Book Report: The Magnesium Miracle

The Magnesium Miracle (Second Edition) by Carolyn Dean Md Nd

This is a large collection of Dr. Dean’s research and evidence of magnesium’s importance throughout the body. I collected a great number of actionable notes from this read below.

• 10 Magnesium Facts
• 1. Magnesium is necessary for the proper functioning of 700–800 enzyme systems in the body—that’s why it can be implicated in scores of symptoms and dozens of health conditions
• 2. Most people (70–80 percent) are magnesium deficient
• 3. Calcium depletes magnesium in the body, and many people get too much calcium, either as supplements, in fortified foods, or in dairy products
• 4. Magnesium is very deficient in the soil and in the food supply, so it must be supplemented.
• 5. Therapeutic doses of magnesium are impossible to obtain in those who suffer the laxative effect before their symptoms can be relieved. Fortunately, people can get relief from ReMag, a non-laxative form of magnesium that can be taken in therapeutic dosages.
• 6. Mitochondrial dysfunction is no longer a mystery. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) energy molecules are made in the mitochondria via the Krebs cycle. Six of the eight steps in that cycle depend on magnesium.
• 8. The definitive test that would tell you your magnesium levels, the ionized magnesium blood test, is not available to the public. A helpful but less accurate test, magnesium RBC, must be used in conjunction with your clinical symptoms. The serum magnesium test is highly inaccurate, yet it is still the standard test used in hospitals, clinics, and most clinical trials—however, it doesn’t even appear on an electrolyte panel.
• 9. Magnesium deficiency is a major factor in chronic disease—diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, migraines, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and heartburn. The drugs used to treat all these conditions deplete magnesium, often making symptoms worse.
• 10. Telomeres, which are components of chromosomes, hold the key to aging, as does magnesium, which prevents telomeres from deteriorating
• The investigators stated that three biologic mechanisms could potentially explain how magnesium helps treat hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. • First, magnesium deficiency causes a dysregulation of the sodium-magnesium exchange, resulting in higher intracellular sodium and thus higher blood pressure. • Second, a relatively low magnesium level creates an intracellular imbalance between calcium and magnesium, which results in increased spasms in the smooth muscle of arteries and therefore increased blood pressure. • Third, magnesium deficiency causes insulin resistance, which in turn causes hyperinsulinemia, resulting in hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia.
• reasons why taking magnesium may create a reaction in your body that you may misinterpret as a side effect.
• 1. You’re not taking enough.
• 2. You think you are taking enough but you are burning off magnesium at a rapid rate. This increased rate of usage can be due to higher stress levels, surges of adrenaline (panic attacks), surgery, medications, yeast overgrowth, or premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
• 3. You’re taking too much too soon.
• 4. Magnesium is causing a detox reaction.
• 5. You have low blood pressure from long-standing magnesium deficiency and adrenal fatigue
• 6. You’re on heart medications. As your health improves because of magnesium supplementation, your meds are becoming toxic. 
• 7.You’ve started taking iodine or thyroid medication. High dose iodine or thyroid meds can increase your thyroid hormones causing mild hyperthyroidism, which can speed up your metabolism and rev you up. If you have a history of heart palpitations, they may increase with this rise in metabolism. 
• 8. You’re taking too much vitamin D. 
• 9. You are taking too much calcium and it’s pushing out magnesium
• 10. You’re taking fairly high doses of magnesium and not taking trace minerals or drinking enough water. Trace minerals help your body hold water in the cells
• 11. You’re not taking enough B vitamins. Vitamin B6 and B2 are important vitamins that assist magnesium absorption into cells.
• 12. You are mercury toxic. 
• 13. You’re taking a drug that contains fluoride. Read the section “Fluoride Binds Magnesium” in Chapter 1 to understand why you may be susceptible to magnesium deficiency caused by medically prescribed drugs, fluoride treatments from your dentist, fluoride toothpaste,
• 14. You have yeast overgrowth. Your magnesium deficiency symptoms may have been so severe that you didn’t realize you have yeast overgrowth.
• Causes of Magnesium Deficiency 1. Athletic performance causes sweat loss of magnesium. 2. Alcohol causes magnesium depletion due to its diuretic effect. 3. Antacids counteract stomach acid, decreasing magnesium absorption. 4. Acid rain is high in nitric acid, which draws calcium and magnesium out of the soil to try and neutralize the acidity and consequently depletes the soil of these minerals. 5. Caffeine causes magnesium depletion with its diuretic effect. It also stimulates the adrenal glands, causing adrenaline surges and magnesium loss. 6. Most drugs cause magnesium depletion; this is especially true of drugs containing fluorine atoms. 7. Fertilizers do not replace necessary minerals but are high in phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen. Excess potassium and phosphorus are preferentially absorbed into plants, inhibiting magnesium absorption. 8. Fluoride and fluorine in water, from dental procedures, in toothpaste, and in drugs bind magnesium, making it unavailable to the body. Magnesium fluoride (MgF2), called sellaite, is an insoluble compound and replaces magnesium in bone and cartilage with a brittle, unstable crystalline substance. 9. Food processing and cooking decrease magnesium levels. 10. Herbicides such as Roundup bind with magnesium, making it unavailable for plants to utilize for decades. 11. Pesticides kill worms and bacteria and thus their function of processing the soil and breaking down minerals is lost, which means fewer minerals are absorbed by plants. 12. Intestinal disease, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), leaky gut, gluten and casein sensitivities, funguses, and parasites, interferes with magnesium absorption. 13. Junk foods, especially sugar products, drain magnesium. The liver needs twenty-eight atoms of magnesium to process one molecule of glucose. Fructose requires fifty-six atoms of magnesium. 14. Meat from animals eating magnesium-depleted food is low in magnesium. 15. Oxalic acid (found in rhubarb, spinach, and chard) and phytic acid (found in cereal grains and soy) block absorption of magnesium. 16. Low potassium levels can increase urinary magnesium loss. 17. High-protein diets can decrease magnesium absorption and require more magnesium for digestion and assimilation. 18. Refining grains, especially rice and wheat, reduces magnesium. 19. Sauna therapy for weight loss, to detox, or just to stay healthy can cause enough mineral loss through sweating to create magnesium deficiency symptoms. 20. Soil on farmland is woefully depleted of magnesium. 21. Soil erosion makes it easier for heavy rain or irrigation to wash away soil, leading to a loss of minerals, including magnesium. 22. Stress or trauma of any type—physical, mental, emotional, environmental—can cause magnesium deficiency. 23. Stomach acid deficiency due to stress results in decreased absorption of magnesium. 24. Tannins in tea bind and remove minerals, including magnesium. 25. Trans fatty acids and mineral deficiency alter cell wall integrity,…

This is just a fraction of the notes I took, there is much more to unpack, but I believe there is enough covered here to paint a picture of how many people could benefit from magnesium. I definitely analyzed my magnesium a bit closer and brought her liquid ionized magnesium product ReMag into the store to be available to customers. Please reach out if you want assistance analyzing this angle or any other health optimization strategies!

This Book Report collection is meant to provide some of the best take-home points from the health and science genre I read. I will continue to go thru my notes of the 160+ and counting (as of January 2019) Kindle books I have on file. To view ALL the notes I saved on this one AND many others without a Book Report post yet, THAT IS ALSO SEARCHABLE, please click here.