Show Notes

Magnesium and Inflammation 

• Ca leads to an increase in inflammation and Mg is anti inflammatory. Ca overload is one of the main reasons of body wide inflammation. 

• Can be measured with C reactive protein. Studies show supplementing with magnesium can lower CRP 

• Magnesium acts as an anti oxidant. Reducing oxidative damage and reducing inflammation that way

Magnesium and the Kidney

• If high insulin tells the kidneys to reabsorb more Na, why doesn’t it do the same thing with Magnesium?

Magnesium is reabsorbed in the thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle. Magnesium is the only ion reabsorbed in this location. Na+ and K+ reabsorption mainly occurs in the proximal tubule rather than the thick ascending tube. The driving force behind magnesium transport in the thick ascending limb is the trans epithelial voltage gradient. 

Magnesium wasting from the kidneys is the big problem. Things that effect that are the big players. Even if our diet was at the low end of the RDA for magnesium our kidneys reabsorb almost all of it in a natural healthy state. And we have such a huge surplus located in our bones that it acts as a natural buffer if we are deficient. But when our kidneys start wasting more and more magnesium over years. Then we develop magnesium deficiency.

Situations That Can Cause Magnesium Wasting

• Low Salt Diet

Low salt can lead to magnesium wasting in the kidneys due to your bodies response to low salt. Low salt raises aldosterone levels. Aldosterone helps our body reabsorb more salt in low salt situations. Like a low salt diet. Which hinders our bodies ability to reabsorb magnesium. Aldosterone leads to volume expansion in the kidneys. Volume expansion in the proximal tubule inhibits reabsorption of Mg.

• Exercise

Working out can deplete magnesium. Long hard sessions especially. Even more so if you workout outside on a hot day.

• Diabetes

Diabetes leads to increase in magnesium wasting through two methods. Hyperglycemia (increased blood sugar) leads to osmotic diuresis. Osmotic Diuresis is increased urination due to the presence of something in the fluid that is filtered by the kidneys. In this case glucose. Too much glucose increases urine production which results in magnesium wasting. Hyperinsulinemia causes our kidneys to reabsorb less magnesium.

• Evolutionary reason why insulin causes magnesium deficiency. 

Summer time you want to get fat to prepare for winter. Eat berries high in fructose and glucose. Both glucose and fructose metabolism require a lot of magnesium. For the liver to process Glucose it requires 28 atoms of magnesium and fructose metabolism requires 56 atoms of magnesium. Deficient Mg makes our cells insulin resistant resulting in weight gain.

• Diabetes is due to insulin resistance a way to increase a cells insulin sensitivity is to increase magnesium stores. Magnesium is needed for glucose to enter the cell.

• Stress

Stress involves pathways that are very similar to diabetes. The cortisol spike from stress is designed to give access to quick sugars. This can lead to both hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia both of which cause magnesium wasting from the kidneys. 

• Medications fluoride binds to magnesium making it inaccessible to our body

Magnesium Deficient Soil and food

• Magnesium is lacking in soil

Mg content in grains has dropped 20% compared to pre 1968 values.This is due to farming methods. Post WWII we weaponized farming. Factories used to produce chemicals for bombs were now commissioned to produce chemicals for farming specifically fertilizer. Had left over potassium that was used in bombs now retooled it to be used in fertilizer. Potassium (K) is an antagonist for Mg absorption in plants. Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium NPK is what constitutes the balk of fertilizer for plants. They can get away with not putting Magnesium in fertilizer because it seems that only gross deficiency of magnesium will effect plants yield. 

• Round up and other herbicides bind to magnesium making it unavailable for the plants. 

• Pesticides which kill worms and bacteria stop them from processing the soil and breaking down minerals which means fewer minerals for the plants to absorb. 

• Our soil is a living breathing organism. It’s all tied together in a symbiotic relationship. We’ve completely taken over that and the results are poor soil health and vegetables that are mineral deficient. The plants can make vitamins but it has to get minerals from the soil.

• Refining foods depletes magnesium in foods

• Boiling vegetables lose in water. Surface area seems to be in play here. Boiling entire vegetables like a potato boiled whole or cut into large cubes results in minimal magnesium loss however if the potato is shredded thinly, therefore increasing the surface area exposed to the boiling water than a lot of magnesium can be lost in the boiling process.

Who should supplement with magnesium 

• Heart disease cardiac arrest. Sudden stop of heart. Electrical problem. Heart attack (myocardial infarction) blockage that robs a certain area of the heart of blood. Usually leading to cell death in that are. 

• Heart failure. Left ventricle hypertrophy. Linked to low magnesium. Lb for lb The highest amount of magnesium in the body is found in the heart ventricles.

• Diabetes. Need magnesium for insulin to act on cell. 

• Hypertension. Need magnesium to relax blood vessels and allow nitric oxide do it’s job. 

• Athletes heart. Depletion of magnesium. Heart seizes up and contract but can’t relax.  

• High Cholesterol

Magnesium acts like a natural statin because it works on the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase. When cholesterol is abundant magnesium works to inhibit that enzyme slowing the bodies creation of new cholesterol. When cholesterol is low magnesium will speed up that enzyme allowing our body to make more. 

Recommended Daily Allowance of Magnesium 

• Magnesium RDA is around 400mg/day for men and 320mg/day for woman.

• Usually our intestines absorb 30-50% of dietary magnesium. It can up regulate to 80% in cases of low magnesium. Takes place mainly in small intestine and colon.

• Example of daily magnesium uptake and waste

Consume 360mg

Uptake: Intestines absorb 120mg, ~30%, 

Waste: Intestines Secrete 20mg

Waste: Daily fecal output 260mg.

• Kidneys filter around 2400mg of magnesium a day.

Reabsorb 2300mg

Lose 100mg

• Thats how they get a RDA around 400. You lose 100mg in our kidneys. Need to get 100mg from our diet. 

• Don’t worry about taking too much. In people with normal kidneys high magnesium is uncommon

There is a negative feed back loop. High mag inhibits mag reabsorption in both the proximal tubule and the loop of henle. This inhibition leads to an increase in magnesium excretion. This prevents the the development of dangerous levels of serum magnesium even in the presence of above normal intake.