Children’s Health – Childhood Obesity and Mg Deficiency

A diet rich in refined sugar, fat & refined white flour predisposes children to obesity. A diet of highly processed foods promotes …

… a magnesium deficiency and obesity which can lead to other symptoms such as hyperactivity, insulin resistance, anxiety and depression in children.

In his book Transdermal Magnesium Therapy. Mark Sircus, O.M.D., asks the question. Is lack of magnesium related to type 2 diabetes in obese children? He answers by reporting on a study by Dr. Huerta showing that magnesium deficiency is associated with insulin resistance in obese children. When checking the dietary intake of magnesium, Dr. Huerta and her colleagues found that 55% of obese children did not get enough magnesium from the foods they ate, compared with only 27% of non obese children.

Researchers have discovered that obesity of the abdomen is much more closely associated with heart disease than overall obesity. Abdomenal obesity becomes more prevalent with age and with how much one is overweight. This is much more of a risk factor for heart disease because it is much more related to insulin resistance and high blood insulin. Studies show that abdominal obesity is associated with low levels of magnesium, zinc, and vitamins C and E.

When people diet to lose weight, they often consume less fat and less sugar while adding foods that are high in fiber such as whole grains, beans, fruits and vegetables all of which are rich in magnesium. Such diets provide both more magnesium and less calories which leads to a healthier heart.  The connection between stress, obesity and diabetes cannot be overlooked. The stress chemical cortisol signals a metabolic shutdown that makes losing weight almost impossible. Magnesium can neutralize the effects of stress and is known as the anti-stress mineral.

Obesity, syndrome X, and diabetes are part of a continuum of illness that may progress to heart disease if not headed off by good diet, supplements, exercise, and stress reduction. They are not really separate diseases, as we may think, and underlying all this misery we find magnesium deficiency.

There has been a recent addition to our medical vocabulary, diabesity, a recognition that if someone is about thirty pounds overweight for more than a decade, diabetes will likely occur.

People with syndrome X are obese, are on the road to diabetes with insulin resistance, and also have hypertension, elevated cholesterol, and high levels of triglycerides.

Magnesium helps the body digest, absorb, and utilize proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.

Magnesium is necessary for insulin to open cell membranes for glucose.

Magnesium helps prevent obesity genes from expressing themselves. Not all forms of magnesium are absorbable by the body. One of the most absorbable forms of magnesium that is safe is magnesium citrate in powder form that can be mixed with hot or cold water.