1. How & why we lose magnesium to stress:
As Dr. Richard Danel of The Magnesium Health Institute explains: magnesium, water and oxygen were all involved in the evolutionary development of all our organs. This explains why magnesium is ingrained in the function of every organ, including our adrenal glands, which produce the hormones that help our bodies respond to stress,[1,2]. The critical facts are:
- Magnesium is required to make these stress-response hormonesdue to its role in protein synthesis [3-8] and electrolyte balance.[9]
- Our body prioritizes our magnesium for stress hormone production because it is an immediate survival mechanism (fight or flight).
The conclusion, is that ALL STRESS DIRECTLY DEPLETES MAGNESIUM IN THE HUMAN BODY. [10]
2. What qualifies as magnesium-draining stress?
Stress is any stimulus which forces our body to restore its physiological balance. This means that magnesium-draining stress is extremely common (you can see the types of stressors in the third tab on this page).
However, sometimes stress can benefit us when it is of the right type and magnitude that it activates our body’s adaptive response. This is when our body grows stronger and more resilient than it was before the stress was experienced.hormesis This form of stress that results in human adaptation is called [11], and two simple examples are:
- When our immune system becomes stronger after successfully defeating a virus.
- When our muscles grow stronger after recovering from the stress of a workout.
However because even hormetic forms of stress still deplete nutrients such as magnesium from our body, they are only beneficial if the body has the surplus of nutrients it needs to compensate. If we lack a surplus of nutrients (the most vital of which is magnesium) then even stress that would otherwise make us stronger, instead damages[12]our body, (such as that of too much exercise while deficient in magnesium).
3. Why is magnesium deficiency so common now?
Here is a general look at our current situation of net magnesium balance that looks at how much magnesium we lose everyday versus how much we absorb:
1950s
Present Day
- Total environmental stress that drains our magnesium
- Magnesium in our soil and healthy foods
- Our intestine’s ability to absorb magnesium from food and pills
- Our body’s ability to make magnesium – will always remain at zero.
As we can see, our levels of magnesium depletion are rising, while our access to dietary magnesium is dropping. We are losing more while absorbing less.
The critical factor is that stress in the human body not only directly drains our magnesium, but it also causes inflammation which damages and hinders our intestine. [13-18] Our intestine is the organ responsible for absorbing magnesium from food and pills.[19,20] This is why in today’s world of high environmental stress, [21-27]the average person’s digestive capacities and gut health are far below optimal.
Also, in North America it is mandated to add inorganic iron into various foods which not only feeds gut bacteria but also leads to iron toxicity which even further stresses our body and damages our intestine. [28-31] When we add the fact that even in a healthy gut, a maximum of only 30-40% of magnesium from food can be absorbed, it helps us see why magnesium deficiency is widespread.
4. The main sources of magnesium-draining stress to avoid:
All of the following are sources of stress that deplete magnesium from the human body:
- airborne pollution
- synthetic diet (GMOs, inorganic fertilizers from non-organic produce)
- processed food and poor food combinations
- psychological and emotional stress
- prolonged exposure to blue/artificial light from digital technology screens *1
- synthetic contaminants from household products
- daily ingestion of high amounts of fluoride from tap and bottled water
- plastic toxins that leach into water from water bottles and juice boxes
- intense exercise while in a magnesium-deficient state
- WIFI and electromagnetic radiation *2
*1 Artificial Light:
Our brain’s hypothalamus runs our biological clock which regulates processes that prevent aging and deterioration. When we stare into a computer or phone near bedtime, the artificial light stops our hypothalamus from stimulating the release of detoxifying, regenerating, and sleep-inducing hormones. There are two free apps that change the light on our devices to a natural orange/red to reduce these effects.
- For phone screen: twilight app
- For computer screen : f.lux app
*2 WIFI & Electromagnetic Radiation:
In the 50s scientists discovered the Earth’s geomagnetic pulse, which NASA and others later found was vital to human health and that being removed from this pulse has negative effects on our biological clock. Modern prevalence of WIFI and microwave frequencies seem to interfere with this pulse known as the Schuman Resonance. There are several measures we can take to mitigate this blockage:
- Turn off all technology where we sleep & put cell phones on airplane mode.
- Turn off the WIFI signal at night when the internet is not being used.
- Increase your exposure to nature, especially in the form of walking barefoot on natural ground. This is known as grounding, and is based on Maxwell’s basic laws of electromagnetism.
