Senior Health, Brain Stroke & Magnesium Supplements

Many senior citizens are at a greater risk for a number of brain related health issues due to magnesium deficiency. Stroke, post stroke complications, poor recovery from …

…head injury, neurotoxin damage from chemicals in our air, food and water, seizure disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, are all brain related conditions equivalent to heart disease.

Both the brain and the heart are are made-up of excitable tissues that give off electrical energy and both must have magnesium to properly function.

The brain is in a state of constant electrical activity. Brain cells are controlled by switches: some switches are turned on and some are turned off by neurotransmitters. The action of these neurotransmitters could not take place without calcium, magnesium and zinc, which play various roles in the response of the nerve cells to electrical stimulation.

Brain cells altered by trauma, chemicals or severe stress can be permanently switched on and fire excessively. Repeated firing in many nerve cells may result in seizures. Magnesium extends the brain’s limits in which seizures would occur, reducing the chance of them developing at all. Conversely, experimental studies have shown that low magnesium in the body makes seizures more likely to occur.

Stroke

A burst or clot-blocked blood vessel in the brain is all it takes to cause a stroke. The damage destroys critical brain functions. Stroke is said to be caused by hypertension, atheriosclerosis and diabetic complications all of which are associated with low magnesium.

In a study among Taiwan residents (17,133 cases) from 1989 through 1993 were compared with deaths from other causes (17,133 controls). It was determined that the higher the magnesium levels in the drinking water used by Taiwan residents, the lower the incidence of stroke.

Decades of research show that withdrawal of magnesium from cerebral arteries causes them to spasm, whereas elevated magnesium produces relaxation.

Animal studies show that when there is normal or elevated magnesium in the brain, the damage caused by stroke is reduced and the neurological deficit is lessened. This is because magnesium blocks calcium from flooding the cells and causing injury.

Further research indicates that the area of the brain damaged by stroke contains injured neurons that remain hyperactive for several hours after the stroke occurred. These cells are frantically struggling to survive and need even more oxygen, glucose and magnesium than normal. When these vital nutrients are deficient more damage occurs.

A study of stroke patients in New York highlights the absolute requirement of magnesium intervention in the Emergency Room. Ninety-eight patients admitted to the emergency rooms of three hospitals with a diagnosis of stroke exhibited early and significant deficits in magnesium as measured with sensitive instrumentation. The stroke patients also had high calcium levels and low magnesium levels and were experiencing cerebral vessel spasm.

Stroke has devastated the lives of 4.6 million Americans and 15 million people worldwide. Each year about 700,000 new strokes occur along with 100,000 recurrences and statisticians say that the incidence of stroke is on the rise. Don’t become one of these statistics. Read more about the benefits of magnesium in the book “The Miracle of Magnesium” by Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D.,Medical Director, Vida Costa Spa.

http://www.amazon.com/Magnesium-Miracle-Carolyn