Is magnesium the missing link to better health? Here’s the basics on this essential mineral. ♥️ 👀 Next: No More Dementia! Top 10 Foods To Eat Now! https://youtu.be/65lnLZoaZkc ♥️ My Favorite “All-In-One” Immune Support Supplement: https://nacproplus.com/products
Welcome to Healthy Immune Doc
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The trauma of working in the frontlines as an acute and critical care Infectious Disease specialist during the chaos and stress of 2020-21, motivated Dr. Liu to promote practical health and wellness principles for her community.
Healthy Immune Doc youtube channel is an extension of her education campaign to help people understand how to optimize immunity and inflammation and slow down premature aging caused by acute and chronic conditions.
Everyone is welcome!
Dr. Liu’s Bio
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Dr. Liu is the co-founder of NACPro+, dedicated to optimizing immunity and wellness.
Dr. Liu graduated from Loma Linda University School of Medicine in 1998 and is Double Boarded in Infectious Disease and Internal Medicine. She is licensed in the state of California.
This channel is separate from Dr. Liu’s duties as Attending Medical Staff @ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and as Assistant Professor at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. The views on this channel are her own.
VIDEO TOPICS:
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00:00 Intro
02:45 Magnesium & Energy
05:24 Signs You’re Deficient
08:09 Why Sleep Suffers
10:50 How Magnesium Helps
13:25 Different Magnesium Types
15:58 Gut Absorption Tips
18:30 Brain & Mood Support
21:04 Blood Pressure Effects
23:43 Magnesium & Focus
26:13 Heart Health Benefits
28:48 Fatigue & Magnesium
31:38 How Much to Take
34:12 Best Food Sources
37:00 Outro
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Sorry, occupational hazard: This is NOT medical advice, nor can I give you medical advice. I AM NOT YOUR DOCTOR. This video does not create a doctor-patient relationship between Dr. Liu and you. Everything here is for general informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing medical advice. Information in this video is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and it should not be used to self-diagnose nor should it substitute for a medical exam, treatment, diagnosis, and prescription or other recommendations by a professional medical doctor. You should not make any changes in your health regimen or diet before first consulting a physician. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice from health care professionals for any medical condition.
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All non-licensed clips are used for fair use commentary, criticism, and educational purposes. See Hosseinzadeh v. Klein, 276 F.Supp.3d 34 (S.D.N.Y. 2017); Equals Three, LLC v. Jukin Media, Inc., 139 F. Supp. 3d 1094 (C.D. Cal. 2015).
hi friends you might be low on magnesium and not even know it nearly half of all Americans aren’t getting enough and some researchers believe that’s a key reason so many struggle with sleep mood and fatigue but here’s where it gets confusing does timing really matter can this simple mineral really be the fix that 1 in 3 people desperately need or is it overhyped now some studies say it boosts deep sleep and lower stress others find no clear benefit even experts they can’t agree and what about supplements magnesium comes in so many forms and most people pick the wrong one here’s what you’re not hearing and why it might matter more than you think magnesium regulates your sleep and wake cycles which determines your mood metabolism and memory not having enough magnesium means you will feel bad fatigue cramps hard arrhythmias you’ll have poor bowel movements which by themselves will all lead to poor sleep however magnesium deficiency is also an independent factor that interferes with good sleep as you can imagine in the long term being deficient in magnesium will lead to lots of chronic health conditions like high blood pressure diabetes heart failure bone loss memory loss and even irreversible dementia do you tend to forget things a bit absent minded spaced out or have difficulty retaining information ever have mommy brain I had mommy brain with difficulty concentrating and brain fog partially due to really bad sleep deprivation taking care of a young infant while working full time during my training and I also ate a very poor diet I’m positive I had magnesium deficiency because I often woke up in the middle of the night with excruciating leg cramps ever had that happen to you painful isn’t it you can’t stretch your leg and yet you can’t touch it because it’s so painful magnesium is crucial for your body to relax including your muscles and if you don’t have enough of it well your muscles and your brain they will struggle your brain unlike your heart it actually needs some time to rest that’s exactly why we sleep and every animal needs to do it there are no exceptions in life and that’s why I don’t understand how the medical community for decades just assumed that all physicians and medical students and the ones in training that we can work forever without any sleep I once stayed up working 36 hours straight as a medical resident nobody said a word and they expected me to just keep on working now personally I wouldn’t wanna be a patient of a sleep deprived physician nor the passenger of a sleep deprived Uber driver bus driver or pilot nor do I wanna be on a road with anybody who’s sleep deprived however just because you fall asleep doesn’t guarantee you will wake up well rested and that’s because there are different stages of sleep and those who don’t get into deep sleep at night will wake up feeling pretty awful not only are you unproductive but your metabolism actually slows down your immunity takes a hit and if you keep doing that you increase your risk of infections and dementia now I’m sure you’ve noticed poor memory the day after you have had poor sleep and did you know that people who are deficient in magnesium will also have poor memory too it’s an independent risk factor of bad sleep sleep deprivation and dementia well they’re both rising and wouldn’t it be nice if taking a magnesium supplement at night could improve both it actually can many people don’t put a second thought into what they eat as long as it tastes good and their tummies are full but few people realize that modern convenient processed foods are seriously lacking magnesium and the problem is getting worse even Whole Foods like meat that’s not a good magnesium source 75% of what is sold in the grocery stores in the United States are ultra processed foods 50% of what families cook at home are also ultra processed foods processing has processed out magnesium and unfortunately foods packed with magnesium they’re not so popular when was the last time you ate some pumpkin or chia seeds they are packed with magnesium do you avoid beans because they make it gassy and bloated they are packed with magnesium what about leafy greens how much do you actually eat lots of people don’t like them cause they’re bitter tasting they are packed with magnesium if you are not eating these foods you’re really not getting enough magnesium few people realize that magnesium deficiency is silent but its impact is loud and clear contributing to the rise of all chronic diseases there is no disease that wouldn’t see an improvement when you are at an adequate magnesium level and a deficiency of magnesium will definitely damage every organ including your brain your muscles your your hormone production and your heart this is why it’s actually beneficial for most people just to supplement with magnesium and here’s the benefit of taking it at night it helps your muscles and your brain relax one night of good sleep can do more for your brain your muscles your hormones and your immune system than a week of perfect diet or supplements and you know that to be true every time you don’t sleep well how’d you feel the next day now personally I’ve been up since 4:00am today and if I didn’t sleep well yesterday I would really be walking around like a zombie today with brain fog the entire day and that’s not good for anybody and unlike many I personally have no problems falling asleep but I struggle with getting myself to bed it’s trying to relax my head and guess what magnesium is a great natural relaxant that avoid the nasty side effects of prescription muscle relaxants magnesium also regulates hormones especially the ones that make you sleepy melatonin which drives your internal clock to help you have a deeper more natural sleep now when the sun goes down melatonin should be climbing up this is your internal biological clock to help you feel more relaxed and sleepy and normally if you sleep around the same time you should wake up around the same time studies have shown that magnesium can help reduce the time that it takes to fall asleep and to get into deep sleep stages as well as help reduce nighttime wakefulness insomnia is a huge problem a third of Americans struggle with a good night sleep and guess what one in 2 Americans aren’t eating enough magnesium I don’t know about you but when I can’t sleep my brain well it won’t stop thinking and I fixate on the most negative thoughts and I always see the glass half empty when I’m sleep deprived this makes me anxious so then I’m looking at the clock which makes me more anxious don’t you wish you could just take something to calm your thoughts there are lots of different pills that are trying to make you sleepy from supplements to over the counter drugs to prescription drugs now my friend tells me that she needs to drink wine every night to help her sleep so she feels like she only sleeps well when she drinks her wine unfortunately alcohol plays a number on you it may make you feel sleepy but it actually interferes with restful sleep in fact it reduces REM sleep the stage in which allows deep sleep that’s your dream sleep REM sleep is critical for memory consolidation and emotional processing alcohol suppresses REM sleep early in the night and then causes REM rebound later making sleep really fragmented and less restorative and when you drink you’re actually self medicating with a sedative and when this sedative wears off you will have a rebound effect in your nerves you may feel restless you will have frequent awakenings and lighter sleep especially in the second half of the night and if you have sleep apnea well that alcohol will worsen your sleep apnea as it relaxes your muscles in your throat alcohol can give you sleep apnea if you don’t already have it too and in case you’re wondering sleep apnea is a sleep disorder in which breathing repetitively stops and starts during sleep and the most common type would be obstructive sleep apnea which occurs when your muscles in your neck relax excessively and that causes airway blockage usually your sleep partner will notice that you stop breathing in the middle of the night sleep apnea causes frequent micro awakenings throughout the night even if the person doesn’t remember them and these interruptions prevent the brain from entering and sustaining deep sleep and REM sleep which are both critical for memory consolidation and you need memory consolidation to turn short term memories into long term memories now apnea leads to intermittent hypoxia which is low oxygen which affects the brain the hippocampus or the key structure for memory formation is particularly sensitive to low auction levels so you will notice more forgetfulness difficulty concentrating brain fog slower processing speed poor decision making and mood disturbances which will impair your memory now if you think you may have sleep apnea then you really need to go see a sleep specialist who is an actual physician usually a pulmonologist who will test you and see what happens when you sleep and it’s important to do this because we actually have very effective treatments for sleep apnea now if you are diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea you can wear a machine called a continuous positive air pressure machine or CPAP which is the gold standard of treatment and it helps to keep the airways open by forcing air through your nose and your mouth depending on how you breathe at night okay I understand this does not sound like it’s comfortable and I have to admit it probably isn’t in the beginning but like everything else like brushing your teeth eventually you get used to it and they have a ton of different devices that will fit over your nose and your mouth and you may have to wear it a little bit during the daytime to get used to it but it’s really important to get that oxygen in your brain and if you wear it properly and as prescribed you will notice that you will have improved memory focus and alertness your physical health will literally improve as well and these improvements can happen within weeks and months depending on the severity of your sleep apnea and the duration of your treatment now the alternative is to just do nothing and ignore it and immediately you will notice that you know things are kind of sluggish and slow and eventually your memory will be a problem and other people will notice it you’re not going to be able to be at your best whether it’s at your job for your family or for you and over time because you’re continuously lacking oxygen which means you’re not getting enough to your brain at night imagine what’s that gonna do to the tissue right every single piece of tissue needs oxygen to survive so it’s not gonna be just your brain that it affects it’ll also impact your heart and really any tissue that is pretty sensitive to oxygen including your metabolism a lot of people fear the d word dementia so then let me tell you this if you have sleep apnea that’s not corrected that increases your risk of dementia especially alzheimer’s dementia fix your sleep folks it’s super important you know the first step is to avoid toxins like alcohol you don’t want to directly insult your brain the memory center the hippocampus and if you’ve ever drank too much you know that you have short term memory loss people call it blacking out and you may be awake but you know there’s nothing there right you’ve checked out nothing is registering and if you’ve ever gotten drunk I’m sure that you barely remembered what happened right that’s not only dangerous for your well being but you’re also literally killing your brain cells affecting people around you and as your brain shrinks your frontal lobe will be impacted that will impact how you process and make decisions as well as your personality alcohol also interferes with vitamin absorption that is also critical for memory and energy and this can lead to Wernicke’s Korsakoff syndrome if you abuse the alcohol that is a form of severe memory loss and dementia don’t use alcohol as a sleep aid a safer supplement to use it that’s readily available and just basically has only side benefits is magnesium however many people don’t know about it and they’re dependent upon prescription sleep aids like benzodiazepines Ambien Lunesta or Ambien all of these drugs are known to impair memory and can cause a person to be groggy the next day unlike magnesium and when you take magnesium you’re just filling your nutritional bucket it’s just helping you be normal but Big Pharma’s trained us that the only way to feel better is to either buy a prescription drug or go look for something that’s over the counter like diphenhydramine antihistamines for years doctors have prescribed antihistamines for sleep and we didn’t realize that it actually affected your memory I mean I was suspicious that any medication with a side effect of drowsy I don’t know how safe that would be long term right and of course years later diphenhydramine has been linked to cognitive decline and an increased risk of dementia and I’m sure there are tens of thousands of people who are trying all different things and maybe reduce efficient in magnesium magnesium is essential in over 300 biochemical reactions that regulate your muscle function your blood sugar levels your nerve transmission and even your heartbeat so if you want your brain to chill out before bedtime then you need to regulate a neural transmitter called GABA and the way to do that is through having enough of the right kind of magnesium if you don’t get your magnesium through your food then there’s nothing wrong with supplementing I mean that’s literally what the word means right supplement so a supplement should be supplementing what you’re missing and I think it’s important to repeat that magnesium is abundant in green leafy vegetables unrefined grains legumes beans and nuts start adding these things in your diet because if they’re not in your diet you’re not getting enough magnesium and if you don’t have enough magnesium it’s gonna be more than just sleep that’s gonna be affected now you are probably taking vitamin d if you’re interested in supplements or maybe you’re going out in the sun to try to get vitamin d but when you check your vitamin d levels it’s still inadequate why is that well did you know that magnesium is an essential mineral involved with vitamin d processing so that just because you’re in the sun and you have some vitamin d made that’s not the active form you still have several stages before it becomes active vitamin D the synthesis of vitamin d is so complex that that just going out in the sun is just not enough to have bioactive vitamin d and without bioactive vitamin d your entire body will suffer are you struggling with having abnormal blood sugars did you know that magnesium is involved with glucose metabolism if you don’t have enough magnesium you’re not going to be able to use that glucose this then causes unused glucose to be free floating in the bloodstream to raise your blood sugars to then cause advanced glycation end products or age which stands for premature aging I also mentioned that magnesium is important to help your muscles contract and relax but in order for the muscles to do that you have to have the right nerve input magnesium is critical for nerve signaling literally your entire body would not work right unless you have a healthy immune system and wouldn’t you know it it also needs magnesium to work properly at no given time can you run out of magnesium so if you’re not getting in your diet do you know where your body gets it from your bone your bone is hard not just because it has Calcium but because it also has magnesium and your body will make sure that at any given moment you really will never run out for your tissues so it supplies it constantly unless your demand is far greater than it can keep up and then you start getting pretty low in your blood this is why serum magnesium is a very poor reflection of your magnesium stores this means that if you have a normal magnesium level on your blood lab you can’t trust it and even if it shows up normal but you have an inadequate intake of magnesium you are a higher risk of osteoporosis as you grow older it’s like finding out that your retirement account is short on funds when you just retire now if you don’t invest and save throughout your life you will not have funds in your retirement account however the good news is you can start at any time to upgrade your diet and take supplements to restore your magnesium levels most people struggle with other medical problems way before they know they have osteoporosis since magnesium is so critical for your metabolism not having enough increases your risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes which are both rising at astronomical rates we have an epidemic of people with type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance how much of it is because people can’t metabolize their carbs when they don’t have enough magnesium and if you need energy to move during the day well is it not surprising that you run low at night right before you’re going to sleep hence it’s super important to tank up on your magnesium especially if you want a good night sleep I mean it’s a world of difference when you wake up refreshed right you’ll be efficient you’ll be happier so your mood is better your metabolism is better you’ll process that sugar better plus in the wee morning hours you actually get a blood pressure spike and that’s why there are more heart attacks in the morning especially if your blood pressure doesn’t dip at night non dippers have a higher rate of having a cardiovascular event in those early morning hours now how are you gonna get your blood pressure to get lower well one way to do that is to make sure you have an adequate amount of magnesium but keep in mind that if you’re out celebrating and eating a bunch of salt you know pizza and French fries well that whole bunch of sodium probably going to out blood pressure the magnesium supplement excess sodium will raise your blood pressure higher than the magnesium that you’re trying to take to tank up for sleep and on top of that magnesium will interfere with other minerals like Calcium so that’s why it’s beneficial to take magnesium on an empty stomach as opposed to taking it with food or with your other supplements remember how I mentioned that poor sleep makes you insulin resistant which can both contribute to reducing your immune system the good news is preliminary studies show that magnesium supplements can improve insulin sensitivity as well as lower the risk of heart disease which is the No. 1 reason why people pass away you basically can only get magnesium two ways through your food and supplements and many people honestly they have to do both because neither one is adequate enough but before you start any supplements make sure you check with your own personal doctors to make sure that magnesium is safe for you to take people with bad kidneys they can actually accumulate magnesium quite easily and that can be fatal and that’s another reason why you should focus on meeting the bulk of your magnesium needs in natural food so how much magnesium should you take well the USRDA has dietary magnesium recommendations based on tightly controlled human balance studies that defines a minimal amount the perfect person living in the perfect living conditions need that’s not really a practical for people who are under high stress or just like doing a little exercise and if you think about it do you want to plan your retirement with the minimum amount of money that you need to survive or would you rather have a cushion in case of inflation and emergencies and so when you read these recommendations from the RDA keep in mind that these are the minimum amount under the perfect living conditions that are stress free with a perfect human specimen that has no disease so they basically took young people locked them up no pollution and they’re not doing much and unfortunately these amounts do not address the body in a stress state hi friends I I am so thrilled that you wanna take charge of your health and take charge of your food now I know nutrition can be complex but it doesn’t have to be and I’m here to support you in this lifelong journey so if you point your camera app to this QR code it’ll take you to a link for a free handout that I created just for you and if you like it if you wanna see other handouts please go to the link in my show notes and then you can leave me your feedback on what I could do to help you in your journey okay back to the video now I live in sunny Southern California just that constant sunshine with the UV light that’s stress and I inhale all the car exhaust just walking and even if cars on around near me the air pollution blows my way those are stressful I need more magnesium just by living here and I’m surrounded by millions of people who live with one or more chronic diseases if you have any chronic disease your body is in a constant stress state if you have symptoms of not feeling well even if you aren’t diagnosed with an issue that is telling you that your body is in a stress state today I went to Pilates and I did almost my 10,000 step walk those are good for me but they’re also stressors for my body requiring me to get more magnesium in my diet now if I didn’t do these extra exercises then I probably wouldn’t need as much magnesium but if I didn’t do them it would cause me other metabolic problems right so when you have a different activities your diet needs to be adjusted and you need to account for a little bit more magnesium definitely more than what the RDA recommends has anybody ever told you that hence it’s important that you try first with your plate of foods rich in magnesium and then you may need to supplement and these foods should be eaten throughout the day so there’s nothing wrong with taking magnesium supplements as an insurance policy and in fact several studies support that even taking a multivitamin which has very little magnesium it improves memory but if you’re gonna buy a magnesium supplement which one should you choose well Brian Johnson he takes magnesium citrate about 200 mg is what I calculated from his website but he’s also eating a lot of magnesium rich foods in his meal now I’m really surprised that he doesn’t eat pumpkin seeds which is one of the highest sources of magnesium and can you believe that he finishes eating for the entire day around noon when you shop for magnesium you’ll find several forms magnesium glycinate is known for its calming effects and is often used to promote sleep and reduce anxiety it’s gentle on the stomach and less likely to cause a laxative effect this is one of my favorite forms of magnesium and you can use it during the day or before bedtime magnesium citrate is a form bound to citric acid it’s highly bioavailable meaning that it’s easily absorbed by the body however it’s commonly used to treat constipation and may also help with muscle cramps and migraines so this can cause more GI side effects which is not ideal before bedtime magnesium oxide contains a high percentage of elemental magnesium but it has a lower bioavailability that means you won’t absorb as much and it’s often used as a laxative and because of that it’s gonna cause more GI symptoms that’s actually why a lot of people take it so if you want to sleep at night this is probably not the right time to take that magnesium supplement magnesium Chloride is easily absorbed in the digestive tract and is used to treat low magnesium levels this is what we give people intravenously and you can also take magnesium Chloride in an oral form it is well absorbed in the digestive tract magnesium malate is found bound to malic acid which plays a role in energy production malic acid is a key player in the Krebs cycle which processes energy ATP it is less likely to cause diarrhea than magnesium citrate or magnesium oxide however because it plays a critical role in energy production well you can imagine that maybe it’s gonna keep you up at night Magnesium L3 and 8 is known for its ability to cross the blood brain barrier and this form well it may support cognitive function and it is actively being studied for its potential in treating neurodegenerative diseases people speculate that it could support neuroplasticity and maybe even help slow down age related cognitive decline however this form actually has lower elemental magnesium so it’s not ideal for correcting the body’s magnesium deficiency magnesium sulfate commonly known as Epsom salt is typically used in baths to smooth sore muscles and reduce stress it’s gonna cause more GI symptoms magnesium taurate that combines magnesium with taurine an amino acid an amino acid that’s been shown to help stabilize cell membranes in the heart and reduce arrhythmias calming works with GABA and helps regulate Calcium potassium neurons promoting calmness and may help with anxiety this too has lower elemental magnesium so it’s not ideal for correcting magnesium deficiencies magnesium orotate is bound with orotic acid this form of magnesium has been used by athletes to support performance orotic acid is actually a natural compound involved in DNA and RNA and energy production this is actually the most expensive form of magnesium and it’s really not ideal for replenishing magnesium deficiency high doses of orotic acid has been linked to potential liver inflammation now you know that when you look for a magnesium supplement you really need to be aware that they all potentially can have different effects on your body and some can help you sleep better while others will make you more aroused and the wrong type of magnesium can interfere with your sleep potentially causing frequent bathroom trips like magnesium oxide timing is everything when it comes to replenishing your magnesium some supplements also don’t have very much bioavailable magnesium so if you want to correct a deficiency then you may not want to choose ones that aren’t very bioavailable natural foods contains a variety of magnesium including magnesium malate found in fruit and trace amounts of magnesium Chloride found in mineral water and when you eat magnesium rich foods such as leafy greens and beans and nuts and seeds or when you take magnesium supplement that magnesium is ideally absorbed in the small intestine both actively and passively depending on how much you are eating for the day so your body is really smart if you’re not eating enough magnesium it’s gonna actively try to suck in as much magnesium as it can and this is telling you that you need to eat it but then when you have too much it will stop that active process now fun fact have you ever visited Utah and the Great Salt Lake did you know that the magnesium supplements sold in the US are probably from that lake in nature magnesium is an element found in the soil which is readily absorbed by plants and used by plants in their chlorophyll for photosynthesis hence looking for green plants is critical chlorophyll are abundant in green leaves when seeds germinate to give you green leaves they will also be packed with magnesium because they are getting ready to make that chlorophyll do you consider iceberg lettuce in your hamburger to be a green leaf you know you can eat that but it’s literally the lowest quality vegetable to eat obviously when fast food added that lettuce to burgers it was not because they were trying to make them healthier with magnesium but but instead if you added some healthy dark green leaves like Dinosaur kale to your burger you would get a lot more magnesium because it has a ton of chlorophyll now when it comes to cruciferous vegetables be sure to chop it first to release this nutrients magnesium is also stored in plant cell walls in the seeds and beans are essentially seeds so you can also find a great deal magnesium in a variety of beans like black beans and adzuki beans and if you aren’t eating these food groups in abundance then you’re unlikely to meet your magnesium needs which translates into fatigue and poor quality sleep now having said that even if you’re eating a magnesium rich diet your body may still fall short if you’re taking certain medications or eating the wrong types of food or dealing with digestive issues so these factors can all reduce how much magnesium you absorb and in some cases can cause your body to lose even more for example people who eat a lot of fat like on a standard American diet or let’s say the ketogenic diet or the carnivore diet you know you will probably have a significant amount of fat it’s not absorbed and when you have a lot of fat in your gut well that actually binds to magnesium it forms a soap around magnesium preventing you from absorbing the magnesium in your other food or in your supplements if you’re taking it with a lot of fat so you should also be aware of food interactions with magnesium Calcium it interferes with the absorption of magnesium you know I know supplements they taste bitter so a lot of people are trying to find more palatable ways to swallow them don’t use milk it’s full of Calcium and don’t use soda soda has inorganic phosphates which also combine in magnesium to form magnesium phosphate salts that magnesium not absorbable inorganic phosphates are commonly used in processed foods take a look at this list avoid these items if you want to increase your magnesium level to help you improve your sleep and your performance during the day and these foods not only provide little magnesium but they also impair the absorption of the magnesium that you are getting from your magnesium rich foods or supplements and another problem with excessive inorganic phosphorus is that it actually increases your kidneys to pee out magnesium so that means you lose even more so here are some common ultra processed food phosphate additives and aluminum free baking powder is one of the worst offenders it has a ton of phosphates seriously why do we have so many unregulated chemicals added to our food why aren’t they not regulated like prescriptions or even over the counter drugs I mean if you think about it everybody eats but only certain people take drugs which by the way can also interfere with your magnesium absorption maybe you’re on a blood pressure medication or a heart medication called a diuretic millions of people take diuretics such as furosemide bumetanide and hydrochlorothiazide you know they take it to help their blood pressure you know how it lowers your blood pressure it removes water so they make you urinate and the more you urinate the more magnesium you lose through your urine these are called diuretics diuretics unfortunately also prevent magnesium reabsorption in the kidneys so it causes you to lose even more magnesium and the kidneys and your gut that’s how your body eliminates or retains magnesium so if you have diarrhea you’re gonna be losing a lot of magnesium if you’re vomiting you’re gonna be losing a lot of magnesium that’s why laxatives may not be so good for you and when you’re choosing that laxative does it have aluminum hydroxide aluminum is extra special because it binds to magnesium to reduce its absorption even more what about antibiotics have you recently been on doxycycline ciprofloxacin or levofloxacin any one of these can interact with magnesium where you’re actually not absorbing either well hence it’s really important that you avoid eating magnesium rich foods around the time you’re taking these antibiotics and by the way are you on an antacid magnesium needs acid in your small intestine and in order for you to have magnesium you actually have to have that stomach acid to release that magnesium from your foods so people on stomach acid reducing medications will simply have access to less of the magnesium in their food so let’s say you’re not in any of those medications and you don’t eat any processed foods and you are trying to get all your magnesium from whole plant foods well unfortunately even plants have chemicals such as phytates and oxalates that bind the magnesium and this is why they recommend soaking and sprouting your whole grains and legumes to reduce those chemicals to improve your absorption of nutrients like magnesium do you see why it’s so easy to be magnesium deficient and why at least half of America are deficient in magnesium in their diet and it’s not surprising that a third of people continue to struggle with lifelong poor sleep now I even try my best to pack my meals with magnesium rich foods but even I’m not sure I’m getting an adequate amount of magnesium and I don’t want to take any chances so that’s why I take a supplement every day to make sure that I top myself off and this is especially true cause the magnesium in our food supply in Whole Foods has significantly declined in the last century and this is largely due to changes on our agricultural practices soil depletion food processing and crop breeding if the bulk of your diet is heavily concentrated on refined grains such as breads pastries and desserts but you’re not getting the magnesium in those foods because they’ve been processed out processing removes 90% of the magnesium in the original plant essentially you’re being cheated during medical school I was invited to play soccer with my teammates and unfortunately I didn’t get to play I flex my leg getting ready to kick the ball but it went into such a severe leg cramp that I had to stop and I hobbled my way to the car and spent the next week trying to recover from that leg cramp at the time I didn’t even realize that was because I was lacking magnesium in my diet nobody told me to fill my magnesium bucket and several years later during fellowship I started getting leg cramps again and it would happen in the middle of the night and another physician suggested that I take some magnesium supplements and guess what they worked and looking back during my life as a student my diet was horrible filled with refined carbohydrates eating bagels white rice they all satisfied my brain but they neglected my health and hence I don’t take any chances anymore I take a magnesium supplement daily to protect my muscles my nerves and my sleep have you wondered how your body divies up the magnesium that you take well if you don’t have enough it goes to the most important organs to support the function that you need ASAP so if you’re walking your muscles need your magnesium and your heart you’re gonna start using that supply and then that leaves very little for your brain to relax at night the most important muscle that never gets to rest is your heart which can get easily damaged it is after all the leading cause of mortality in the United States and most of the rest of the world and when you get an adequate amount of magnesium you actually can help your heart out reduce atherosclerosis reduce your blood pressure reduce irregular heartbeats and heart failure and guess what you’re probably also gonna sleep better in 1983 5,000 black and white adults between the ages of 18 to 30 were recruited for a cardiovascular disease study to understand which risk factors in early adulthood increase the risk of cardiovascular disease later in life and along the way they discovered that those who ate add adequate amount of magnesium daily from their food well they actually achieved longer and better sleep quality your body’s ability to absorb magnesium may change on a day to day basis however there are certain conditions that really prevents the body from absorbing magnesium like gastro intestinal disorders with prolonged diarrhea like inflammatory bowel disease including Crohn’s disease some people may be allergic to gluten and have celiac disease and they don’t know it but as long as you eat the gluten you won’t be able to absorb the magnesium but if you stop the gluten then your gut goes back to normal people who have survived cancer and have received radiation in their belly while they were undergoing treatment are at higher risk of being magnesium deficient and if you have diabetes or have kidney complications or if you are on a diuretic you most likely are prone to magnesium wasting that means your kidneys are unable to retain your magnesium other endocrine disorders like parathyroid gland disorders phosphate depletion primary aldosteronism can deplete magnesium too as a mom you’re gonna need extra magnesium if you’re breastfeeding and if you excessively breastfeed well you’re gonna deplete more magnesium and so you can imagine the perfect storm poor dietary intake and then you have some gastrointestinal problem and some kidney issues and you’re peeing out magnesium you’re taking medications that help you pee even more out and then on top of that you may be adding alcohol or some over the counter drug and you know it’s not difficult to run on empty quite soon and simply growing older will decrease your ability to keep your magnesium and absorb an adequate amount for your health hence the benefit of supplementing which can reduce inflammation improve diabetes high blood pressure and the risk of having a fatal heart attack now my brother recently told me that he had a friend who was hiking by himself near a gorgeous waterfall in Portland Oregon called Mount Taloma Falls and unfortunately as he was hiking he had crushing chest pains at the height of the falls and he fell to the floor now this guy was super fit he went to the gym and worked out every day for at least an hour but he suffered a heart attack and luckily for him another hiker was right behind him that hiker was actually carrying baby aspirin gave him a couple aspirins and went to go get help his friend survived which is extremely lucky because only 10% of people who have a heart attack survive out in the field now to be clear the American Heart Association recommends that you don’t just take aspirin if you think you’re having a heart attack in fact you should call 9 1 1 and then follow their instructions to make sure that it’s safe for you to take but when you’re out hiking in the woods by yourself or if you live in a rural area having access to the nearest hospital or emergency room can be quite challenging and when you are having a heart attack time is of the essence and sometimes the emergency response team they may take at least 10 minutes to get to where you’re at so what would be handy is to have an automated external defibrillator an AED which can review your heart rhythm and help you decide if you need defibrillation a defibrillator is a device that provides an electric shock to get your heart out of a potentially fatal abnormal heart rhythm known as an arrhythmia such rhythms include ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation and if your rhythm can get back to normal then you will more likely survive so defibrillators can actually help people survive a cardiac arrest so many places are beginning to invest in a defibrillator for their employees but they also sell personal use defibrillators especially for people who are at high risk for having a life threatening heart arrhythmia now so who is at high risk of a fatal heart attack how about anybody who has history of smoking have a high blood pressure or high cholesterol or diabetes or who’s obese or have a family history of heart disease you don’t have to have all of them you just have to have one and you’re at increased risk of having a heart attack especially as you grow older and for men that’s over 45 and for women that’s over 55 and if you live in extreme weather like extreme heat or air pollution that also increases your risk of heart attacks so if you fall into any of these categories then you are at high risk of having a fatal cardiac event but many of these risks are modifiable you can reduce it such as stop smoking get your blood pressure normal get your cholesterol normal lose some weight so you’re not obese and get your diabetes under control so that it’s in remission but if you’re in any of these categories it would actually maybe worth an investment to get an AED device nearby or get your boss to invest in one in his workplace but in order to actually use it you have to undergo some training you don’t want to end up using it and shocking a bystander and not get benefit right and when you get that training learn another life saving skill like CPR the most important thing that you can do today for your little heart is to get your blood pressure to a normal number if you want to learn how to best do that watch the next video
