Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom (164 page)

Indigestion and antacid use.
Insufficient stomach acid impedes magnesium absorption. Unfortunately, a refined-food diet is a potent recipe for indigestion. Antacids, the number one over-the-counter consumer drug in the United States, further deplete hydrochloric acid in the stomach.

Farming practices.
Magnesium and other minerals have been depleted from much of the soil in which we grow produce in today.

Medications.
Many drugs including common diuretics, birth control pills, insulin, tetracycline and other antibiotics, and cortisone cause the body to waste magnesium.

SELECTED FOODS RICH IN MAGNESIUM

In general, organically grown whole grains and vegetables are rich in magnesium. So are good quality sea salt and sea vegetables.

THE IMPACT OF MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCY

The following is a partial list of health conditions associated with magnesium deficiency. These conditions may be helped by increasing magnesium intake.

Anxiety and panic attacks.
Magnesium helps keep adrenal stress hormones under control and also helps maintain normal brain function. In her book
The Magnesium Miracle
(which includes a foreword written by magnesium researchers Burton Altura, M.D., and Bella Altura, M.D., authors of more than a thousand research papers on this vital mineral), Dr. Dean points out that the rate of depression has gone up every decade since World War II. It’s quite possible that this is related to magnesium depletion.

Asthma.
Magnesium helps relax the muscles of the bronchioles in the lungs.

Constipation.
Magnesium helps keep bowels regular by maintaining normal bowel muscle function. Milk of magnesia has been used for decades to help constipation.

Diabetes.
Magnesium helps insulin transport glucose into the cell. Without this, glucose builds up in tissue, causing glycemic stress and damage.

Heart disease.
Magnesium deficiency is common in those with heart disease. It’s an effective treatment for heart attacks and cardiac arrhythmias.

Hypertension.
Without adequate magnesium, blood vessels constrict and blood pressure increases.

Infertility.
Magnesium can relax spasms in fallopian tubes that prevent the implantation of a fertilized egg in the uterus.

Insomnia.
Magnesium helps regulate melatonin, a hormone essential for normal sleep and wakefulness cycles.