On PPIs? Symptoms of low magnesium. Research paper.

Oh, but there are so very, very many reasons everyone already should be taking a magnesium supplement. Besides which, Mg prevents and treats heartburn as well as any proton pump inhibitor (PPI) as well. Really it is nothing less than the whole rationale behind PPIs that should be under question, as it is almost always low Mg intake that is responsible for heartburn in the first place!

The list of disease conditions that are caused or aggravated by low Mg is astoundingly long. Just the length of it and fact that you never hear of Mg in relation to these diseases is enough to make one suspect some sort of massive drug company conspiracy. Here is but a partial list: ADD, AGING, anger/aggression, all addiction (especially alcoholism), allergies, ALS, Alzheimer's, anxiety, arthritis, asthma, atherosclerosis, autism, bruxism, CANCER, carpel tunnel, chemical sensitivity, chronic fatigue, constipation, depression, diabetes, epilepsy, eclampsia, fibromyalgia, hearing loss, heart disease, hypertension, impatience, insomnia, kidney stones, metabolic syndrome (and perhaps all obesity), migraine headache, mitral valve prolapse, menopause, multiple sclerosis, nail biting, OCD, osteoporosis, peripheral vascular disease, PMS, many psychiatric disorders, PTSD, SIDS, sickle cell disorder, STRESS, stuttering, tinnitus, TMJ, and toxic shock. And this is by no means all disorder related to low Mg levels.

Perhaps the most common denominator of many of these disorders is poor nerve function. Mg improves nerve signalling among other things--particularly reducing excessive signalling (excess nerve function/nervousness is exacerbated by common dietary calcium excess). Another huge function is to decrease peroxynitrite nitrosation, this is a particularly important means of cellular damage throughout the body. Nitrosation is now thought to be likely the most damaging pathway of free radical oxidative damage.

Blood tests for Mg are notoriously inaccurate, failing to detect low Mg levels until they are quite dangerously low. This is because the body regulates blood levels very tightly drawing Mg from other tissues. A more accurate measure tests a sizable tissue sample, which is considerably more invasive.

And there is less and less Mg in the Western diet, but more and more competitive factors, which include everything we like to eat (from sugar, fats and phosphate to the most common vitamins). PPI induced Mg loss is but a tiny additional reason that everyone should be taking Mg for pretty much every health reason one can imagine.

Haha, that may be fair. I am definitely very enthusiastic about magnesium these days. The people who have been to my house lately have referred to it as "magnesium university." Tho, I do not make anything from magnesium and have not invested in it any more than my own few bottles. And I only discovered its myriad health benefits after discovering what benefit my sister who has trauma-induced epilepsy found in it making her seizures again responsive to her medication. Then I tried it and liked it myself too. Your skepticism is perfectly understandable. I definitely would not have believed it myself. And I certainly did not provide the refs in my post to make even an argument I'd have found credible before I learned what I now know. Here are a couple of general references about Mg in nutrition: http://www.mgwater.com/human.shtml http://www.mgwater.com/dietary.shtml both authored by Mildred Seelig, MD. She proposed the Mg RDI should really be 7-10 mg/kg/day for men (450-600 mg/day) and 6 mg/kg/day for women (360 mg) with up to 15 mg/kg/day for healing/tissue repair. And here's a ref about Mg for acid reflux:
http://www.refluxremedy.com/blog/20/recurring-acid-reflux-bone-mass/
http://drhyman.com/3-simple-steps-to-eliminate-heartburn-and-acid-reflux-1712/

My assertion that it is probably just low Mg intake that is responsible for acid reflux was the combination of the facts that even the USDA has said 70% of peoples' diets (>95% by others' measures) are Mg deficient (by the current RDI) and the well known fact that Mg is alkaline and as such a very fast acting antacid. If you will just try to have acid reflux on magnesium, you'll see what I mean. It neutralizes stomach acid instantly. Additionally, in my own unscientific, limited experience, the people I know who had had acid reflux and tried magnesium said they did not even need to take their PPI anymore (pepcid, prilosec, prevacid--only three people). And in all cases, they found magnesium had unexpectedly helped with other conditions as well (blood sugar control, high blood pressure, back pains, headaches, stress, and/or impatience).

It really is astounding how much good magnesium does for health in so very many ways. My main--if overstated--point was just that there is so much more reason to take Mg than just the deficiency that PPIs cause.

Also, the main reason for not using magnesium is its laxative effect, but there are forms that are completely nonlaxative. Mg malate and Mg glycinate are nonlaxative and are not compounded with excitatory amino acids (like aspartate and glutamate). It is mostly just Mg oxide/hydroxide and Mg citrate that are laxative (they're sold at all drug stores for their laxative effect). Additionally they are laxative just because they are so poorly absorbable.

In quick reply about cancer (because I only have a minute now), here are a few links:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9548438?dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21271439
http://www.mgwater.com/cancer.shtml <-- Mildred Seelig is my favorite.
http://www.mgwater.com/dur17.shtml

In physiology & theory, Mg reduces peroxynitrite nitrosation damage, which is likely the biggest means by which free radical damage gets out of control. (Nitrosation disables SOD.)
http://www.ei-resource.org/articles/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-articles/the-no!-oh-noo!-theory-and-suggestions-for-treatment/
http://sprident.com/martin-pall/cfs.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18229788

It's also pretty important to note that "magnesia" magnesiums (oxide and hydroxide) are not at all the same as absorbable forms (which are mostly just amino acid chelates and Kreb's cycle acid conjugates). Because oxide & hydroxide are (usually) so poorly absorbed, it can actually decrease one's Mg level. Citrate is fairly poorly absorbable too. I tried these forms first, and they just gave me a headache--probably from dehydration.

Just a reminder, Sharing information is allowed, but the forums are not to be used to publish articles. It is an improper use of critical forum resources. 

If you feel strongly about a topic a post with a few links to articles is allowed. Alcie's thread was short and she shared an article that she found helpful. 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but please do review the forum rules.

Thank you for your understanding. 

Kindly,

Kitt