system dominance that is nearly constant for many of us today, and
heart—two organs that produce a large amount which uses up great quantities of magnesium.
of electrical activity, and which can be especially Magnesium is so important to so many vital body functions, and its defi-
vulnerable to magnesium insufficiency. ciency is integrally involved in so many diseases, that more than one researcher
Magnesium works in concert with calcium has dubbed magnesium a miracle in its ability to resolve or improve numerous
to regulate electrical impulses in the cell—mag- disorders. The current list of disorders with direct and confirmed relation-
nesium concentration inside healthy cells is ten ships to chronic and acute magnesium deficiency is long, and includes many
thousand times greater than calcium, and there are diseases whose conventional medical treatment does not commonly address
crucial reasons for this safeguard. Cellular calcium magnesium insufficiency (see below). Ongoing research promises to uncover
channels allow that mineral to enter the cell only further associations between magnesium deficiency and other illnesses.
as long as needed to conduct an impulse; it is ush-
ered out immediately by magnesium once its task MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCY IS ENDEMIC
is fulfilled. This vigilance is necessary to prevent Unfortunately, it is difficult to reliably supply our bodies with sufficient
calcium accumulation in the cell, which could magnesium, even from a good, balanced whole foods diet. First of all, modern
cause dangerous hyper-excitability, calcification, agricultural methods favor the universal use of NPK fertilizers (nitrogen,
cell dysfunction and even cell death. When excess phosphorus, and potassium). Both potassium and phosphorus are antagonists
calcium enters the cells because of insufficient of magnesium in the soil, and on calcareous soils create a relative magnesium
magnesium, muscle contraction is sustained for deficiency (the magnesium present is bound and therefore unavailable to the
too long, and we suffer, for example, twitches and crop). On sandy or loamy soils that are slightly acid, an actual magnesium
tics in mild cases. When magnesium deficiency deficiency often exists, as the magnesium leaches from the soil and is also
becomes chronic, we suffer the symptoms of heart unavailable to the crop. This leaching also occurs in response to acid rain.
disease such as angina pectoris, hypertension and Magnesium, in fact, is one of the most depleted minerals in farm soils. To
arrhythmia, or the spasms and contractions char- add insult to injury, new plant hybrids are continually introduced that have

THE MANy EFFECTS OF MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCy

• ADD/ADHD • Hypoglycemia
• Alzheimer’s • Insomnia
• Angina pectoris • Kidney stones
• Anxiety disorders • Lou Gehrig’s disease
• Arrhythmia • Migraines
• Arthritis—rheumatoid and osteoarthritis • Mitral valve prolapse
• Asthma • Multiple sclerosis
• Autism • Muscle cramping, weakness, fatigue
• Auto-immune disorders • Myopia—in children from Mg deficient mothers
• Cerebral palsy in children of Mg deficient mothers • Obesity—especially associated with high
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome carbohydrate diet
• Congestive Heart Failure • Osteoporosis
• Constipation • Parkinson’s disease
• Crooked teeth/narrow jaw in children from Mg deficient mothers • PMS—including menstrual pain and irregularities
• Dental caries • PPH (Primary pulmonary hypertension)
• Depression • Reynaud’s syndrome
• Diabetes, types I and II • SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)
• Eating disorders—bulimia and anorexia • Stroke
• Fibromyalgia • Syndrome X
• Gut disorders including peptic ulcer, Crohn’s disease, colitis • Thyroid disorders
• Heart disease
• Hypertension Source: Primal Body—Primal Mind, by Nora Gedgaudas.

FALL 2010 Wise Traditions 35