Sugar also steals your magnesium because you need 28 magnesium ions to metabolise one sucrose molecule to energy (and 56 magnesium ions for one fructose molecule). This means that the more hooked you get on sweets the more they will steal your magnesium and plunge you into energy crashes. Not only that, but sugar metabolism produces even more acid by-products. It’s a downward spiral.
In a low magnesium states we can’t seem to get the energy we need despite consuming enough calories. The brain, which must have a lot of glucose (from fat or carbs), tells us we need to eat more. The craving for carbohydrates goes up as magnesium levels go down. We seem to feel hungry all the time without feeling fully satisfied. It’s just not the right kind of fuel our cells need. This leads to over-eating, but we can’t use up all those carbs, so the body’s insulin has to take the excess that cannot be used as energy to the liver to be converted to fat – which is mostly fat around the middle leading to a pre-diabetic shape, and eventually diabetes.
We even need magnesium for the pancreas to make insulin. We then need magnesium to assist the insulin and sugar to get access to the cell through the membrane. Cell membrane charge is dependent on magnesium. When the lipid bi-layer has enough magnesium it can be stretchy, opening and closing when needed to absorb nutrients, to eliminate wastes, to prevent loss of potassium and hydration and to keep out excess calcium and sodium (which should stay in the extra-cellular spaces). As magnesium levels get low too much calcium replaces the magnesium and causes the cell membrane to get harder, to lose hydration and to depolarise, losing its functional integrity.
Note that the wrong kind of fats incorporated into our membranes can also cause them to malfunction. Avoid trans-fats like margarine and fried foods.
We can easily become energy-starved, sugar-sensitive and dehydrated as magnesium reserves become depleted.
Most People in Modern Societies are Magnesium Deficient!
Soils and food supply have become very magnesium depleted due to industrial-chemical farming methods. Processing removes even more magnesium, as it is highly water-soluble. To add insult to injury, stress causes excessive magnesium loss to recover and relax from the ‘fight or flight’ cortisol (adrenaline) and calcium-tightening response in muscles. When we are tense calcium moves into the muscle cells for contraction, and for the relaxation phase magnesium moves in to loosen the grip of the calcium.
After magnesium has been used to relax the muscles and dissipate the oxidised adrenaline, it is then excreted by the kidney via the urine. Younger people with an efficient kidney and healthy endocrine system experience a more protective effect with some recycling of magnesium. The older we get however, the more we suffer from hypermagnesuria (excessive loss of magnesium via the urine).
We need sufficient amounts of both calcium and magnesium for a balance in the cycle of tension and relaxation that muscles go through (including the most important muscle – the heart muscle). Stresses such as sleep deprivation, traumas, burns, surgery, physical exertion, drugs, alcohol, chemical exposures, radiation and psychological stresses can all cause significant magnesium loss. [2]
Heavy metals and chemicals such as fluoride inhibit magnesium metabolism and enzyme activity. As magnesium is also essential for our beneficial gut bacteria to function, the exposure to heavy metals and fluoride causes digestive issues such as leaky gut, or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Leaky gut allows toxins to move from the bowel into the blood stream and other parts of the body, causing an inflammatory response. [3] Inflammation and pathogenic toxins can travel to the brain and cause mental illnesses and depression. Magnesium however supports the gut microbiome, which can then help repair gut lining - if the diet supports them.