Low magnesium status is prevalent in diabetes type II, heart disease, cancer, depression and immune system disorders. [1] All of these degenerative illnesses have inflammation and oxidative stress in common. Inflammation is characterised by pressure and pain as the immune system goes into overdrive, sending lymphocytes to regions of pathogenic activity and acidic low oxygen environments.
If your immune system is weak because of lack of energy, the body has to compensate by sending more white blood cells to the region of pathogenic attack and injury. This causes pressure and clogs up tubes. The pressure is painful. It can also lead to hypertension and heart disease.
In World War 1 the French discovered that using magnesium chloride salt solution greatly improved healing of injuries in their soldiers – something they stumbled upon because pharmaceutical drugs were in short supply at the time. Researchers since then have discovered that an optimum magnesium status in cells correlates with a more effective immune system because magnesium helps our white blood cells to be more virulent. They can therefore give us more bang for our buck, so we don’t need so many clogging up the works and causing traffic jams.
Inflammation is a natural consequence of magnesium deficiency and can happen in any part of the body from fat cells to brain, liver, spine, nerve sheaths, lungs, sinus, bowel lining, vascular walls, joints and ligaments.
With over 100 years of magnesium studies, researchers have realised that magnesium is easily the most important mineral in the body with the most jobs to do.
Scientists Dr Mildred Seelig and Andrea Rosanoff in their book The Magnesium Factor [2] said that there are over 350 direct functions of magnesium, and over thousands more when one considers its role as a vital co-factor with many other nutrients and support of enzyme activity.
Magnesium is a powerful antioxidant and the king of the minerals, just like vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant and the king of the vitamins.
Every cell has enzymes that perform functions. When magnesium gets low the voltage of the cell drops because mitochondria are dependent upon magnesium to make Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) – the energy currency of the cell. Enzymes need ATPs to drive activity, so their processes become sluggish and slow with a magnesium deficit.
Sluggish Metabolism
Consequently, important detoxification enzymes like glutathione become inhibited and the sewage and waste product removal system slows down. Like stagnant water or a compost heap the cellular environment can drop to an acid pH. This state of acidosis means less oxygen can be dissolved in those fluids. Without enough oxygen and alkalinity, the electron flow of our bio-electrical system slows. Fat becomes difficult to turn into energy without enough magnesium and oxygen.
This means metabolism has to switch to carbohydrate burning (which is anaerobic) in order to get energy. The unfortunate side effect is that this sugar-burning system is less efficient and leads to a roller-coaster ride of hyperactivity followed by energy slumps.
It’s like a short term straw fire with a flare in energy and then – bang, crash. In contrast, fat burning metabolism offers a more even and sustained energy supply with increased ATP production – if there is enough oxygen and magnesium available to the mitochondria.