Magnesium is an important mineral, which is often overlooked by health care professionals. In our primarily meat eating, fast-food society, it’s easy to become magnesium depleted. Multiple studies list 68-80% of all Americans don’t get enough of this vital mineral in their diet.
The majority of dietary magnesium comes from dark green vegetables, nuts, seeds, and legumes.
Magnesium acts as a natural calming agent to the body. It relaxes smooth and skeletal muscles. In his book, Staying Healthy with Nutrition, Dr. Elson Haas, MD lists magnesium as “an important part of preventing coronary artery spasm, (which) is a significant cause of heart attacks.”
In the same book, Dr. Haas lists some of the medical problems which can be helped by magnesium. A few of those conditions include, PMS, hyperactivity, alcoholism, angina pectoris, autism and asthma.
Personally, I use oral magnesium to help manage my severe asthma. I also add extra magnesium to my diet when I have Multiple Sclerosis related muscle spasms. The magnesium relaxes my muscles and stops the spasms.
Magnesium is also used as non-chemical, gentle laxative for occasional constipation.
It is, however important to keep a proper balance between calcium and magnesium, and if you choose to take this supplement be sure to also take a good calcium supplement, and consider having a nutritional analysis done to be sure these minerals remain in balance.
For more information I suggest :
Staying Healthy with Nutrition by Dr. Elson Haas, MD
National Institute of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements
