MAGNESIUM - FROM MENSTRUATION TO MENOPAUSE

MAGNESIUM - FROM MENSTRUATION TO MENOPAUSE


In just a few weeks, we celebrate motherhood. The work mothers do in raising children – nurturing, disciplining, exercising endless patience or sharing in the excitement of each success small and large – is invaluable.


But the contributions mothers make are also physical. Our bodies do enormous work preparing for pregnancy, building new life inside of us and then helping it get out into the world. And to do this tremendous job, our bodies need specific nutrients. One of them is magnesium. Says practicing naturopathic doctor Kris Somol, ND, "Magnesium has worked wonders with many gynecological complaints I have encountered."1


PMS - THE HORMONAL LINK


You probably already know too well the outward effects of the hormonal swings our bodies go through on a monthly basis – moodiness, cravings, headaches, and irritability. Well, these rude reminders that earn menstruation the nickname "the curse," can indicate hormone-induced nutrient depletions inside the body.

According to a study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, estrogen and progesterone, the hormones that ebb and flow with our monthly cycle, affect the levels of magnesium in our bodies.2 High levels of estrogen and progesterone are linked to significant drops in magnesium levels – as much as a 30% decrease.3 One reason for this magnesium depletion as Dr. Somol explains, is that magnesium is also necessary in the metabolism or breakdown of estrogen. The more estrogen, the more magnesium used up to break it down.4


And these two hormones peak right around that dreaded premenstrual syndrome (PMS) time, resulting in especially low magnesium levels.


So this explains quite a few things. How about pre-menstrual chocolate cravings? Ounce for ounce chocolate is probably one of the more magnesium-rich foods.5 Yearning for the dark stuff is clearly our body writing its own prescription. Some women also develop a yen for dark leafy greens at this time, another food rich in magnesium.6


HEADACHES, MOODINESS, AND CRAMPS



If headaches – even migraines – plague you right before your period, low magnesium levels may also be to blame. Statistically, more of these sledge-hammer headaches hit women right before menstruation. With hormone levels high, magnesium levels drop in the smooth muscle cells surrounding the blood vessels in your brain. Without adequate magnesium, these muscles spasm and cramp, restricting the flow of blood, causing premenstrual migraines or even increasing the risk for a stroke.7


Even pre-menstrual moodiness may be linked to low magnesium levels, according to one small double-blind placebo-controlled trial conducted in Italy.8 Additionally, magnesium is essential for helping your body make use of another natural mood-buster, omega-3 fatty acids.9


Finally, magnesium continues on to provide relief during menstruation when cramps hit. Explains Dr. Somol, "[Magnesium] is essential in the process of muscle relaxation after a contraction. This is why it is useful for menstrual cramps," as well as prenatal leg cramps and labor.10


MAGNESIUM FOR A HEALTHY PREGNANCY


Unquestionably, adequate magnesium is essential for a healthy pregnancy. Clinical trials have shown that mothers who take magnesium supplements have healthier babies and fewer pregnancy problems.11


GOOD FOR MOTHERHOOD AND BEYOND


Menstruation and pregnancy mark the active phase of our reproductive lives. Yet even with menopause, magnesium can help ease the transition. Dr. Somol uses it frequently to help with hot flashes.15


To get your magnesium, Dr. Somol recommends eating lots of leafy greens, nuts, whole grains, legumes and drinking hard water. Yet with magnesium-depleted soils, these foods may have less than we need. For that reason, magnesium supplementation may be necessary. Says Dr. Somol, "I have used magnesium supplementation with many patients," listing a lengthy number of health issues women face – from gynecological complaints to cardiovascular issues. She notes, "There are many times when magnesium has been sufficient to correct certain symptoms."16


So honor your womanly body – at whatever stage – and care for it. Inside magnesium's simple mineral package lies health benefits equal to at least a dozen hand-picked bouquets and several Mother's Day brunches.



Jigsaw has a slow release formula that is essential to avoid the laxative effective of magnesium as an easy and effective way to get the magnesium the female body craves. Magnesium Tables @ Jigsaw Health

P.S. Enter FREESHIP in the coupon code section for free shipping.


CITED SOURCES

Personal interview Kris Somol 4/21/09
Muneyvirci-Delale O. et al. Sex Steroid Hormones Modulate Serum Ionized Magnesium and Calcium Levels Throughout The Menstrual Cycle in Women." Fertility and Sterility. 1998 May;69(5):958-62
Muneyvirci-Delale et al.
Somol interview.
Carolyn Dean, The Magnesium Miracle. Ballantine, New York. 2007, p. 136.
Somol interview.
Dean, p. 134.
Facchinetti F. et al. Oral magnesium successfully relieves premenstrual mood changes. Obstetrics and Gynecology. 1991 Aug;78(2):177-81.
Dean, p. 137.
Somol interview.
Dean, p. 142.
Dean, p. 141.
Smyth, RM et al. Magpie Trial in the UK: Methods and additional data for women and children at 2 years following pregnancy complicated by pre-eclampsia. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 2009 April 14; 9(1): 15. and Magpie Trial Coordinating Center. The Magpie Trial follow up study: outcome after discharge from hospital for women and children recruited to a trial comparing magnesium sulphate with placebo for pre-eclampsia. BMC Pregnancy And Childbirth. 2004 March 8; 4(1):5.
Doyle LW, et al. Magnesium sulphate for women at risk of preterm birth for neuroprotection of the fetus. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. 2009 Jan 21; (1)
Somol interview.
Somol interview.





See Stephanie's site Work Stress Solutions for more information like this.

Magnesium and Stress: The Relaxation Mineral

When you are chronically stressed, you can become magnesium deficient even if you eat magnesium-rich foods regularly. The complex relationship between magnesium and stress explains why many people require magnesium supplements, because even a nutritious diet does not correct their magnesium deficiency.








Magnesium plays an important role in biochemical reactions all over your body. It is involved in a lot of cell transport activities, in addition to helping cells make energy aerobically or anaerobically. Your bones are a major reservoir for magnesium, and magnesium is the counter-ion for calcium and potassium in muscle cells, including the heart.



If your magnesium is too low, you can experience muscle cramps, arrythmias, and even sudden death. Ion regulation is everything with respect to how muscles contract and nerves send signals. In the brain, potassium and sodium balance each other. In the heart and other muscles, magnesium pulls the load.











Magnesium is an old home remedy for all that ails you, including "anxiety, apathy, depression, headaches, insecurity, irritability, restlessness, talkativeness, and sulkiness."




In 1968, Wacker and Parisi reported that magnesium deficiency could cause depression, behavioral disturbances, headaches, muscle cramps, seizures, ataxia, psychosis, and irritability - all reversible with magnesium repletion.



Stress is the bad guy here, in addition to our woeful magnesium deficient diets. As is the case with other minerals, stress causes us to waste our magnesium like crazy.



Magnesium Deposits and Stress

Several studies have also looked how stress levels affect magnesium. They found that during periods of extreme stress, magnesium is often used up by the body.


That means that not only is a significant portion of the country magnesium deficient, potentially leading to anxiety – there may also be a high number of people that use up their magnesium reserves as a result of their anxiety, thus contributing to more anxiety and more stress. This creates a loop effect where stress and anxiety are experienced without an external factor of causation.


Doctors know potassium deficiency is a danger for people on diuretics but they don’t acknowledge that magnesium is also flushed out in equal measure. Magnesium deficiency goes undiagnosed and unrecognized because until recently there was no accurate blood test for magnesium.



Magnesium is not as readily available as potassium; it’s deficient in the soil and most fertilizers don’t contain magnesium, so most foods are lacking. Also cooking and processing foods depletes magnesium. It’s found in whole grains, greens, nuts and seeds, but most people don’t eat much, if any, of those foods.


And yet, for some reason doctors think that we get all our nutrients in our very SAD, Standard American Diet and they don’t recognize the need for nutrient supplementation. It all stems back to a medical education that is funded by drug companies that have no vested interest in promoting nutrients. Vitamins and minerals can’t be patented and are relatively inexpensive.


Research shows that all the metabolic processes in the body, ALL OF THEM, depend on vitamins and minerals, which act as necessary co-factors. Magnesium itself is a co-factor and responsible for the function of 325 enzymes; is an absolute requirement for calcium to be incorporated into bone; keeps toxic chemicals out of the brain; dances with calcium to create nerve impulses and muscle impulses; keeps muscles relaxed, including the heart and blood vessels, and triggers dozens of health conditions if it is deficient.


Studies prove up to 70 percent of people are deficient in magnesium. Magnesium deficiency can trigger or cause many health issues including the following:

• Anxiety
  
• Asthma
  
• Blood clots
  
• Bowel disease (from constipation)
  
• Cystitis
  
• Depression
  
• Diabetes
  
• Fatigue
  
• Heart disease
  
• Hypertension/high blood pressure
  
• Hypoglycemia
  
• Insomnia
  
• Migraines
  
• Kidney stones
  
• Musculoskeletal conditions
  
• Fibromyalgia
  
• Chronic neck and back pain
  
• Fibrositis
  
• Nerve problems
  
• PMS
  
• Infertility
  
• Preeclampsia
  
• Osteoporosis
  

Everyone could benefit from extra magnesium. The only problem I encountered, is the laxative effect. If you are unable to absorb magnesium for whatever reason (alcohol, smoking, stress, poor diet, IBS), then you will not get enough of this enzyme and you will be on the potty and still experience all of the symptoms listed above! I found one product that works that doesn't create a laxative effect. It's not really that expensive either. It tastes too salty, if you ask me, so I put it in things that need salt: I put it in my food after I have cooked something that needs a salty flavor or even in a beer! My back pain and anxiety are GONE. And when I get a twinge in my lower back, I know I need to put more magnesium in me!
Here is my favorite caplet form, plus free shipping if you enter FREESHIP into the shipping code section.
Magnesium @ Jigsaw Health
Jigsaw says, "We are not the cheapest. There, we said it. We spend a great deal of our own money to partner with companies whose products work and who do business the way we want to do business. That means only the highest quality ingredients, each carefully researched and hand-selected to ensure the greatest potency, from the most reputable labs and manufacturers. We will not compromise the effectiveness of our products or your health to save a few dollars. This approach is the reason why so many families place their trust in Jigsaw Health. A responsibility we take very seriously."
From Steph: But it's still just $39 and 249 tablets per bottle is .15 per tab! And NO LAXATIVE EFFECT!
PLUS Here's the coupon code for 10% off when you checkout :
10percent

Go to Jigsaw Health.Com for non-laxative magnesium tablets.

The only other magnesium I have found that does not create a laxative effect is a liquid sold by Dr. Carolyn Dean called ReMag. But it's VERY salty and I have a hard time taking the dose because of it. It costs $29, but only lasts about a month. So, the folks at Jigsaw are actually very competitive.

Still not sure it's magnesium you need? Here's an article by Dr. Mark Hyman called "Magnesium: The Most Powerful Relaxation Mineral Available." See Stephanie's site Work Stress Solutions for more information like this.