The mineral that prevents heart disease
It’s one of the leading nutritional deficiencies in the nation, if not the planet — a mineral so difficult to get from diet alone that even many health-conscious people fall well short.
It’s magnesium, and your body uses it the way teens use their cellphones…twenty-four seven.
It’s critical to more than 350 functions in the body, including some of the most essential of all — like powering your heart.
Nutrients just don’t get any more important than that, and new research confirms what happens when you fall short: Low levels of magnesium can increase your risk of ischemic heart disease by 60 percent and death from ischemic heart disease by 70 percent.
These aren’t just the risks of the lowest-of-the-low levels you see in cases of extreme deficiencies.
They’re the risks of all-too-common levels — so common that they were found in a full fifth of the 7,664 Dutch men and women who took part in the new study. And I’m sure you’d find those low levels in a fifth (or more) of the population here in the United States right now.
That adds up to a lot of people facing a lot of risk, because magnesium is critical to blood vessel function, clot prevention, and even the very rhythm of your heart — which is why low levels of magnesium will cause arrhythmias and other serious heartbeat problems.
It’s so essential to heart health that another recent study found that magnesium levels alone are the single best predictor of future cardiac problems.
That’s right — better than cholesterol levels, dietary fat intake, family history, or any of the other usual suspects.
Yet most mainstream doctors don’t test for it routinely.
You don’t have to wait for your own doctor to get wise to this. You don’t even need to be tested — all you need to do is increase your own magnesium intake.
The best dietary sources include leafy greens such as spinach, but the best way to make sure you get what you need every day is by taking a supplement. (Just be sure to check with your holistic doctor about adding in a supplement.)
Don’t rely on your multivitamin alone, it won’t have enough — you’ll need a separate magnesium capsule instead. I recommend magnesium glycinate, which is more easily used by your body than other forms of magnesium.
(Heart health isn’t all magnesium is good for. If you, or someone you care about, suffers with migraine headaches click here to find out how magnesium may be the pain-relieving miracle you’ve been looking for.)
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