Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
By Evie Breedlove-Mangapora, ARNP & Deborah J. Post, ARNP
Your diet and lifestyle choices around this time, can help reduce the “holiday blues”.
Lets Talk Magnesium (Mg)
Researchers have now detected many thousands of magnesium binding sites on human proteins, indicating that its role in human health and disease may have been vastly underestimated.
Magnesium is responsible for:
• Creation of ATP the energy molecules of your body
• Proper formation of bones and teeth
• Relaxation of blood vessels
• Action of your heart muscle
• Promotion of proper bowel function
• Regulation of blood sugar levels
Magnesium can benefit your blood pressure and help prevent sudden cardiac arrest, heart attack, and stroke!
Magnesium also plays a role in your body’s detoxification processes and therefore is important for helping to prevent damage from environmental chemicals, heavy metals and other toxins, including glutathione, your body’s most powerful antioxidant that has even been called “the master antioxidant,” requires magnesium for its synthesis. Mg is best found in:
• Green leafy vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard
• Beans
• Sunflower & Sesame Seeds
• Avocados
What could be impairing your body’s ability to absorb magnesium?
• Unhealthy digestive system (Crohn’s disease, leaky gut, etc.)
• Alcoholism — up to 60 percent of alcoholics have low blood levels of magnesium
• Unhealthy kidneys, which contribute to excessive loss of magnesium in urine
• Age
• Diabetes, especially if it’s poorly controlled,
• Certain medications – (diuretics, antibiotics and medications used to treat cancer)
Sources of whole foods high in magnesium include green leafy vegetables, some beans and nuts. (portions are just over three ounces):
• Seaweed, agar, dried (770 mg)
• Spices, basil, dried (422 mg)
• Spice, coriander leaf, dried (694 mg)
• Flaxseed (392 mg)
• Dried pumpkin seeds (535 mg)
• Almond butter (303 mg)
• Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened (499 mg)
Navigating Magnesium Supplements
• Magnesium glycinate is a form of magnesium that tends to provide the highest levels of absorption and bioavailability and is typically considered ideal for those who are trying to correct a deficiency.
• Magnesium oxide is a type of magnesium and contains 60 percent magnesium, and has stool softening properties so its very good for relieving constipation!
• Magnesium chloride contain only 12 percent magnesium, but has better absorption than others and is often used as a topical form of magnesium.
• Magnesium sulfate / Magnesium hydroxide (milk of magnesia) are typically used as a laxative. Be aware that it’s easy to overdose on these, so ONLY take as directed.
• Magnesium carbonate, which has antacid properties, contains 45 percent magnesium so not best choice.
• Magnesium taurate contains a combination of magnesium and taurine, an amino acid. Together, they tend to provide a calming effect on your body and mind.
• Magnesium citrate is magnesium with citric acid, which has laxative properties as well.
• Magnesium threonate is a newer, type of magnesium supplement that appears promising, primarily due to its superior ability to penetrate the blood brain barrier (and its often called Neuro Mg).
Balance Your Magnesium with Calcium, Vitamin K2 and D
One of the major benefits of getting your nutrients from a varied whole food diet is that you’re far less likely to end up with too much of one nutrient at the expense of others.
For example, it’s important to maintain the proper balance between magnesium, calcium, vitamin K2, and vitamin D. Lack of balance between these nutrients is why calcium supplements have become associated with increased risk of heart attacks and stroke, and why some people experience vitamin D toxicity. Always use at least a 1:1 ratio of Magnesium to Calcium and best is 2:1 Mg/Ca.
Part of the explanation for these adverse side effects is that vitamin K2 keeps calcium in its appropriate place. If you’re K2 deficient, added calcium accumulates in the wrong places. Similarly, if you opt for oral vitamin D, you need to also consume with your food and take supplemental vitamin K2. Taking mega doses of vitamin D supplements without sufficient amounts of K2 can lead to vitamin D toxicity symptoms, which includes inappropriate calcification.
Magnesium will also help keep calcium in your cells so they can do their job better. In many ways it serves as nutritional version of the highly effective class of drugs called calcium channel blockers, used in the treatment of high blood pressure, angina, and abnormal heart rhythms. Magnesium and vitamin K2 also complement each other, as magnesium helps lower blood pressure, which is an important component of heart disease.
So, all in all, anytime you’re taking any of the following: magnesium, calcium, vitamin D3 or vitamin K2, you need to take all the others into consideration as well, since these all work synergistically with each other.
B Vitamins Deficiency:
Vitamin B Deficiency can have the potential to “bring on the blues”
Symptoms of Vitamin B Deficiency:
• fears
• fatigue
• depression
• paranoia
• confusion
• hostility
• rage
• anxiety
(taking all the B’s is best not just B12)
Symptoms of Neuropsychiatric Disorders:
• morbid fears
• severe fatigue
• depression
• paranoia
• confusion
• anger
• suicidal tendencies
• anxiety
More on getting the gut working and system balanced
Your body is loaded with bacteria, of both good and bad varieties. In fact, about 100 trillion bacteria live inside you, which is more than 10 times the number of cells you have in your body! The ideal balance between these bacteria is about 85 percent “good” and 15 percent “bad”. This ratio is one of the critical factors determining your health.
Optimizing Your Gut Flora is Crucial for Good Health as many people start antibiotics for the cold or flu they got the holidays.
• About 80 percent of your immune system is located in your gut, and
• Your gut quite literally functions as your second brain,
So truly, your gut flora influences your whole body. Toxicity in your gut can flow throughout your body and into your brain, where it can cause symptoms of autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, depression, schizophrenia and other mental disorders.
Is Your Gut Flora Damaged?
Your gut bacteria are very vulnerable to your lifestyle. For example, when you eat sugar your gut bacteria is damaged because sugar feeds bad bacteria and yeast. Your gut bacteria are also very sensitive to:
• Processed foods
• GMO foods
• Sugar
• Antibiotics
• Chlorinated/fluoridated drinking water
• Antibacterial soap
• Agricultural chemicals
• Pollution
With the typical American diet, it is likely that your gut is damaged. A damaged gut can precipitate inflammation and disease.
How to Promote Healthy Gut Flora
Probiotic supplements are widely available, and if you choose a high-quality version, they are very effective in helping to “reseed” your intestinal tract with good bacteria. Long before the invention of the probiotic supplement, native peoples benefitted from probiotics by way of cultured or fermented foods, and these are fundamental part of any healthy diet.
Non pasteurized cultured foods like fermented vegetables and Kombucha, are excellent sources of natural, healthy bacteria. You can supplement using high quality probiotics as well.
How we can help:
Talk with a Functional Practitioner who can help you:
• Determine whether you have nutritional deficiencies
• Help you properly balance nutrients in a ratio best suited for you
• Safely clean up your gut (which is 80% of your immune system)
• Develop a healthy lifestyle specific for your individual needs.
With the typical American diet, it is likely that your gut is damaged. A damaged gut can precipitate inflammation and disease.
How to Promote Healthy Gut Flora
Probiotic supplements are widely available, and if you choose a high-quality version, they are very effective in helping to “reseed” your intestinal tract with good bacteria. Long before the invention of the probiotic supplement, native peoples benefitted from probiotics by way of cultured or fermented foods, and these are fundamental part of any healthy diet.
Non pasteurized cultured foods like fermented vegetables and Kombucha, are excellent sources of natural, healthy bacteria. You can supplement using high quality probiotics as well.
How we can help:
Talk with a Functional Practitioner who can help you:
• Determine whether you have nutritional deficiencies
• Help you properly balance nutrients in a ratio best suited for you
• Safely clean up your gut (which is 80% of your immune system)
• Develop a healthy lifestyle specific for your individual needs.
Deborah J. Post, ARNP
Wellbridges, Inc.,
(239) 481-5600
Debpost.com
Evie Breedlove-Mangapora, ARNP
Inner Essence Health, LLC
(239) 777-4647
inneressencehealth.com
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