You've heard
of mag wheels, the mag stands for magnesium. Magnesium wheels will
not rust. Great, but magnesium is important for human function as
well. I'm not talking about chewing on magnesium wheels, we're talking
about the ionic form of magnesium, such as is available in magnesium
supplements. Magnesiugluconate for example, magnesium sulfate such
as one finds in epsom salts. That's what we're talking about. And
why is it so important? Because it's part and parcel of about 300
enzymes in the human body and enzymes are responsible for all kinds
of things.
We know for
example that magnesium is important in the function of the heart,
in bone formation, in the functioning of the nervous system. All
of these require magnesium. If there's a deficiency of magnesium
we have all kinds of possible effects ranging from irritability
to twinge sensation in our muscles and even to irregular heartbeat.
Studies have shown for example that populations that consume a lot
of soft water, water that is very low in calcium and magnesium have
an increased chance of heart disease. It is also interesting to
note that sometimes after heart attack physicians will use magnesium
compounds because it has an effect to dilate the blood vessels and
also to regulate the heart beat. So there's no doubt, we need an
adequate supply of magnesium in our diet.
Luckily it is
not hard to get magnesium in our diet either by dining on plants
or by dining on animals that have dined on plants. Nuts of
all kinds are very good sources of magnesium. Even chocolate
has some. In some cases physicians will actually suggest supplements
of magnesium to their patients who suffer from fibromyalgia, it
seems to have some effect there and also recent studies showed that
it can help reduce blood pressure. So those are the kind of cases
where you may want to ask about magnesium supplements. There's another
very interesting way of taking magnesium supplements, that was discovered
by African natives many, many, many years ago. It turns out that
termite droppings are high in magnesium and they make these little
balls of concentrated termite droppings as a source of magnesium
in order to alleviate tiredness. If it's all the same to you, I
think I'd rather rely on soya beans for my magnesium supplements.
