Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Wisdom Wednesday: Improved Quality of Life with Magnesium


Recent research looked at the disability levels, quality of life, and anxiety and depressive symptoms in 34 children aged 7-17 after six months of magnesium prophylaxis for pediatric migraines. According to the researchers, “After 6 months of magnesium prophylaxis, disability due to migraine significantly decreased, whereas physical and psychosocial well-being improved.”

Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body and is a cofactor for more than 300 enzyme systems regulating a variety of chemical reactions in the body. Magnesium is involved in protein synthesis, muscle and nerve function, blood sugar control, and regulation of blood pressure. Magnesium is also involved in energy production as it is necessary for ATP production and glycolysis. Magnesium also contributes to the structural development of bone and is necessary for the synthesis of DNA and RNA.

Magnesium is important for detoxification as it is needed to product glutathione. Magnesium also plays a role in the active transport of calcium and potassium ions across cell membranes, a process that is important to nerve impulse conduction, muscle contraction, and normal heart rhythm. Other studies also show a link between low magnesium and headaches.



My Take:
Biotics sends me periodic updates that have a format similar to my blog. I have written about magnesium several times over the past five years. To review those blogs just type magnesium in the search box in the upper left hand corner of my blog site.
Clinically, I use magnesium most often to control heart rate. It is especially effective in the treatment of tachycardia (rapid heart rate) but is also a vital component in the treatment of Afib (atrial fibrillation) as well.

Magnesium can be titrated to tolerance. Start at 100mg per day and increase by 100mg per day until the stool becomes loose. At that point you are unable to absorb this amount of magnesium. It is being passed to the large intestine where it over stimulates the bowel. This is the reason magnesium is often misused as a laxative.

Now reduce the magnesium by 100mg and the stool should return to normal. Over time, if you are restoring proper magnesium levels from a deficiency, the loose stool may return again. This indicates the need to reduce daily supplementation further.

The opposite is also true. During times of stress, your need for magnesium may increase dramatically. You may be able to increase the dosage without the laxative effect until the stressor is relieved. Then the loose stool will return indicating a reduction in dose is warranted.

I typically take 300mg of magnesium daily. However, during preparations for Hurricane Irma, I had to increase my daily dose to 1200mg to control my tachycardia. Once the path of the storm moved west, I slowly returned to 300mg based on my stool.

More recently, I had a series of injuries that curtailed my regular exercise. I experienced a few episodes of tachycardia and had to increase my magnesium to 400mg daily. As I return to exercise, I suspect the daily dose to drop again.

Bottom Line:
Magnesium is an important mineral in the body and often needs supplementation to the daily diet. Use the consistency of your stool as a guide, but don’t use magnesium as a daily laxative.

Source: May 30, 2019 Biotics Research

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