Magnesium Health: Aging and Magnesium Nutrition

By Anju Mathur, MD.
www.angelmedcenter.com

Aging is an inevitable part of life; so many of us try to resign ourselves to accepting it with grace. The truth is, although growing older is unavoidable, many of the effects of aging are preventable.
We invite you to consider that time affects us all and that the choice between graceful and productive older years or a period of slow decay and deterioration is within our reach. It is truly up to us to make that decision.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is a landmark concept in health management and is certainly wiser and more cost-effective.

The goal is not to prolong life to some unrealistically advanced age, but to promote successful aging – staying healthy and functional up to the end of a long, productive life. Utilization of safe, effective therapies that address the underlying mechanisms of aging for e.g. natural hormone replacement, and specific dietary and exercise recommendations are some of the foundation of an effective anti-aging program.

With the right diet, lifestyle, and hormonal and nutritional support, degenerative diseases and age-related health problems can be avoided or minimized.

A rational approach to rejuvenation and anti-aging includes a comprehensive program of detoxification, a survey and review of nutritional needs and their management (understanding of real food-related needs with more doable and complete diet plans), avoidance of environmental and personal pollutants (ecological life style) and most importantly, replacement of declining natural hormones, so that a living organism can successfully thrive.

Prevention is now both programmable and attainable.

Natural Hormones and Magnesium Are Powerful Anti-Aging Tools

Hormone replacement therapy is the essence of anti-aging medicine. By restoring your body’s levels of hormones to those of a young adult, you are taking one giant step away from the aging process.

We increasingly know how vital a healthy, well functioning hormonal or endocrine system is, since in essence it impacts all other aspects of physiology. The core of the system is the HPA, or hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, with its constellation of growth, energy and sexual functions.

In recent times, growing emphasis has been placed on the earlier overlooked HGH, or human growth hormone, a substance released by the pituitary gland and once thought to be non-existent by adulthood. HGH administration is a powerful anti-aging technique carrying virtually no side effects.

Recent research has also focused on the importance of the functions of the thymus and pineal glands, once considered mysterious organs of unknown value.

We now know that the harmonious regulation of the hormonal and immune systems depends to a great extent on thymus functions, and that the hormone Melatonin plays a vital role in the aging process. The balancing, support and supplementation of these glands can provide spectacular results. And can boost energy, vitality, and libido, as well as lower risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, and many other degenerative diseases.

Clinical researchers are also suggesting that it is the disturbance of calcium and magnesium that might be the missing link responsible for the frequent clinical coexistence of high blood pressure, atherosclerosis and metabolic disorders in aging. (3)

In a study of nursing home residents, low magnesium levels were significantly associated with two conditions that plague the elderly, calf cramps and diabetes. (4)

Individuals reaching a hundred years of age have higher total body magnesium and lower calcium levels than most elderly people. (5)

Nutrition

Vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, essential fatty acids, amino acids, antioxidants and other nutrients have often been removed from our “civilized” food chain by the effects of modern agricultural methods and food processing. Hence, their adequate supplementation in a nutrient-depleted body will greatly enhance the chance for a successful, long life, lived to its maximum potential.

Even the most disastrous of the modern degenerative conditions, such as cancer and vascular/heart/circulatory diseases, in which our genetic backgrounds may be either a help or a hindrance, can be decisively overcome when personal determination drives the healing process.

This is done by establishing your own personal metabolic individuality and determining your metabolic type. In other words you need to know how your own body is handling food and not what a particular food is doing to the body.

This means that, by learning the do’s and don’ts of proper environment and proper nutrition, and by investing what amounts to a small amount of time and money, you can soon be on the trail of our most valuable possession: ever-lasting good health.

Slow Down the Aging Process With Targeted Nutrients

Focus on proven natural therapies to prevent and minimize age-related diseases, including targeted nutritional supplements, exercise and customized diet plans. Learn how magnesium and antioxidants such as Glutathione, vitamins A, C, and E, and beta-carotene fight free radicals, slowing the rate at which we age and reversing some of the damage already inflicted over the years.

While aging isn’t caused by one factor, free radical damage is the dominant theory of why we age. Free radicals are implicated in such diseases as athero sclerosis, hypertension, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, late-onset diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease. In addition to free radical damage, your body’s everyday processes generate a lot of waste products that must regularly be detoxified and cleared out. So you need safe, effective and gentle methods of detoxifying the body along with putting correct nutrition in the body.

According to current research, low magnesium levels not only magnify free radical damage but can hasten the production of free radicals. (1)

One study utilizing cultures of skin cells found that low magnesium doubled the levels of free radicals (2). In addition, cells grown without magnesium were twice as susceptible to free radical damage as were cells grown in normal amounts of magnesium.

Research has made it clear that the restricted calorie diet (RCD) can be a major contributor to lifespan expansion in mammals (that’s us), which only reflects in our rational food intake plans. It is also exciting to know that limited periods of restricted dieting can balance hormonal functions whose effects can continue even after normal eating habits have resumed.

Physical Exercise

Regular physical activity is a vital weapon in the battle against aging. Exercise will speed up your metabolism (even while resting), which will enable your body to function more efficiently. The result: better resistance to free radicals, lower stress levels, and better ability to counteract the effects of aging.

Exercise increases levels of protective HDL cholesterol, it builds cardiovascular strength, and it improves circulation.

Exercise keeps your body young

Even just a few minutes a day can improve your health, well being and help you:

Lose weight

Reduce stress and relieves pain

Relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety

Reduce your risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer

Boost your mood and memory

Give you more energy

Help you sleep better

Increase bone density and strengthen bones

Strengthen the heart and lungs

Improve your quality of life

Facilitates Weight Loss

There are only two solutions to successful weight loss: stop storing fat and start burning stored fat. Exercise is by far the most effective method of burning excess fat. Long-term weight management is virtually impossible without a regular exercise program.

Strengthens the Bones

Your bones are in a constant state of remodeling and strengthening, stimulated by the stresses of activity and gravity. The more your bones are stressed through weight-bearing exercise such as walking, jogging, and weightlifting, the stronger they become.

Improves Mood and Memory

Exercise improves blood flow to the brain and stimulates the production of neurotransmitters involved in mood and memory. Active older people perform better on memory tests than sedentary people who are much younger. And in a recent study, exercising for 15 minutes three times a week-relieved depression as effectively as antidepressant drugs.

Relieves Pain

Arthritis, injuries, and repetitive strains often result in a cycle of pain, muscle weakness, and joint stiffness. Stretching, strengthening, and reconditioning exercises, as well as training in methods to prevent future flare ups, go a long way towards pain relief.

References:

(1)Hartwig A. “Role of magnesium in genomic stability.” Mutat Research, vol 18, no. 475 (1-2), pp. 113-121, 2001.

(2)Blaylock RL, Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills, Health Press, Santa Fe, NM, 1997.

(3)Barbagallo M. “Diabetes mellitus, hypertension and aging: the ionic hypothesis of aging and cardiovascular-metabolic diseases.” Diabetes Metab, vol 23. no. 4. pp. 281-294. 1997.

(4)Worwag M et al., “Prevalence of magnesium and zinc deficiencies in nursing home residents in Germany,” Magnes Res, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 181-189, 1999.

(5)Paolisso G et al., “Mean arterial blood pressure and serum levels of the molar ratio of insulin-like growth factor-1 to its binding protein 3 in centenarians.” J Hypertens, vol. 17, pp. 67-73, 1999.

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