by Dr, Frank O. McGehee, CCN
Calcium, magnesium, and potassium are absolute musts for keeping your heart at optimal performance. The correct ratio of these minerals is essential if you have heart problems.
Let’s look at each of these minerals to see why they are so important. As stated last week, 80 percent of the enzymes in the body are dependent on magnesium. An adequate amount of this is one that is equal to 3/4 our level of calcium. This is about 400-700 mg of magnesium daily. Only 50 percent of the population actually receives this much magnesium from their diet. The problem is our demand for these minerals is not constant. Some days we need more and some days we need less. This is why we need an assesment to determine the baseline on the exact amount present in our body.
What happens when there are low levels of magnesium? Early on, there are no outward deficiency signs, yet the damage is occurring internally. A consistently low magnesium level will cause an increase in calcium. With more calcium, the heart muscle may have a sustained contraction lasting longer than it should. This could increase the risk of vasospasm (coronary artery contraction, which is spasmodic). This could interfere with blood supply and thus decrease the oxygen supply to the heart. This could cause angina or a high diastolic blood pressure. The bottom number of a person’s blood pressure is the diastolic number. Example: 120/80. Eighty is referred to as the bottom number. This number is elevated when the heart cannot relax during the resting stage of the heartbeat. If the calcium levels get even higher (due to a depleted magnesium level) a systolic rise in blood pressure may occur. This is the top number (120). This rise is due to an intensified contraction of the heart much more than normal. This type of hypertension is treated very successfully with calcium channel blockers, by blocking the uptake of calcium in the heart.
The good news is that optimal levels of magnesium, potassium, and manganese act as natural calcium channel blockers requiring less prescription medicine to be needed and given. The catch is these minerals have to be given in the proper ratio when taken according to their existing levels. Patients who already have existing high blood pressure, angina or significant arterial plaque can also benefit from starting these minerals. This helps the heart to respond to the proper medication prescribed by your doctor.
What other symptoms are present with a magnesium deficiency? Most common symptoms include generalized muscle spasms or nocturnal leg cramps. Premenstrual symptoms greatly improve with magnesium therapy along with vitamin B6. This therapy should be started one week prior to menstruation. An appropriate level would be 400-600 mg of magnesium with 100 mg of B6 orally. Other conditions attributed to low magnesium are asthma, insomnia, migraine and cluster headaches, kidney stones, and calcium deposits in the joints. Think of magnesium as relaxing the tension in your body and on the blood vessels. Your body is stressed during an asthmatic attack and during a headache. The calcium stones may occur secondarily because of a low level of magnesium. A triad disease called syndrome X has low levels of magnesium. This syndrome includes diabetes, obesity, and hypertension.
Urinary frequency can occur in low magnesium patients, because the bladder does not relax (similar to the heart) and therefore cannot hold its normal volume. Bacterial infections are more frequent in patients with low magnesium. This is one reason diabetes have more difficulty with wound healing.
The colon, like the bladder and heart, may have irregularities in contraction and relaxation resulting in constipation. The type of magnesium given for constipation is magnesium sulfate, which is different than when you’re boosting systemic magnesium. It is preferable to use magnesium glycinate or fumerate to elevate the body’s magnesium level.
What causes the magnesium depletion other than not eating properly? The number one reason for magnesium depletion is stress. Previous articles on controlling stress with nutrition are available. The second most common cause is intestinal diseases such as: celiac disease, prolonged diarrhea and inflammatory bowel disease. Patients on oral diuretics may experience a loss in both magnesium and potassium. They should take extra amounts of both minerals. Drinking alcohol will also drop the magnesium level. Patients taking antibodies repeatedly will develop lower magnesium levels.
How do we determine our actual magnesium level? This is an intracellular mineral and requires an intracellular mineral analysis to determine the exact body level. This can be performed using red blood cells, whole blood cells, or platelets. This is an example of the use of red blood cell mineral analysis.