Over 30 clinical trials have reported that magnesium can lower elevated blood pressure. One study revealed that hypertensive individuals have lower serum magnesium levels than people with normal blood pressure, and people with the highest blood pressures had the lowest magnesium levels. (Resnick, LM, et al. Intracellular free magnesium in erythrocytes of essential hypertension: Relation to blood pressure and serum divalent actions. Proc. National Academy of Science, 1984; 81:6511-6515.

Magnesium influences many of the activities associated with a variety of cardiac medications. Examples: magnesium inhibits platelet aggregation (like aspirin), thins the blood (like warfarin), blocks calcium uptake (like nifedipine) and relaxes blood vessels (like ACE inhibitors). Magnesium also increases oxygenation of the heart muscle. (Gaby, AR. Magnesium: An inexpensive, safe, and affective treatment for cardiovascular disease. ( The Journal Advancement of Medicine, 1988; 1:179-181.) Many cardiologists prescribe magnesium as a matter of course to patients with heart disease.

Due to the key role magnesium plays in the body, a deficit in this element causes numerous metabolic changes in the body accompanied by a great variety of symptoms. The body can mobilize only 25% of magnesium from the bone in situations of extreme deficiency. This capacity diminishes with age. Nerve excitability, tremor, and convulsions are all signs of low magnesium. Magnesium deficiency is associated with an increase incidence of atherosclerosis, hypertension, stokes, and heart attacks. Low levels of magnesium can cause stiffness in the vasculature, which elevates blood pressure, and a contraction or spasm in the heart muscle, which can result in sudden death. (Eisenberg, MJ. “Magnesium Deficiency and Sudden Death.” American Heart Journal, 1992; 124:545-549. A deficiency also results in more wheezing and other respiratory complaints and in people who have frequent tension headaches or migraines.

Researchers have become increasingly aware of a widespread mineral deficiency in the American population. Magnesium is deficient in the American diet and its depletion from water supplies with the widespread use of soft water is believed to have contributed to the rise of heart disease in America this century. (American Journal Epidemiology 143: 456-62, 1996: Magnesium 5:1-8, 1986) According to a government study an estimated 72% of American's report having a magnesium intake that would result in a magnesium deficiency. People who are active and exercise regularly need higher dosages of nutrients. Others that need higher dosages of nutrients are those under great stress, on restricted diets, mentally or physically ill, women who are taking oral contraceptives, those on medication, those recovering from surgery, smokers and alcoholics.

Magnesium is safe and inexpensive. Scientists note that magnesium doses of 250 mg a day helps prevent cardiac arrhythmia. While current RDA's for magnesium are around 300 to 350mg, more realistic dosages are probably in the 500 to 1,500 mg range. The Nutritional Board of the National Academy of Sciences recommends 1,000 mg daily. For women over fifty, that recommendation jumps to 1,500 mg a day. Dosages will vary according to age and weight and health conditions. You should consult with your health care provider for correct dosages for you.

Chelated minerals provide 3 to 10 time’s greater absorption than non-chelated ones. Magnesium is an example when properly chelated 87% is absorbed compared to only 16% when taken in an inorganic, non-chelated form.

References

The Townsend newsletter for Doctors and Patients , More Letters: The Pharmaceutical Industry's "Hatchet Job" on Magnesium by Bill Sardi, October 1998 issue.

Herbs for Health, Maintain Heart Health adapted from The Nutraceutical Revolution, by Richard Firshein, Riverhead Books, 1998.

Prescription for Nutritional Healing by James R. Balch, MD and Phyillis A. Balch, CNC. Avery Press Group, Inc., Garden City Park, NY 1990.

The Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients , Shorts, Magnesium and Heart Attacks, briefed by Jule Klotter, December 1998 issue.

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients , Current Health News You Can Use by Joseph M. Mercola, DO, November 1998 issue.

Retail Pharmacy News, Complementary News, Nutrients for a Healthy Heart by James B. LaValle, RPh, DHM. NMD, CCN and Ross Pelton, RPh, PhD, CCN, July 1999.

Better Nutrition for Today's Living , Women's Health, Magnesium Supplements Help Retard Bone Loss, November 1993.

Nutraceuticals World, Magnesium: A Vital, Anti-Stress Mineral by Thomas Steinmetz, September/October 1999.

Retail Pharmacy News, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder by James B. LaValle, RPh, DHM, NMD, CCN, November 1999.

Natural Pharmacy, Eat Your Heart Out: Cardiovascular Nutrition by Eric R. Braverman, MD, February 2000.

Taking Care, The Doctors Is In, Potassium and Magnesium by Phyllis D. Cross, MD, MPH and Robert Harmon, MD, MPH, August 1999.

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients , Nutritional Influences on Illness, When is Depression Due to a Mineral Deficiency? By Melvyn R. Werbach, MD, February/March 1999.

Health Supplement Retailer, Magnesium: A Key Element of Health by Thomas Steinmetz, July 1999.

The Green Pharmacy by James A Duke, PhD. Rodell Press, Emmaus PA, 1997.

Globalherb by Steve Blake, 1996.

This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
This information or product is not intended for the use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of any disease or condition or to encourage the abandonment of conventional therapy.