Magnesium

Calcium-based bones support your frame, but magnesium supports your chemistry: could it help with ED?

A recent (2023) news-feed included a report, entitled “A higher dose of Magnesium (Mg) each day keeps dementia at bay”: the report, based on an article from the Neuroimaging and Brain Lab of the Australian National University (ANU), condensed the article into the following statement: “The brain age of people consuming more than 550mg of Mg daily is about a year younger at age 55, than that of people with a normal Mg intake of about 350mg per day”.

The article, entitled “Dietary magnesium intake is related to larger brain volumes and lower white matter lesions with notable sex differences”, by Khawlah Alateeq, Erin Walsh and Nicolas Cherbuin, DOI: 10.1007/s00394-023-03123-x, was published by Research Gate on 3/10/23 and reported by europepmcc.org,  NIH and the European Journal of Nutrition.
The study involved more than 6,000 cognitively healthy subjects in the UK, aged 40-73: it concluded that higher dietary Magnesium intake is related to better brain health in the general population, particularly in women.

Not being either a mathematician or a gifted statistician, I cannot pretend to understand the mathematical logic, but I’m prepared to accept the (quite reasonable) conclusions, that magnesium is necessary to brain health and that we should try to ensure that no one is magnesium-deficient.

The article reminded me that magnesium is indeed a top-level concern in the management of the human body and that as a topic for discussion it is eminently worthy of inclusion in my blog.

MAGNESIUM (Mg)

Graphic courtesy of Wikipedia

Mg is a shiny, gray metal whose atomic nucleus contains 12 protons (atomic number 12). It is lighter than Aluminum and is used primarily as a component in strong, light-weight aluminium alloys. It has a low melting point (650°C) and is so chemically reactive that in its natural state, it is only found in combination with other elements. Magnesium is so reactive with oxygen that it burns in air (with a brilliant, white light) and when isolated, the “pure” metal has a thin, external layer of magnesium oxide, because its exposed surface reacts instantly with oxygen in the air.

Magnesium is the fourth most common element in the Earth as a whole and is the eighth commonest element in the crust (iron, oxygen and silicon are more abundant). Although it is even lighter than Aluminum, there is so much magnesium on earth that it accounts for 13% of the planet's mass and it is in third place, after sodium and chlorine, among the elements dissolved in seawater.

Not surprisingly, this ubiquitous, hyper-reactive element, eleventh by mass in the human body, is active in all our cells and is essential to some 300 enzymes. Magnesium ions interact with polyphosphate compounds such as ATP, DNA, and RNA and they take part in almost all chemical reactions in our bodies. Magnesium compounds are used medicinally as laxatives and antacids (like milk of magnesia), to stabilize nerve excitation and blood vessel spasm (in conditions like eclampsia).

An essential, but often deficient, nutrient

This article reminded me that magnesium is an essential nutrient, of prime importance in our bodies and that as such, it deserves a place in this blog. It is a major constituent in grains, fruits and nuts (especially, almonds); but because the fields on which our food is grown have become magnesium-deficient over time, insufficient magnesium intake is very common in humans: anyone who has constipation and (or) muscle cramps is probably either hypothyroid, or short of magnesium.

Magnesium is an essential nutrient for normal body functions: after potassium, it is the second most common metal in the body, with half in the soft tissue cells and half stored in bone. Very little exists in the blood, which contains only 0.3% of the total Mg in the body. A clue to its importance is that its concentration is tightly controlled: the stores in the bones are used to buffer the concentration in the blood, so blood levels of magnesium only rarely deviate from the normal range.

A very active factor

Mg is involved in about 350 biochemical processes (80% of body processes), and activates many intracellular enzymes.
It is important for protein synthesis, membrane stabilization, antibody activity and immune response.
It helps to build strong bones, but paradoxically, is active in preventing calcification of arteries and in removal of calcium from their lining in cases of arteriosclerosis (a combination of Magnesium, Lysine or Carnitine, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2-7 and Citric Acid has been recommended, for treatment of calcific arteriosclerosis (not atherosclerosis).   

Magnesium deficiency

In young people, the small intestine absorbs 30–50% of the Mg in the diet, but the percentage diminishes in old age, chronic Kidney disease and increasing intake.
Also, the magnesium content of farm soils has been eroded over time due to intensive cultivation without replacement of the metal.
In any event, Mg deficiency is endemic, so the symptoms and signs of low magnesium are common.

Conditions due to magnesium deficiency

High blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and bone fractures, migraine, asthma, constipation and chronic kidney disease, fatigue, tiredness and weakness are all associated with low magnesium.

The commonest complaints are:

Constipation

Calcium is necessary for muscle contraction and magnesium, for muscle relaxation. So if the Mg is low, the muscles of the large intestine are unable to relax, to accept bowel contents coming from above. Therefore movement of stool towards the rectum slows down, water absorption by the lower bowel (the sigmoid colon) dries it out and the waste becomes very difficult to move.

Muscle cramps

Although magnesium deficiency has been blamed for muscle cramps, no direct association has been proven and taking Mg does not necessarily prevent cramping.

Hip fracture: lower serum Mg levels are associated with an increased risk of fractures: the assessment for osteoporosis should include checking magnesium levels and part of the treatment should be Mg supplementation.

Poor response to brain injury: Brain swelling from injury and in neurological diseases is associated with low Cerebral Mg concentration: giving magnesium reduces brain swelling, restores the ability of the blood-brain barrier to keep toxins out and improves the speed and efficiency of healing. It may be that in brain injury and neurological diseases, a low Mg level is part of the reason for brain swelling and slow recovery.

Vascular calcification (VC, arteriosclerosis)

Commoner in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and especially in those on dialysis, magnesium deficiency contributes to the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).