Magnesium is one of the secret weapons against illness. Moreover, according to a study published in The Journal of Intensive Care Medicine, a deficiency in this efficient nutrient makes you twice as likely to die as other people.

The magnesium deficiency also leads to a long list of symptoms and diseases, which can be prevented and often cured by adding this nutrient.

However, although we are aware of most of its benefits and our need to have it in abundance in our bodies, still even half of us are deficient in this nutrient and unaware of it. This article will tell you why or how important it is to our general health or why it helps our bodies function better.

Namely, magnesium can be used in numerous cases of health disorders. It is mostly ignored because it is not a drug, even though it is more powerful than drugs in many cases.

That’s why it is often used for life-threatening and emergency situations like seizures and heart failure. In addition, it is used Iin cases of pregnant women who come in with pre-term labor, or high blood pressure of pregnancy (pre-eclampsia) or seizures, so they are given continuous high doses of intravenous magnesium.

Moreover, if someone is dying of a life-threatening arrhythmia (or irregular heart beat), he is given intravenous magnesium. In cases of constipation or when the patient is getting prepared for colonoscopy, they are prescribed milk of magnesia or a green bottle of liquid magnesium citrate, which empties their bowels.

However, the numerous benefits of magnesium should be felt by regular consumption of this favorable mineral. You can start taking regular magnesium supplementation today and see the results.

The Relaxation Mineral

Magnesium is an antidote to stress, it is the most powerful relaxation mineral available. It is actually responsible for over 300 enzyme reactions and is found in tissues, but mainly in your bones, muscles, and brain. You must have it for your cells to make energy, for many different chemical pumps to work, to stabilize membranes, and to help muscles relax.

If we regard it as the relaxation mineral, we can easily understand that the deficency of magnesium is indicated in any case of tight, irritable, crampy, and stiff body part or even a mood. In fact, the list of conditions that are found related to magnesium deficiency is so long. To speak in numbers, there are over 3,500 medical references on magnesium deficiency!

Symptoms of magnesium deficiency

You may not even be aware of the seriousness of this issue, but magnesium deficiency is a huge problem in modern living. By conservative standards of measurement (blood, or serum, magnesium levels), 65 percent of people admitted to the intensive care unit, and about 15 percent of the general population, have magnesium deficiency.

However, note that a serum magnesium level is the least sensitive way to detect a drop in your total body magnesium level. So rates of magnesium deficiency could be even higher!

If you have any or more of the following symtoms, your body probably lacks magnesium:

• Anxiety
• Trouble swallowing
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Reflux
• High blood pressure
• PMS
• Autism
• ADD
• Palpitations
• Fibromyalgia
• Chronic fatigue
• Osteoporosis
• Angina
• Constipation
• Anal spasms
• Irritability
• Sensitivity to loud noises
• Obesity
• Menstrual cramps
• Irritable bladder
• Headaches
• Migraines
• Muscle cramps or twitches
• Insomnia
• Diabetes
• Asthma
• Kidney stones
• inflammationin the body
• higher CRP levels

The biggest reason for the high numbers of people lacking magnesium is simple:  their diet, which contains practically no magnesium. Most often, our diet consists of highly-processed, refined foods, and most ofet, white flour, meat, and dairy (all of which have no magnesium).

Moreover, we even decrease the levels of magnesium by our harmful everyday habits. Namely, magnesium levels are decreased by excess alcohol, salt, coffee, phosphoric acid in colas, profuse sweating, prolonged or intense stress, chronic diarrhea, excessive menstruation, diuretics (water pills), antibiotics and other drugs, and some intestinal parasites.

We must consider the fact that magnesium is often poorly absorbed and easily lost from our bodies. To properly absorb magnesium we need a lot of it in our diet, plus enough vitamin B6, vitamin D, and selenium.

Eat Foods High in Magnesium

As often as possible, you should consume the following: walnuts, rye, tofu, soy beans, brown rice, figs, dates, collard greens, shrimp, parsley, beans, barley, dandelion greens, garlic, wheat germ, almonds, cashews, buckwheat, brazil nuts,kelp, wheat bran, dulse, filberts, millet, pecans, avocado.

Read the Full Article Here: Why Magnesium is the Most Powerful Relaxation Mineral Known to Man

Sources:
http://drhyman.com/blog/2010/05/20/magnesium-the-most-powerful-relaxation-mineral-available/ -- Original Article Source
http://naturalmedicinehouse.com/?p=1423
http://theheartysoul.com/powerful-relaxation-mineral/?t=NSM
http://www.healthylifeland.com/why-magnesium-is-the-most-powerful-relaxation-mineral-known-to-man/
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