The question that I’m asked by just about everyone: so form of Magnesium is good for what conditions… This is just a working list based on my review and recollection of many, many articles. It is by no means definitive and will be subject to further revision… Good all around Mg: Malate, Glycinate, Chloride & Epsom Salts. This would also include ReMag & other Mg water drops, as well as the increasingly popular MgMSM… Brain: most forms will cross BBB, but Orotate is especially good for Multiple Sclerosis based on Hans Nieper, MD’s research Heart: Malate, Taurate Stomach: Milk of Magnesia is great for upset stomachs, and works far better than the popular ant-acids or Rx meds, most of whom have “Black Box” warnings re severe Magnesium loss… hmmmm. Intestine: Citrate & Lactate have great affinity for the bowel, but you can get too much of a good thing… Joints: again, general Mg works great, but MgCl oil & MgMSM are fantastic for spot issues, as well as overall Mg restoring…
That’s just a start & I invite others to share their uses & successes…
Cheers!
As anyone who has read my regular posts online, you have learned that I am one of few wellness guys who isn’t ga-ga over Vitamin-D. It’s not the 1st time that I’ve cut against the grain in my career, but I want to offer an explanation that will hopefully explain my counter-cultural rationale…
In my humble opinion, Vit-D is the most misunderstood, but over-recommended supplement on the Planet. What is worth noting is that it is, in fact, a Hormone — not a Vitamin, and it is also the FIRST hormone to exist on Planet Earth. Hmmmm. So it’s been around for hundreds of millions of years, we as a species have co-existed with this Hormone for at least 6 million years, and NOW, all of a sudden in the last decade, it has become a crisis of Biblical proportions. Forgive me, but I’m not buying it. Why? Because very few practitioners have taken the time to fully understand exactly HOW this Hormone works or is metabolized in the Human Body.
OK, so let me start with a riddle… We all know that there is a layer of Cholesterol under our skin that when activated by the Sun gets converted into Hormone-D… right? Well, here’s the riddle: How is it that as Americans we have the HIGHEST levels of Cholesterol, and at the same time also have the LOWEST levels of Vit-D on this Planet?!?… Doesn’t make sense, does it? Actually it makes perfect sense, let me explain… (And no, it doesn’t have anything to do with exposure to Sun.)
Let’s go back to that conversion of Cholesterol into Hormone-D’s active form, Calcitriol… there are actually THREE metabolic transactions (under the Skin, in the Liver and in the Kidney) that convert that Cholecalciferol (pre-Hormone-D form) >> Calcidiol (Storage form, aka 25[OH]) >> Calcitriol (Active form, aka 1,25[OH]2). Now here’s where it gets fascinating… ALL of those transactions can ONLY happen when Magnesium is present in proper amounts! Huh? More hmmmm… You mean the Vit-D blood test (aka 25[OH] blood test) is actually a perfect blood test for Mg status? Yup! That’s EXACTLY what I’m saying… And it’s showing that almost everyone in America is woefully short on Maggie!
Given that Vit-D is a Hormone, it’s worth noting that ALL Hormones have a Target Cell and a Target Mission. Vit-D’s Target Cells are the Intestines, and its Target Mission is to have the Intestines ABSORB MORE CALCIUM AND PUT IT INTO THE BLOOD STREAM, AT THE EXPENSE OF MAGNESIUM ABSORPTION… So here’s what that famous blood test is ACTUALLY telling us: the blood test is measuring STORAGE Vit-D (Calcidiol) and it seems that everyone in America is now LOW… Why? Because the body in its innate wisdom KNOWS that there is TOO MUCH CALCIUM in the blood, so it is keeping the Storage Vit-D level low for two reasons: 1) there’s too much Calcium already in the blood; and 2) there’s not enough Magnesium to flip the Storage-D into Active-D. They are flip-sides of the same coin… And how do I know this empirically? I’ve witnessed very same dynamic on hundreds and hundreds of Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis tests on clients.
Right about now, you’re likely getting a headache… forgive me for that. Sometimes, the truth hurts. So when I here about all the wondrous things that “Vit-D” does, I immediately get suspicious. High doses of Vit-D, again — a very strong Hormone, puts significant demands on the Magnesium stores of our body to convert it to its Active status. And like any strong Hormone, it does have an impact, but there is also a heavy price to pay for it. Mildred S. Seelig, MD, one of the world’s greatest authorities on Magnesium, regarded excess Vit-D supplementation as a noted DRAIN on Mg status. And far too many “studies” on Vit-D measure Storage Vit-D levels (Calcidiol), and then in the course of those same “studies,” administer Active Vit-D as a treatment. In the Hospital setting, this is called “clinical science,” at a Carnival it is called “Bait & Switch…”
So what to do, please step back and re-read this post a couple of times until it begins to make more sense to you. What I can add is that there is a very small, growing and stubborn group of health-oriented practitioners that see this as the truth of Vit-D. In fact, every one of the Mg researchers that I’ve had the pleasure of talking with (~a dozen, so far…) does NOT supplement with Vit-D! Why? Because they know the metabolic truth of this very strong chemical, especially inside a Mg deficient body. (Just for the record, there are precious few in America who are NOT in a deficit position as it relates to their Mg status.)
Final comments, what to do? Get more sunshine! Up your Mg supplementation! And should you live near the North Pole or the Upper Midwest), do what your Scandinavian Ancestors did for thousands of years: eat foods that are infused with not just Magnesium, but also Vit-A, and Vit-K which are essential co-factors for the proper metabolism of Vit-D — and how many practitioners have commented on that critical aspect of Vit-D metabolism?!? Aside from Chris Masterjohn, PhD, and Carolyn Dean, MD, ND, the chorus is very, very thin. CAVEAT EATOR!
So, please eat grass-fed Liver, free-range eggs, wild-caught deep-sea fish. These are rich sources of the key nutrients noted above. The last thing I would be putting in my body, or the bodies of my clients, is a synthetically derived “Vitamin” that is made from sheep-skin oil (Lanolin) that is exposed to UV-B light in a factory. It doesn’t sound too natural to me, so I prefer the form that has worked flawlessly on this Planet for thousands of years, and seems to work on most continents outside of North America…
No doubt, this essay will chaff some the wrong way. I regret that, but know that my intent is not to create “Stress!”, but to further enlighten folks to the metabolic truth of how their bodies really work. I welcome any and all comments, and look forward to a greater understanding about this critically important topic, particularly as it relates to our shared commitment to “take Mo’ Maggie!”
A votre sante!
WHY YOU MUST KNOW YOUR BODY’S MAGNESIUM STATUS AND HOW YOU CAN EASILY DO SO
by Morley M. Robbins aka “Magnesium Man”
Before beginning a road trip in your car, would you set out without first checking to see if you had enough gas in your tank to get you to your destination? Of course not!
Unfortunately, when it comes to our health, the vast majority of people, including most doctors and other health practitioners, fail to consider how much “gas” (energy) is in their patients’ “tank” (cells, tissues and organs, most especially the heart!).
As I explained in the first installment of this Magnesium Primer, Maggie is essential for the production of ATP, your body’s main source of energy, or fuel.
Simply put:
Lack of energy = lack of ATP… Lack of ATP = lack of Maggie!
Sadly, this formula applies to nearly all people today because of how widespread and chronically pervasive Magnesium deficiencies are. And the fact that the medical profession continues to ignore the direct link between Mg deficiency and chronic fatigue and disease is one of the primary reasons why our nation is in the midst of such a dire health crisis. By failing to check their patients’ Magnesium status, they deprive patients of knowing whether they have the fuel they need to meet all of their body’s energy requirements as they continue their journey through life.
Fortunately, you don’t have to rely on your doctor to determine if you need to add more Maggie to your daily life. Here are a few tips and methods you can use to find out.
Honest Self-Evaluation
Answer the following questions honestly.
Do you frequently experience stress?
Do you have trouble sleeping?
Do your frequently find that you are tired?
Do you regularly eat sweets and/or consume simple (white) carbs (breads, pasta, white rice, etc)?
Do you daily consume coffee, caffeinated teas or other caffeine drinks?
Do you drink alcoholic beverages?
Do you take calcium supplements either without Maggie or with Maggie in a less than 1:1 ratio?
Do you use prescription drugs, diuretics or birth control pills?
Do you suffer from diabetes?
Are you 40 or older?
Have you recently been hospitalized or have you had surgery?
If you answered ‘Yes’ to any of the above questions, you need more Magnesium. And the more ‘Yes’ answers you gave, the more Maggie you need.
Common Indications of Magnesium Deficiency
Another easy and effective way to determine if you need more Maggie is to pay attention to how you feel, as well as to any symptoms you may be experiencing.
What follows is a checklist of some of the most common symptoms related to Magnesium deficiency:
Anxiety
Anorexia
“Brain fog” or impaired memory or cognitive function
Changes in, or loss of, appetite
Chest pains
Difficulties breathing
Difficulty falling or staying asleep
Eye twitching or involuntary eye movements
Facial tics
Feelings of hyperactivity
Frequent headaches, especially cluster headaches and migraine
Gastrointestinal problems
High blood pressure (hypertension)
Irregular or rapid heartbeat
Lethargy
Muscle cramps or spasms
Muscle weakness
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
Again, if you regularly experience any of the above symptoms, you need more Maggie.
While Magnesium supplementation alone may not always be enough to completely resolve your symptoms, oftentimes simply increasing your daily intake of Maggie is all that is necessary to provide longstanding relief.
Testing For Magnesium Deficiencies
There are two tests that I recommend for guiding you on your Magnesium status: the Mag RBC blood test and a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA). These are done in conjunction with a full review of your full mineral review with other measures.
Mag RBC Blood Test:
The Mag RBC test is a simple and inexpensive blood test that you can order for yourself. It’s a very efficient and cost-effective way to get a reading on your current Magnesium status.
This Mag RBC Test is relatively inexpensive in most countries, and when ordering your own tests, you may even have results emailed to you within 72 hours.
The typical reference range for this form of Maggie is between 4.2 – 6.8 mg/dL. The labs often adjust this even lower too! Please note, other countries may receive their results in different units.
In my experience, any score below 6.0 mg/dL is a signal of Magnesium deficiency.
For those in countries that offer it, you can order the Mag RBC Test from specific labs, or potentially ask your practitioner or GP to order it via your health care options.
Remember, this is just one part of our “full monty” blood test suggestions which help you gain insight into your situation.
Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA):
Although it is hardly known, let alone employed, by most physicians today, a hair tissue mineral analysis test is one of the most useful screening tests, not only for determining Magnesium status, but for testing your overall mineral status, as well as the way in which you metabolize (oxidize) the foods you cnsume. Knowing both your mineral status and your metabolic type and how to maximize your diet and nutritional supplementation program to your specific biochemical and metabolic needs can make a dramatic difference inyour overall health and wellbeing. That information is precisely what the HTMA test provides. In addition, the HTMA also is an accurate measure of how stress may be impacting your health, and of the level of toxic metals in your body.
Here are some of the advantages of the HTMA over blood tests:
First, it is painless, and involves simply cutting the first inch and one-half of growth of hair closest to the scalp at the nape of your neck. This hair sample is then sent to a lab without any special handling requirements.
Second, clinical results have shown that HTMA samples can give a good indication of your body’s overall mineral status – at a tissue level — and can help us flag how your body manages stress from metal accumulation and overall mineral balance dysregulation you may have.
Third, the HTMA reveals your body’s intracellular activity, which cannot be seen through most other tests. This provides a blueprint of the biochemistry that is occurring inside your body during the period of hair growth and development.
Other advantages of the HTMA compared to blood and other diagnostic tests include:
It can detect toxicity long after exposure. Thirty to 40 days following an acute exposure, for example, elevated blood levels of lead may be undetectable. This is due to the body removing the lead from the blood as a protective measure and depositing the metal into such tissues as the liver, bones, teeth and hair.
Nutrient loss from the body can become so advanced that severe health conditions can develop without any appreciable changes in those same nutrient levels being detected in blood tests. HTMA reveals such imbalances even when blood tests can’t.
Other symptoms of nutrient deficiencies and imbalances can be present long before they can be detected in blood, whereas HTMA can accurately detect them long before they manifest as health problems.
(By the way, the above benefits of HTMA are among the reasons why hair is used as one of the tissues of choice by the Environmental Protection Agency in determining toxic metal exposure). I highly recommend that you consider ordering your own HTMA, the full monty blood tests and working with a trained RCP Consultant to get a better picture of your overall health status.
You may also want to book a consult with one our of consultants who will be able to walk you through your results and help you to navigate these and find solutions to health concerns, you can find a consultant here: https://therootcauseprotocol.com/rcpc-directory/
Conclusion—Maggie As Teacher
Now that you better understand why it is so important to know your own Magnesium status, I want to conclude this article by telling you a story about a Jesuit priest named Benno-Jose Schorr. For years, Fr. Schorr was, in his own words, “a virtual cripple,” due to what he was told was incurable calcification of his lower spine. For more than a decade, his condition worsened and his health declined. Then he discovered the power of Maggie after reading a book about Magnesium written by another Jesuit priest whose mother had suffered from a similar condition as Fr. Schorr’s and was completely cured by Maggie.
“From that day on,” Fr. Schorr wrote, “I have taken every day a dose of this [Magnesium] salt solution…After 20 days I woke up without pain, although I was laying fully stretched!… After 30 days I thought I dreamt: suddenly I could walk around WITHOUT ANY PAIN! I started again to have a walk…3 months later I felt completely flexible.”
Based on his experience with Magnesium, Fr. Schorr shared Maggie with others and witnessed how it worked to relieve many other symptoms, including an incidence of skin cancer. Of Maggie he wrote, “Of the 18 essential minerals, Magnesium is, by far, the most important– it is like the Teacher in the Classroom. If one pupil or the other is missing, no problem, but when the Teacher is missing, the disorder is perfect [meaning able to persist unchecked]!”
The moral of the story, of course, is to keep the Teacher in your body’s classroom! Have more Maggie! (…and adrenal cocktails to support your important electrolytes that work with mag!)
Is mag deficiency a GERD and acid reflux issue? I’m assuming it is, but would love to hear thoughts. Thanks!
Here was my response:
First of all, it’s not an “acid” reflux issue — it’s an alkaline wash. A body under “Stress!” can not produce HCl acid. Why? Because under stress we lose Zinc, B-Vitamins & Mg — all needed to make stomach acid. And this acid is also critical to activating all the digestive enzymes in the small intestine which are dependent on Mg for creation.
Also, the Pyloric Valve tightens under “Stress!” due to a lack of Mg. Modern Rx meds for this are very destructive & have Black Box warnings about how they DEPLETE THE BODY OF Mg.
Finally, our grandparents & great-grandparents used a product called Milk of Magnesia which SOLVED this occasional issue by providing added Mg to a stressed out tummy… Hope that helps.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions you have about magnesium. I’ve never met a question I didn’t like!
MORE MAGNESIUM DRAINS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT!
Last time, I shared with you how stress, fluoride and pharmaceutical drugs can rob you of the Magnesium your body needs to stay healthy. Here are some additional Magnesium Robbers that you need to know about and protect yourself against.
Poor Diet
We all know that the standard American Diet, quite rightly known as SAD, is a major contributing factor to our nation’s ever-increasing health care crisis. Such a high fat/high sugar diet, which consists of processed, “junk” and so-called “comfort” foods, simple carbohydrates, sugar and artificial sweeteners, and other unhealthy food items is not only greatly deficient in vital nutrients, especially Magnesium, but also forces your body to use up its nutrient stores—especially Maggie!—in an effort to cope with the many negative impacts such foods have on your health.
Hopefully you have already moved beyond eating the SAD way to a more healthy diet. If you haven’t, please do. Although, as I discussed in Part 1 of this primer, it is virtually impossible to obtain all of the Magnesium you need from diet alone, it’s still important to emphasize a variety of
Magnesium-rich foods in your daily meals, including plenty of green foods, Magnesium-rich whole grains such as wild and brown rice, buckwheat (it’s not a grain…), millet, and quinoa, grass-fed organ meats, along with the other “Mg-rich foods” you can find here. This simple dietary approach can make a big difference in increasing your body’s Magnesium stores.
Beverages That Rob Maggie
Various common beverages can also deplete Magnesium. Among the biggest “Beverage Bandits” are soda due to phosphoric acid, and commercial sports drinks due to their high fructose corn syrup content and other additives. These should be avoided altogether. Alcohol, coffee and other caffeinated drinks also affect Magnesium stores because of their diuretic effects. (As you’ll recall from my last article, diuretic drugs also rob Magnesium stores.)
In addition, alcohol interferes with the ability of Magnesium to be absorbed in the gastrointestinal track and causes Magnesium loss in the kidneys, where Maggie helps to protect overall kidney function and prevent calcification that leads to kidney stones. While studies show that there are health benefits to drinking beer, wine, and coffee, the key is to do so in moderation (no more than one or two glasses of beer or wine or two to three cups of coffee per day), and when you do consume such drinks, be sure to increase your intake of Maggie through daily supplementation.
Lack of Healthy Fats
Contrary to popular belief, to be healthy, your body needs a regular supply of healthy fats, including animal fats. Without sufficient levels of healthy animal fats from meats and fish, your body will most likely lack enough vitamin A, an essential vitamin that plays many important roles in the body and which is necessary for the efficient uptake and use of minerals, especially Magnesium.
Calcium and Vitamin D
Of all the Mineral Robbers, these two most often cause shock when I tell people about their impact on Magnesium. While it is certainly true that both calcium and vitamin D (which is actually a hormone) are essential for optimal health, how you obtain them, and how much you take in makes a big difference!
For years doctors and nutritionists alike emphasized calcium at the expense of Magnesium, recommending that calcium intake be twice as much as that of Mg (a 2:1 ratio). Now we know better. The ideal ratio between calcium and Maggie should be 1:1, just as it is in most vegetables, seeds and nuts, these food groups that are rich in both minerals. Additionally, unlike Maggie, we can obtain all of our calcium needs solely through our diet. What throws us off is the addition of calcium supplements. Calcium supplementation sends the body’s calcium stores out of balance, leading to excessive levels that prevent the proper uptake and utilization of Maggie. Therefore, it’s not surprising—at least not to me—that calcium supplementation is now being shown by research to cause calcification in the body, including in the arteries. So here’s my rule of thumb:
Get your calcium through your diet, and get Maggie through your diet and through adequate daily supplementation!
Now for vitamin D. In recent years there has been an explosion of news stories touting its many benefits. As a result, today many doctors are recommending their patients supplement with synthetic forms of vitamin D at daily dosages as high as 5,000 IU, or even higher. More and more doctors also now routinely screen their patients vitamin D levels (if only they also screened their patients for Magnesium with a Red Blood Cell test!).
Here are a few facts you need to understand about vitamin D. First, our bodies are designed to produce all of the vitamin D we need so long as we get adequate daily exposure to sunlight. Exposure to the sun each day for as little as 15-20 minutes is all that is necessary. Unfortunately, our modern lifestyle prevents most of us from spending enough time in the sun each day. And obviously this is not something that can easily be done during winter months if you live in cold climates.
For this reason, for many years, long before synthetic vitamin D became a hot topic in the media, many nutritionally-oriented doctors advised their patients to consider taking a tablespoon of cod liver oil each day, especially when they were sick. Cod liver oil is a rich source of food-based vitamin D, and the vitamin D it provides works in the body similarly to how vitamin D produced by sunlight exposure does. (Natural sunlight exposure is still the best way to ensure optimal vitamin D levels, however.)
Given the media-coverage of vitamin D today, synthetic vitamin D supplements are now flying off the shelves of health food stores. But synthetic vitamin D is not the same as food-based D derived from cod liver oil, and certainly not the same as the D that is produced by the sun. As a result, research is now finding that excessive intake of vitamin D levels can also cause calcification in the body, and possibly contribute to the formation of kidney stones. Just as importantly, too much vitamin D supplementation interferes with the uptake of Maggie in the body, just as calcium supplements do.
For this reason, physicians who understand the value of Magnesium and the potential risks of too much vitamin D supplements, now recommend supplementing with no more than 1000 IU of vitamin D each day if you cannot get enough sunlight exposure each day. (I will be covering in more depth both calcium and vitamin D and the ways they compete with Maggie in future articles.)
Diarrhea and Other Gastrointestinal Problems
Chronic diarrhea and other gastrointestinal complaints, such as vomiting, poor absorption, over-reliance on laxatives, and inflammatory bowel disease and, especially, celiac disease, can cause a significant loss of all minerals, including Magnesium, as well as electrolytes and other nutrients. Ironically, very often such conditions are due, at least in part, with Magnesium deficiencies. That’s because lack of Maggie can result in “leaky gut syndrome,” a condition whereby unhealthy bacteria and waste matter that belongs in the intestines until the body can eliminate it passes through the GI tract into the bloodstream, to cause a variety of health problems.
Magnesium helps to prevent and reverse leaky gut syndrome by reducing the permeability of the intestinal walls so that the contents of the GI tract stay where they belong. If you suffer from chronic GI problems, be sure to test your Mag RBC levels, be sure to increase your intake of Maggie, and see your doctor. (Note: Various other non-GI conditions can also drain your body of Maggie, including diabetes, obesity, and thyroid disorders.)
Sweating
If you regularly engage is exercise or other physical activities you are losing Mg, along with lots of other minerals through your sweat. That’s because sweat actually contains Maggie and other electrolyte minerals, Sodium and Potassium.
If you are a basketball fan, you may remember game 4 of the 2012 NBA Finals when, near the end of the game, LeBron James collapsed to the floor and had to be taken out of the game. At first, it was feared that he had injured himself, but it turned out he was suffering from severe leg cramps. Magnesium loss is what causes leg (as well as all other types of severe muscle) cramps.
LeBron was lucky, and was able to return to the court before the game ended. Not so lucky are the numbers of runners who drop dead every year while engaged in their favorite running sports. Generally, their cause of death is due to severe mineral depletion, especially of Maggie, which, over time, causes cardiac cell death and ultimately, sudden heart attack.
So always remember to have more Maggie during times of any sort of physical activity. And when you’re finished, instead of reaching for a commercial sports drink, do what I do. Add some mineral drops to pure, filtered, non-fluoridated water and drink up!
Okay, now you know all of the major factors that can rob you of Maggie. Now it’s up to you to make sure you take more Maggie each and every day so that you can protect yourself against all of them and give your body all of the Magnesium it needs to stay healthy.
Next time I will explain why it’s vitally important for you to monitor your body’s Magnesium status and how you can most effectively do so. (Hint: there are a variety of tests to use!)
