The importance of magnesium

Hardly anyone nowadays gets enough magnesium. In a study of 564 American adults, average intake was less than 66% of the RDA for men and less than 50% for women. Magnesium is critical in 325+ biochemical reactions.

It is involved in the transmission of hormones (insulin, thyroid, estrogen, testosterone, DHEA), neurotransmitters (dopamine, catecholamines, serotonin, GABA), and electrolytes. It controls cell-membrane potential, and through that the uptake and release of hormones, nutrients, and neurotransmitters. It controls the fate of potassium and calcium. If magnesium is insufficient, potassium and calcium are excreted, and calcium deposits in soft tissues — kidneys, arteries, joints, brain.

Magnesium protects cells from aluminum, mercury, lead, cadmium, beryllium, and nickel. Low magnesium is linked to heavy-metal deposition in the brain preceding Parkinson’s, MS, and Alzheimer’s, and is a likely factor in toxicity and learning disorders in children.

One of the most important jobs: magnesium is essential to hyaluronic acid synthesis. Yuzurihara, “the Village of Long Life,” had ten times more people living past 85 than North America, in a WHO survey of 990 towns. Dr. Toyosuki Kimori, a native of the village, believes the high magnesium in a diet of satsumaimo, taro, konnyaku, tamaji, barley, vegetables, bean paste, fish, and fermented soy stimulates HA synthesis. A review in the International Journal of Research in Chemistry and Environment agrees: a lack of magnesium may be part of why HA runs low.

Foods rich in magnesium include soy, spinach, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, potatoes, green lettuce, and carrots. You cannot get too much magnesium from food. Limit supplemental magnesium to 350 mg per day; the rest should come from the plate.

We are born with the highest HA we will ever have. On a standard Western diet we lose on the order of 10–15% every ten years. Once HA is gone, you usually cannot raise it through ordinary supplements, nutrition, or exercise — you work to keep what you have. The exception in this practice is the patented liquid nutraceutical with clinical work showing circulating HA can be raised many-fold in 28 days. That is why magnesium and the matrix belong in the same conversation.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Individual results vary. This site is educational and is not a substitute for medical advice.