Magnesium is perhaps one of the most overlooked minerals. This is especially important because, an estimated 80 percent of North Americans are deficient in it.  The health consequences of deficiency can be significant, and can be aggravated by many, if not most, drug treatments.

According the book The Miracle of Magnesium (by Carolyn Dean), Magnesium deficiency triggers or causes the following conditions:

- Anxiety and Panic attacks: Magnesium (Mg) normally keeps adrenal stress hormones under control.
- Asthma: Both histamine production and bronchial spasms increase with Mg deficiency.
- Blood clots: Mg has an important role to play in preventing blood clots and keeping the blood thin-much like aspirin but without the side effects.
- Bowel disease: Mg deficiency slows down the bowel causing constipation, which could lead to toxicity and malabsorption of nutrients, as well as colitis.
- Cystitis: Bladder spasms are worsened by Mg deficiency.
- Depression: Serotonin, which elevates moods, is dependent on Mg. A Mg-deficient brain is also more susceptible to allergens, foreign substances that can cause symptoms similar to mental illness.
- Detoxification: Mg is crucial for the removal of toxic substances and heavy metals such as aluminum and lead.
- Diabetes: Mg enhances insulin secretion, facilitating sugar metabolism.  Without Mg insulin is not able to transfer glucose into cells.  Glucose and insulin build up in the blood causing various types of tissue damage.
- Fatigue: Mg-deficient patients commonly experience fatigue because dozens of enzyme systems are under-functioning.  An early symptom of Mg deficiency is frequently fatigue.
- Heart disease: Mg deficiency is common in people with heart disease. Mg is administered in hospitals for acute myocardial infarction and cardiac arrhythmia. Like any other muscle, the heart muscle requires Mg.  Mg is also used to treat angina, or chest pain.
- Hypertension: With insufficient Mg, spasm of blood vessels and high cholesterol occur, both of which lead to blood pressure problems.
- Hypoglycemia: Mg keeps insulin under control; without Mg episodes of low blood sugar can result.
- Insomnia: Sleep-regulating melatonin production is disturbed without sufficient Mg.
- Kidney Disease: Mg deficiency contributes to atherosclerotic kidney failure. Mg deficiency creates abnormal lipid levels and worsening blood sugar control in kidney transplant patients.
- Liver Disease leading to liver failure: Mg deficiency commonly occurs during liver transplantation.
- Migraine: Serotonin balance is Mg-dependent. Deficiency of serotonin can result in migraine headaches and depression.
- Musculoskeletal conditions: Fibrositis, fibromyalgia, muscle spasms, eye twitches, cramps and chronic neck and back pain may be caused by Mg deficiency and can be relieved with Mg supplements.
- Nerve problems: Mg alleviates peripheral nerve disturbances throughout the whole body, such as migraines, muscle contractions, gastrointestinal spasms, and calf, foot and toe cramps. It is also used in treating central nervous symptoms of vertigo and confusion.
- Obstetrics and Gynecology: Mg prevents Premenstrual Syndrome; prevents dysmenorrhea (cramping pain during menses); is important in the treatment of infertility; and alleviates premature contractions, preeclampsia, and eclampsia in pregnancy. Intravenous Mg is given in obstetrical wards for pregnancy-induced hypertension and to lessen the risk of cerebral palsy and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Mg should be a required supplement for pregnant mothers.
- Osteoporosis: Use of calcium with Vitamin D to enhance calcium absorption without a balancing amount of Mg causes further Mg deficiency, which triggers a cascade of events leading to bone loss.
- Raynaud’s Syndrome: Mg helps relax the spastic blood vessels that cause pain and numbness of the fingers.
- Tooth decay: Mg deficiency causes an unhealthy balance of phosphorus and calcium in saliva, which damages teeth.

So...what can we do about it??

Stop Draining Your Body of Magnesium
- Limit coffee, colas, salt, sugar, and alcohol
- Learn how to practice active relaxation
- Check with your doctor if your medication is causing magnesium loss (many high blood pressure drugs or diuretics cause loss of magnesium)
- Eat Foods High in Magnesium

Include the following in your diet as often as you can:
Kelp, wheat bran, wheat germ, almonds, cashews, buckwheat, brazil nuts, dulse, filberts, millet, pecans, walnuts, rye, tofu, soy beans, brown rice, figs, dates, collard greens, shrimp, avocado, parsley, beans, barley, dandelion greens, and garlic

Take Magnesium Supplements
The RDA (the minimum amount needed) for magnesium is about 300 mg a day. Most of us get far less than 200 mg.  Some may need much more depending on their condition.  Most people benefit from 400 to 1,000 mg a day.

Plants’ Natural Defenses
Plants have developed their own toxic substances to self protect - to discourage animals and people from eating them, and to protect them from plant pathogens and adverse environmental conditions. These toxic substances, as discussed in last week’s post, have come to be known as anti-nutrients. They are present in varying quantities in many foods. Small amounts won’t do much damage but in larger amounts they can interfere with your body getting adequate nutrition, and in excessive amounts they can even be fatal.

Raw isn’t necessarily best!
Raw foods are wonderful, delicious and nutritious, but they are not necessarily good for all conditions. Especially, not for thyroid troubles. The brassicaceae family of vegetables contains glucosinolates that can inhibit iodine uptake, resulting in hypothyroidism and promoting goiter formation.

Members of the brassicaceae family include cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, radishes, turnips, kohlrabi, rutabaga, collard greens, kale, Brussels sprouts, bok choy and watercress.

Many people think they are doing the best thing by putting raw kale into their smoothies. It’s actually not very smart: not only for thyroid health, but for kidney health, too. Kale, as well as spinach, contains high amounts of oxalates that can promote kidney stones and other painful deposits in the body, especially in people suffering with underlying fungal infections and candida overgrowth.  kale is also a goitrogenic food, meaning that it can contribute to an enlarged thyroid — a goiter. A goiter indicates that the thyroid gland is not functioning optimally.

Here’s the science on the kale-thyroid connection from the Oregon State University Micronutrient Information site:

Very high intakes of cruciferous vegetables…have been found to cause hypothyroidism (insufficient thyroid hormone) in animals. There has been one case report of an 88-year-old woman developing severe hypothyroidism and coma following consumption of an estimated 1.0 to 1.5 kg/day of raw bok choy for several months. Two mechanisms have been identified to explain this effect. The hydrolysis of some glucosinolates found in cruciferous vegetables (e.g., progoitrin) may yield a compound known as goitrin, which has been found to interfere with thyroid hormone synthesis. The hydrolysis of another class of glucosinolates, known as indole glucosinolates, results in the release of thiocyanate ions, which can compete with iodine for uptake by the thyroid gland. Increased exposure to thiocyanate ions from cruciferous vegetable consumption or, more commonly, from cigarette smoking, does not appear to increase the risk of hypothyroidism unless accompanied by iodine deficiency. One study in humans found that the consumption of 150 g/day (5 oz/day) of cooked Brussels sprouts for four weeks had no adverse effects on thyroid function.   http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/food-beverages/cruciferous-vegetables

It’s the dose that makes a poison. If people have hypothyroidism or they’re taking thyroid medication, then they should check with their doctor. But even in this case, reasonable amounts shouldn’t be a problem.  Now, if people have a tall glass of kale juice every single day, then it gets into the unknown territory…but normal, reasonable amounts of eating should not be a problem. A regular person [with no thyroid issues] who eats several servings of cruciferous vegetables a week should not have problems.

Safer ways to include kale in your diet:

1. Cook Your Kale
The goitrogenic properties of kale become dramatically lessened when kale — or any other cruciferous vegetable — is cooked. (Other veggies in this category include: broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, kohlrabi, mustard, rutabaga, turnips, bok choy and Chinese cabbage. Arugula, horseradish, radish, wasabi and watercress are also cruciferous vegetables.)

2. Eat Seaweed
Kale on its own does not increase the risk of thyroid problems. It’s a combination of factors; including potential iodine deficiency. (One of the most common causes of goiters is iodine deficiency.) Adding seaweed or another iodine rich food to your diet may, in some cases, help you get adequate iodine.

3. Throw A Brazil Nut Into Your Smoothie
Selenium can support normal iodine levels which in turn may support a healthy thyroid. A Brazil nut or two in your daily smoothie or as a topping to any dish might help keep selenium levels strong. Alternatively, you can add a selenium supplement to your diet.

4. Switch Up Your Greens
Vary your greens. If you’re going to eat kale one day choose a non-cruciferous, non-goitrogenic veggie dish the next. There are many highly nutritious vegetables that aren’t goitrogenic, including celery, parsley, zucchini, carrots and more. Our bodies need many nutrients and by eating a variety of vegetables you’ll ensure that you don’t overload on one and skip another.

Traditional cooking methods can deactivate most of those anti-nutrients in these raw foods. Blanch kale in water, and then saute it in some fat (butter) to help your body absorb the beneficial minerals. And, skip the smoothies for a while. This doesn’t mean that you can never have another smoothie or raw kale salad, it just means to listen to your body, hear what it is saying, and make the necessary dietary adjustments that can facilitate healing.