Magnesium Treatments

by Dr. Mark Sircus, Ac., OMD, DM (P)
Director International Medical Veritas Association
Doctor of Oriental and Pastoral Medicine

As a general rule, magnesium is extremely safe and useful. In fact it is so safe and of use that we have to wonder why it has been ignored and underused by allopathic medicine. One good explanation put out many years ago was that official medicine saw in Magnesium Chloride Therapy a threat to its new and growing business: vaccinations. It is little known, for instance, that magnesium increases the efficiency of white blood cells.[1] What we have on our hands is a vastly underestimated medicine to employ in the treatment of a range of diseases. “Think what it could mean if we could induce the white cells in our blood to double their protective activity without any increase in numbers.[2]

It would reduce sharply the possibility that invaders of the bloodstream could get by these defenders and do consequent damage to our systems. It would mean that the need for drugs to fight bacterial invasions would be just about eliminated. It would mean bringing the protective ability of everybody’s blood up to the level that is now possessed by the superbly healthy individual,” wrote J. I. Rodale in his book Magnesium, The Nutrient that could change your life. This is not a fantasy but the celebrated work of Dr. Pierre Delbet,[3] called Politique Prventif du Cancer.

Dr Raul Vergini, in Italy says that epidemiological studies confirmed Delbets views and demonstrated that the regions with soil more rich in magnesium had less cancer incidence, and vice versa and says that in experimental studies the Magnesium Chloride solution was able to slow down the course of cancer in laboratory animals. Dr. Delbet demonstrated many years ago that Magnesium Chloride solution was a very good therapy for many diseases because it had an effect on the whole organism. He obtained very good results in: colitis, angiocholitis and cholecystitis in the digestive apparatus; Parkinsons Disease, senile tremors and muscular cramps in the nervous system; acne, eczema, psoriasis, warts, itch of various origins and chilblains in the skin.

There was a strengthening of hair and nails, a good effect on diseases typical of the aged (impotency, prostatic hypertrophy, cerebral and circulatory troubles) and on diseases of allergic origin (hay-fever, asthma, urticaria and anaphylactic reactions). The clinical facts have, for the most part, been observed by chance. My followers take much magnesium chloride. They are enthusiasts propagandizing for it. Others adopt it, partly, perhaps, because it often produces systemic excitation. Among those who take it for its tonic action, several are afflicted with various ailments which disappear, and they report from time to time successes I did not expect.
Dr. Pierre Delbet

Actually one should be astounded and stand in awe when studying nature and a basic medicine like magnesium. Hippocrates said food is our medicine and when we look at magnesium we can see that this is no joke and that nutritionists can often equal or outdistance doctors in the practice of medicine. What we will read about magnesium is almost too good to be true for magnesium basically is good for anything that ails us. This is not a ridiculous statement when we look at how many crucial biological functions it participates in, the hundreds of enzyme reactions it is needed for. The newspapers sing the praises of the wonder drugs that have devastating side effects but the action of this “miracle mineral” is swept neatly under the rug by the medical establishment that clearly favors pharmaceutically formulated drugs that fortunes can be made from.

The problem is that very probably their physicians and pediatricians don’t know anything about this magnesium therapy, so how can they give good advice? Children under 5, he says, nonetheless must consult their pediatrician.
Dr. Raul Vergini

In 1943 Dr. A. Neveu used the magnesium chloride solution in a case of diphtheria to reduce the risks of anaphylactic reaction due to the anti-diphtheria serum that he was ready to administer. To his great surprise, when the next day the laboratory results confirmed the diagnosis of diphtheria, the little girl was completely cured, before he could use the serum. Now what would be safer to administer to a child, a vaccine for diphtheria or a form of magnesium that comes from the sea. According to Dr. Delbet: Magnesium chloride has a cytophilactic activity that no other magnesium salt has.

It is not surprising that books have been written about magnesium and that in serious situations like autism, where the brain is flooded with mercury, that magnesium is effective in treatment, as Dr. Rimland has clearly indicated. Magnesium has even been seen to attenuate increased blood-brain barrier permeability during insulin-induced hypoglycemia in animal studies,[4] which might explain yet one more reason why magnesium is essential in chelation and detoxification. If it can increase blood-brain barrier permeability during insulin-induced hypoglycemia it could possibly be a key to opening the gates for mercury to flow out of the cells. Magnesium protects brain tissue against the effects of cerebral ischemia, brain injury and stroke through its actions as a calcium antagonist and inhibitor of excitatory amino acids.

This particular action might also explain why spirulina, which is high in magnesium, has also been shown in clinical studies to protect patients from strokes.[5] Magnesium for diabetics is critical[6] as it is for a whole host of people with various diseases. Spirulina provides (for each 3 grams consumed) 1.64 mgs of Iron, 12.8 mg of Magnesium, 53 mcg of zinc. Spirulina has the ability to lock many minerals into amino acids. By doing this, when we consume Spirulina, we receive the minerals in a form which our body can readily make use of. Bioavailability requires solubility, absorption, and eventual metabolism by the body. Bioavailability is a very important concept and gauges the extent to which an administered substance reaches its site of action or utilization in the body. Bioavailability is thus a measure of the efficiency of delivery – how much of what is ingested is actually used for its intended purpose.

I feel we could do more for the health of the world by raising magnesium and DHEA levels than anything else we can imagine. We all should be using the simplest, safest way of getting our intracellular magnesium to a normal range.
– Dr. Norman Shealy

Dr. Shealy is referring here to transdermal application. In this chapter we are going to discover that magnesium, when used correctly, is the best weapon we have to defend the body, not only from infectious diseases of both viral and bacterial origin, but also from the chemical deluge of toxic chemicals that are invading our bodies everyday. Between its power to stimulate white blood cells and glutathione we have a heavy weight non toxic medicine we can use without a prescription. So basic and important is magnesium that we need to put it up on the same alter as Vitamin C though there are medical and pharmaceutical terrorists (CODEX) who would limit the amounts and dosages of crucial supplements even as our need for them goes dramatically up. Probably there has never been a greater form of terrorism conceived than that of deliberately denying the human race of the nutrition they need for health.

Magnesium is the most widely deficient essential nutrient, involved in over 350 enzymes. Deficiency of magnesium is associated with virtually every known disease: heart attacks, diabetes, depression, cancer, etc. Oral magnesium supplements are not easy to assimilate and many take five years or longer to give results.
– Dr. Norman Shealy

It is estimated that 80% of the people in the world today are deficient in magnesium.[9] The time scale of mineral uptake and loss is long, it can be many months or even years before exposure or lack of exposure to certain elements is noted with respect to a person’s state of health. Improving your mineral status by eating a whole food diet used to ensure that you get the right minerals in the correct, purpose-built proportions. But today supplementing is necessary because of increased chemical body burdens and the decreased mineral food values. Re-mineralization can improve the levels of long-term imbalances with truly life-changing results, and very quickly if administered in highly bioavaliable forms. .

Low mineral levels can cause, or at least, increase seizures. Mineral levels had a huge impact on the frequency of my son’s seizures. His seemed most related to low magnesium levels, but others could also contribute. We found that we had to be very careful to remineralize after each round of chelation and he also benefited from longer breaks in between rounds. While he did have a few flare-ups of seizures during chelation, it actually helped reduce them greatly and now it is extremely rare for him to have a seizure.
– Gaylen Tharp

Magnesium rapidly distributes throughout the body following absorption. Normal plasma levels of magnesium range from about 1.6 to 2.1 nM. Magnesium supplementation is actually crucial for everyone today but we have to pay especial attention to the method of supplementation because this is critical in terms of effective body utilization. There are several foods that are very high in magnesium and adults can pick and choose foods to maximize magnesium consumption. But when treating children this is not always possible and often people resist dramatic dietary changes. Eating a wide variety of legumes, nuts, whole grains, and vegetables will help you meet your daily dietary need for magnesium. Selected food sources of magnesium are listed in the reference note section.[10] Magnesium is absorbed primarily in the distal small intestines or colon.

Active uptake is required involving various transport systems such as the vitamin D-sensitive transport system. Since magnesium is not passively absorbed it demonstrates saturable absorption resulting in variable bioavailability averaging 35-40% of administered dose even under the best conditions of intestinal health. These and other conditions make oral magnesium supplements intake chancy and inefficient compared to transdermal intake. Transdermal application of magnesium is far superior to oral supplements and is in reality the only practical way magnesium can be used as a medicine besides by direct injection. Though nothing can substitute for magnesium absorbed through foods high in magnesium medically speaking it avails us to supplement.

The health status of the digestive system and the kidneys significantly influence magnesium status. Magnesium is absorbed in the intestines and then transported through the blood to cells and tissues. Approximately one-third to one-half of dietary magnesium is absorbed into the body.[11]Gastrointestinal disorders that impair absorption such as Crohn’s disease can limit the body’s ability to absorb magnesium. We cannot benefit from minerals unless we can absorb them. The absorption of minerals primarily takes place within the small intestines. As food matter passes through the intestines, minerals transfer into the blood stream through the walls of the intestines. This can only happen if the minerals are ionically charged.

Over 100 patients suffering from coronary heart disease were treated with intramuscular [injected] magnesium sulfate with only one death, compared to their findings in the previous year when, of 196 cases admitted and treated with routine anticoagulants, 60 died.[12]
– The British Medical Journal, January 23, 1960

In no illness is DHEA/magnesium deficiency more prevalent than myocardial infarction (acute heart attack). On average, heart attack patients immediately given magnesium intravenously have a 50% greater survival rate. For conditions such as acute heart attacks,[13] magnesium given by either an intramuscular injection or as an intravenous drip, is the preferred method of treatment. In spite of its low cost or perhaps as a result of its low cost, it is not given routinely to heart attack victims and this is sad.[14]

The “Myers’ cocktail,” which was used effectively for acute asthma attacks, migraines, fatigue (including chronic fatigue syndrome), fibromyalgia, acute muscle spasm, upper respiratory tract infections, chronic sinusitis, seasonal allergic rhinitis, cardiovascular disease, and other disorders consisted of magnesium, calcium, B vitamins, and vitamin C. This treatment was made famous by Dr. Linus Pauling and many doctors around the world practice Orthomolecular Medicine with good clinical results. Dr. Pauling was well ahead of his time but today we need safer methods that are more practical and universal and easily administered to children.

Though intravenous treatments for late or even early stage cancers as well as other life threatening disorders might be seriously consider, with IV treatments we have to take into account the high expense and additional risk. Transdermal treatments are applicable and effective for almost all medical conditions and situations and can be as quick acting as and IV drip. Contraindications and warnings are listed in the notes section.[15] Epson Salt baths have been famous for many years and they impart magnesium transdermally in the form of magnesium sulfate. The “recipe” traditionally consists of one cup of Epson salts in a tub of warm water, soaking for approximately 30 minutes per day.

There are two possible explanations for the success of this particular treatment: 1. Heat and/or relaxation therapy. 2. Transdermal (through the skin) absorption of magnesium. The Epsom salts some people take as a magnesium supplement contains magnesium sulfate, which is rapidly excreted through the kidneys and therefore difficult to assimilate. Whole sea salt contains magnesium chloride and magnesium bromide, which are easily assimilated and metabolized in the human body. Magnesium chloride, which is the prevalent form of magnesium obtained from sea water, is a very unique and powerful form of magnesium that is almost immediately assimilated by the body, through the skin, directly to the cellular level.

By using what is called Magnesium Oil, either topically or in a soak, massive amounts of magnesium can be absorbed by our bodies. Body pains can be eliminated quickly in a strong soak. Magnesium Oil is made up of 35% magnesium chloride, derived from natural sources is both moisturizing and hydrating. Even though magnesium chloride is the most efficacious form of magnesium, when delivered orally it is minimally effective in delivering the magnesium to the cellular level where it can be used by the body to address the many areas magnesium deficiency.

I think it is very hard to mineralize our kids because of their leaky guts. After treating my son with clay he does not have a leaky gut any more, but still I can not mineralize him the way he should be, because the mineral supplements are not in the right form in order to be absorbed by the body.
Andrea Alalama

Magnesium Oil delivers high levels of magnesium directly through the skin to the cellular level, bypassing common intestinal and kidney symptoms associated with oral use. Magnesium chloride has a major advantage over magnesium sulfate because it is hygroscopic and will attract water to it, thus keeping it wet on the skin and vastly more likely to be absorbed, while magnesium sulfate simply “dries” and becomes “powdery”. Magnesium Oil feels “oily” on the skin. The biggest benefit of topical magnesium chloride administration is that the intestines are not adversely impacted by large doses of oral magnesium. Topical magnesium chloride works fast to stop asthma attacks.

The only contraindication to Magnesium Chloride Therapy is a severe renal insufficiency. Fick’s Law of Membrane Permeability says that the amount of any solute (magnesium) that will be absorbed is directly dependent upon the area of contact, the concentration of the solution and the time that the solute is in contact with the membrane.[16] Daniel Reid obviously realizes this basic principle and indicates that, “Using Magnesium oil is the quickest and most convenient way to transmit magnesium chloride into the cells and tissues through the skin. 2-3 sprays under each armpit function as a highly effective deodorant, while at the same time transporting magnesium swiftly through the thin skin into the glands, lymph channels, and bloodstream, for distribution throughout the body.

Spray it onto the back of the hand or the top of the feet any time of day or night for continuous magnesium absorption. Daniel Reid continues saying, “For purposes of cellular detoxification and tissue purification, the most effective form of magnesium is magnesium chloride, which has a strong excretory effect on toxins and stagnant energies stuck in the tissues of the body, drawing them out through the pores of the skin. This is a powerful hydrotherapy that draws toxins from the tissues, replenishes the “vital fluid” of the cells with energized microwater, and restores cellular magnesium to optimum levels. It may be applied as a full-body immersion bath or as a simple footbath, with equally effective results.”

Soak the whole body or just the feet in this bath water for 20-30 minutes, at a temperature of about 108 degrees The most effective protocol for this therapy is to begin with a daily body or foot bath every day for the first 7 days, then continue with a maintenance program of 2-3 times a week for 6-8 weeks or longer. To the bath water one can add 1/4 cup of Bath Salts, 1 tablespoon or more of Magnesium Oil and even magnesium bath flakes, which are also sold. As with any healing process sensitive care must be taken especially with children as to dose levels, water temperature and magnesium concentrations. Reactions are rare but overdoing it is not a good idea.

In his book “Holy Water, Sacred Oil”, Dr. C. Norman Shealy has documented almost ninety health issues that are directly related to magnesium deficiency. Additionally, Dr. Shealy draws a strong correlation between magnesium levels and DHEA levels. He has also determined that when the body is presented with adequate levels of magnesium at the cellular level, the body will begin to naturally produce DHEA and also DHEA-S. The role of magnesium plays in the transmission of hormones (such as insulin, thyroid, estrogen, testosterone, DHEA, etc.), neurotransmitters (such as dopamine, catecholamines, serotonin, GABA, etc.), and minerals and mineral electrolytes is a strong one.

This research concludes that it is magnesium status that controls cell membrane potential and through this means controls uptake and release of many hormones, nutrients and neurotransmitters. Since DHEA is one of the primary bio-markers for aging, the long range effect of large doses of magnesium in a usable form is to significantly raise DHEA levels and thus produce true Age Reversal results. Dr. Shealy refers to DHEA as the Master Hormone and when produced at sufficient levels, will induce the production of all of the other hormones whose depletion can be associated with many symptoms of aging. Indeed, through the use of Magnesium Oil, women have reported complete abatement of menopausal symptoms and some have even returned to their menstrual cycle.

General uses for Magnesium Oil

  • Magnesium Oil massaged into arthritic joints will often give almost instant relief from pain
  • Magnesium Oil sprayed on sun damaged skin regularly will begin to rejuvenate from the inside out and after a few months will be significantly restored.
  • Magnesium Oil sprayed on wrinkled skin will eventually begin to smooth out the wrinkles
  • Magnesium Oil sprayed and massaged into graying hair each evening and left on overnight, will begin to restore natural hair color within weeks and stimulate the growth of hair and greatly improve hair texture.
  • Magnesium Oil massaged onto balding areas of the scalp will begin to induce the growth of new hair.
  • Magnesium Oil sprayed into the mouth several times daily will stimulate the medulla oblongata and develop enamel on the teeth.
  • Magnesium Oil massaged into fibromyalgia type pain will often quickly provide relief
  • Magnesium Oil mixed into a hot bath with some Prill water, will provide a very relaxing soak while delivering a huge amount of magnesium to the cells.
  • Magnesium Oil rubbed regularly onto age spots will often cause them to fade and virtually disappear.
  • Magnesium Oil mixed with a little frankincense and myrrh and regularly rubbed into scar tissue will cause that tissue to reform into normal tissue.
  • Magnesium Oil rubbed onto skin tags will cause them to eventually drop off.
  • Magnesium Oil used in a bath or sprayed on after a shower, will relieve stress.
  • Magnesium Oil may be used in a foot bath or even a hand bath if circumstances or condition do not permit soaking in a tub and the full benefits of a soak can still be experienced. In only 15 to 20 minutes, our magnesium deficient bodies will extract all of the available magnesium.

Conclusion

When you look at the fact that magnesium chloride is sold for as little as 100 dollars a gallon we can begin to appreciate why pharmaceutical companies, medical schools and doctors totally ignore magnesium in their medical protocols. The reason it is so inexpensive is that there is approximately 1 pound of magnesium in 100 gallons of sea water and there are numerous magnesium suppliers around the world extract magnesium from sea water. Magnesium is the 8th most abundant material on earth.

[1] J. I. Rodale in his book Magnesium, The Nutrient that could change your life. “There is, on the average, only one of these cells for each 150 of the red blood cells. These white corpuscles have a unique power. When the bloodstream is invaded by harmful bacteria or any other foreign matter, these white cells are somehow attracted to the source of the invasion, such as a wound, and go to work actually swallowing, and digesting the foreign matter and thus rendering it harmless. They do the same with any foreign bodies that infiltrate the bloodstream. They are the body’s first and most important defense against all types of infection. But to increase the number of such cells circulating in the bloodstream would be a very dangerous thing.

Leukemia, cancer of the blood, is marked by precisely such an increase. The destructive capacity of these cells is so great that their numbers must be kept at normal proportions for fear of the damage they might do our own systems if they got out of hand. Dr. Pierre Delbet claims that magnesium can do exactly this, strengthen the white cells without increasing their number. In a paper submitted in collaboration with Dr. Karalanopoulo to the French Academy of Science, September 6, 1915, titled Cytophylaxis, which means work done by the white cells or phagocytes in destroying invaders of the bloodstream. Delbet says, “A solution of magnesium chloride at 12.1 parts per 1,000 gave extraordinary results.

It increased the proportion of phagocytosis [killing microbes] by 75 per cent as compared with the solution of sodium chloride at 8 parts per 1,000 which itself gave 63 per cent more than the Locke-Ringer’s solution. The increase is based on the number of polynucleates [white cells] as well as the phagocytic [germ-destroying] power of each of them. “These experiments prove that a solution of desiccated chloride of magnesium at 12.1 parts per 1,000 has a special effect on the white corpuscles, which is not the case with either physiological serum [a solution of chloride of sodium at seven parts per 1,000] or seawater, or the solution of Locke-Ringer which was considered best for maintaining the activity of cells. “Consequently, a solution of chloride of magnesium was better than all the solutions previously used in the washing and dressing of wounds.”

[2] In another communication to the French Academy of Medicine (September 7, 1915), Dr. Delbet describes researches that proved the effectiveness of magnesium within the body. He injected 150 cc. of a solution of magnesium chloride into the vein of a dog, taking a blood sample before the injection and a second one 35 minutes afterward. Then the white corpuscles were presented with microbes from the same culture to see their effect on or power to destroy them. Five hundred white cells in the first sample destroyed 245 microbes. Five hundred white cells from the second destroyed 681. This increase in microbe-killing under the influence of magnesium chloride was 180 percent over the other solutions. More experiments were performed; in one there was an increase to 129 percent, in another, 333 percent.

[3] Back in 1915, a French surgeon, Prof. Pierre Delbet,MD, was looking for a solution to cleanse wounds, because he had found out that the traditional antiseptic solutions actually mortified tissues and facilitated the infection instead of preventing it. He tested several mineral solutions and discovered that a Magnesium Chloride solution was not only harmless for tissues, but it had also a great effect over leucocytic activity and phagocytosis; so it was perfect for external wounds treatment. Prof. Delbet wrote two books, “Politique Preventive du Cancer” (1944) and “LAgriculture et la Sant” (1945), in which he stated his ideas about cancer prevention and a better living. The first is a well documented report of all his studies on Magnesium Chloride.

[4] Kaya, Mehmet et al. Magnesium sulfate attenuates increased blood-brain barrier permeability during insulin-induced hypoglycemia in rats. Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol./Rev. Can. Physiol. Pharmacol. 79(9): 793-798 (2001)

[5] USF/VA neuroscientist Paula Bickford, PhD, and colleagues at the University of South Florida College of Medicine found that rats fed diets preventatively enriched with blueberries, spinach or an algae known as spirulina experienced less brain cell loss and improved recovery of movement following a stroke. The study builds upon previous USF/VA research showing that diets enriched with blueberries, spinach or spirulina reversed normal age-related declines in memory and learning in old rats. “I was amazed at the extent of neuro protection these antioxidant-rich diets provided,” said Dr. Bickford of the USF Center for Aging and Brain Repair and the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital. “The size of the stroke was 50 to 75 percent less in rats treated with diets supplemented with blueberries, spinach or spirulina before the stroke.” The size of the stroke in the rats fed blueberry or spinach supplements was half that seen in the brains of untreated rats. Rats fed spirulina-enriched diets had stroke lesions 75 percent smaller than their untreated counterparts.

[6] Magnesium affects carbohydrate metabolism by influencing the release and activity of insulin, the hormone that controls blood sugar levels, by influencing the resistance and sensitivity to insulin, and low levels of magnesium may be a predictor of diabetes. . Magnesium for diabetics is critical.[6] In 1996 a study showed that 25% of diabetics have hypomagnesemia[6] and this is a gross underestimate. A separate Gallup survey (in 1995) of 500 adults with diabetes reported that 83 percent of those with diabetes are consuming insufficient magnesium from food, with many by significant margins.[6] One group has recently suggested that the effects of reduced glutathione on glucose metabolism may be mediated, at least in part, by intracellular magnesium levels.[6]

Dr. Dean indicates that magnesium deficiency may be an independent predictor of diabetes and that diabetics both need more magnesium & lose more magnesium than most people. Magnesium is necessary for the production, function & transport of insulin. Magnesium deficiency is associated with insulin resistance and increased platelet reactivity. According to Dr. Jerry L. Nadler, “The link between diabetes mellitus and magnesium deficiency is well known. A growing body of evidence suggests that magnesium plays a pivotal role in reducing cardiovascular risks and may be involved in the pathogenesis of diabetes itself.

While the benefits of oral magnesium supplementation on glycemic control have yet to be demonstrated in patients, magnesium supplementation has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity.[6] Based on current knowledge, clinicians have good reason to believe that magnesium repletion may play a role in delaying type 2 diabetes onset and potentially in warding off its devastating complications-cardiovascular disease, retinopathy, and nephropathy.” The mechanism of hypomagnesemia in diabetic patients still remains unsolved but there is enough evidence to suggest that Mg levels drop in the course of recovery from ketoacidosis, during insulin therapy[6] or with severe retinopathy[6] or proteinuria.[6] Diabetic patients, especially those with poor glucose control, develop hypomagnesemia from a glucose-induced osmotic diuresis.

[8]http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/magnesium.asp#en4#en4

[9] Magnesium Deficiency Questionnaire

Circle each yes answer which is given a numerical value. When you finish, total your score.

-With 30-50, you likely have low magnesium.

-Over 50 & you most certainly have low magnesium.

Yes Question…

  • 2 Under excessive emotional stress
  • 3 Irritable, or easily provoked to anger
  • 2 Restless, or hyperactive
  • 4 Easily startled by sounds or lights
  • 2 Difficulty sleeping
  • 3 Chronic headaches or migraines
  • 2 Convulsions
  • 3 Fine tremor or shakiness in your hands
  • 3 Fine, barely noticeable muscle twitching around your eyes, facial muscles, or other muscles of your body
  • 3 Muscle cramps
  • 3 Muscle spasms in hands or feet
  • 4 Gag or choke from spasms in your esophagus(food tube)
  • 3 Have asthma or wheezing
  • 2 Suffer from emphysema, chronic bronchitis, or shortness breath
  • 5 Have osteoporosis
  • 3 Have you ever had a kidney stone
  • 2 Suffer from chronic kidney disease
  • 4 Have diabetes
  • 3 Have an overactive thyroid, or parathyroid gland
  • 3 Have high blood pressure
  • 4 Have mitral valve prolapse (“floppy heart valve”)
  • 3 Have very fast heart beats, irregular heart beats, or arrhythmia
  • 3 Take Digitalis (Digoxin)
  • 5 Take any kind of diuretic
  • 5 Recent radiation therapy or exposure
  • 4 Have more than 7 alcohol drinks weekly
  • 3 Have you ever had a drinking problem?
  • 2 Have more than 3 servings of caffeine daily
  • 2 Eat sugar containing food daily
  • 2 Crave carbohydrates &/or chocolate
  • 2 Crave salt
  • 2 Eat a high processed food/ junk food diet
  • 2 Eat a diet low in green, leafy vegetables, seeds, & fresh fruit
  • 2 Eat a low protein diet
  • 2 Pass undigested food or fat in your stools
  • 3 Suffer from chronic intestinal disease, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s, irritable bowel syndrome
  • 3 Frequent diarrhea or constipation
  • 3 Suffer from PMS or menstrual cramps
  • 2 Pregnant or recently pregnant
  • 4 In previous pregnancy had high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia
  • 2 Chronic fatigue
  • 2 Muscle weakness
  • 2 Cold hands &/or feet
  • 2 Numbness in face hands or feet
  • 2 Persistent tingling in body
  • 2 Chronic lack of interest indifference or apathy
  • 2 Poor memory
  • 2 Loss of concentration
  • 3 Anxiety
  • 2 Chronic depression for no apparent reason
  • 2 Feelings of disorientation as to time or place
  • 2 Feel your personality is stiff or mechanical
  • 2 Hallucinations
  • 2 Feel that people are trying to harm or persecute you
  • 2 Face pale puffy or lacking in color
  • 2 Loss of considerable sexual energy or vitality
  • 2 Been told by your Dr that your blood calcium is low
  • 3 Been told by your Dr that your blood potassium is low
  • 2 Take Calcium supplements regularly without magnesium
  • 2 Take iron or zinc supplements regularly without magnesium
  • 2 Know chronic exposure to fluorides
  • 3 Frequently use antibiotics steroids oral contraceptives Indomethacin Cisplatin Amphotericin B Cholestyramine synthetic estrogens

< – TOTAL …
Subtract 15 from your score if you daily supplement at least 600 mg of magnesium

[11]http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/magnesium.asp#en9#en9

[12] RODALE J. I. TAUB HARALD J. MAGNESIUM THE NUTRIENT THAT COULD CHANGE YOUR LIFE. PYRAMID BOOKS. NEW YORK

[13] Magnesium coordinates the activity of the heart muscle as well as the functioning of the nerves that initiate the heartbeat. It also helps keep coronary arteries from spasming an action that can cause the intense chest pain known as angina. The most alarming trend in the past century has been the sharp increase in sudden deaths from ischemic heart disease (IHD) particularly in middle-aged men and the increasing number of younger men who suddenly develop myocardial infarctions cardiac arrhythmias or arrests. Dr. Mildred Seelig of New York University Medical Center wrote twenty-five years ago in his book Magnesium Deficiency in the Pathogenesis of Disease that magnesium deficiency was probably the common etiologic factor in the increased incidence of sudden infant deaths infantile myocardial infarction and arteriosclerosis and the same diseases that becomes manifest later in life. It is also suggested that magnesium deficiency might also cause or predispose to some skeletal and renal diseases all of which can coexist.

[14] According to Dr. Seelig “”In Finland which has a very high death rate from IHD there is a clear relationship with heart disease and the amount of magnesium in the soil (Karppanen and Neuvonen 1973). In eastern and in northern Finland where the soil content is about a third of that found in southwestern Finland (Karppanen et al. 1978) the mortality from ischemic heart disease is twice as high as is that in the southwest. Ho and Khun (1976/1980) surveyed factors that might be contributory both to the rising incidence of cardiovascular disease in Europe and the falling levels of magnesium both in the soil and in the food supply. They commented that in Finland which has the highest cardiovascular death rate in Europe the dietary supply of magnesium had decreased by 1963 to a third of the intake common in 1911 (H. Katz 1973). In contrast in Japan with its low cardiac death rate the daily magnesium intake was cited as 560 mg (Holtmeier 1969a 1973).”” Recent evidence suggests that vitamin E enhances glutathione levels and may play a protective role in magnesium deficiency-induced cardiac lesions.[14]

[15] Warnings and counter indications: There are however some particular side effects that should be noted. Risk of magnesium toxicity increases with kidney failure when the kidney loses the ability to remove excess magnesium.[15] Individuals with impaired kidney function are at higher risk for adverse effects from magnesium supplementation.[15] Magnesium supplementation should be avoided with severe kidney problems (severe renal insufficiency).[15] Magnesium need not be “”avoided”” in general renal deficiency but certainly cautions must be taken. The use any type of magnesium supplementation is best undertaken under supervision of your primary health care worker or doctor if you have any doubts for dosage or kidney vulnerabilities.

[16] Diffusion is the mechanism by which components of a mixture are transported around the mixture by means of random molecular (Brownian) motion (cf. permeation: the ability of a diffusant to pass through a body – dependent on both the diffusion coefficient D and the solubility coefficient S ie permeability coefficient P = D.S). Flynn et al. cite Berthalot as postulating at the beginning of the nineteenth century that the flow of mass by diffusion (ie the flux) across a plane was proportional to the concentration gradient of the diffusant across that plane.http://www.initium.demon.co.uk/fick.htm

Author: Dr. Mark Sircus, Ac., OMD, DM