It is my fervent “D”ream that this be my LAST blog on the relentless “D”ebate on Hormone-D…
“Hope springs eternal!,” as my consultant mentor, Jerry McManis, used to say…
As a teaser, let me borrow the Introduction from a wonderfully insightful, contemporary (2013) and brief (2 pgs), article by Armin Zittermann on this vital issue:
“Life depends on an energy-consuming complex interplay of organic and inorganic substances to maintain biological structures. Adequate energy and nutrient supply is a prerequisite to guarantee normal functioning of metabolic pathways and thus a healthy life. To become metabolically active, several nutrients require other essential nutrients as cofactors (emphasis added). For example, copper is required for the oxidation of absorbed Fe2+ to [become] Fe3+, which is then bound to transferrin; and riboflavin (vitamin B2) and pyridoxine (vitamin B6) are required to produce niacin (vitamin B3) from dietary tryptophan. Therefore, some nutrition-related illnesses, such as anemia and pellegra, can be caused by multiple nutrient deficits [1,2]. Magnesium (Mg) is a cofactor that is required for the binding of vitamin-D to its transport protein. Moreover, conversion of vitamin-D by hepatic 25-hydroxylation and renal 1a-hydroxylation into the active, hormonal form 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin-D (1,25(OH)2D) is Mg dependent [3,4]. (emphasis added, again!) “
Be still my heart…  Did Dr. Zittermann really just say that vitamin-D is dependent on Maggie?… Indeed he did, and that’s what this entire blog is ALL about.
I should point out that the stimulus for this blog is the result of a recent post on the MAG FB Group by one of the more research-savvy MAG-pies re an article entitled “Inflammation and Vitamin-D: the infection connection.”  (click ‘download PDF’ for the full text). While I don’t entirely “buy” this contemporary theory that this “epidemic” of Vitamin-D deficiency is the result of bacterial infections (Pasteur’s grip on practitioner’s sanity is relentless despite his death 120 years ago…), but the important thing is that it jarred me to revisit some other research that I’d known about, but hadn’t fully connected. In particular, a key phrase in the conclusion from Mangin et al’s 2014 article is quite relevant: ” Some authorities now believe that low 25(OH)D is a consequence of chronic inflammation rather than the cause.”
To the unwashed heathen, that is a realization HUGE !… Particularly when you come to realize that the metabolic CAUSE of ALL Inflammation is Mg deficiency…
Say what?…
Let me introduce you to another one of my many Maggie Heroes: William B. Weglicki, MD, FACC. He’s a Harvard-trained Cardiologist who’s been stirring the “Inflammation Pot” for the past 40 years and proving that the intracellular precursor to Inflammation is a significant lack of Magnesium to run the cellular machinery. His initial blockbuster series of articles to that effect were in 1992, and he’s not let up his focus nor his passion to prove this mineral point. And unlike many high brow researchers, he’s most accessible and a delight to chat with — which I’ve had the pleasure of on numerous occasions…
In any event, an important article that is quite relevant to this topic was his recent (2010) article entitled “The Role of Magnesium Deficiency in Cardiovascular and Intestinal Inflammation.”  If anyone’s looking for a powerhouse article to PROVE to their MD (Mineral Denialist) that Maggie Matters — this would be an excellent one! The real significance of his Lab’s research is that Mg deficiency triggers the release of Substance P (which stands for “Production!”) and SP then signals the entire Inflammatory Cascade of TNFa, IL-1, IL-6 and the subsequent series of cytokines and chemokines involved in the Inflammatory process. In a phrase, this is a BIG deal, but it’s a MOST disruptive model that violates the allopathic code that “disease comes from outside,” as noted in the earlier article. Dr. Weglicki has proven beyond a shadow of doubt that “Stress!” >> Mg Loss >> Inflammatory Cascade.
That is a gross over-simplication of his decades of research, but the critical point for this blog is that Mg deficiency is a foundational event for Inflammation, thus shedding different light on the Mangin, et al study noted above.
And now we’re ready for the culmination of the recent research. Xinqing Deng, MD and his colleagues at Vanderbilt & Harvard have recently published an important article in BioMedCentral-Medicine: “Magnesium, Vitamin-D status and Mortality: results from the US NHANES 2001 to 2006 and NHANES III.”   This is a study that warrants careful review and reflection.
Their conclusion is key to our objective for better understanding the metabolic origin of Vitamin-D deficiency: “Our preliminary findings indicate it is possible that Magnesium intake alone or its interaction with vitamin-D intake may contribute to vitamin-D status.”
The key figure in this article says it all:
(Regrettably, I can’t get it to load… it’s on pg 2, and I’ll add it later…)
The important point is that it reinforces and validates EXACTLY what Dr. Zittermann was saying earlier re the importance of nutrient cofactors dictating the status of another nutrient.
And thus the purpose and intent of the title for this capstone blog: Vitamin-D deficiency IS a clinical sign of Mg deficiency, imho. Or, I could be more succinct and use the oft-quoted quip based upon James Carville, a la Bill Clinton, “It’s Magnesium deficiency, stupid!”
So, I’ll give it a rest here…
You’ve got lot’s to read and absorb, but the important point, underscoring the philosophy of MAG, yet again, we have been Misled and Misfed… It’s time to give this “D”ebate a well “D”eserved termination. And the sooner folks learn to see their “Vitamin-D deficiency” for what it REALLY is, the better off we will ALL be…
A votre sante!