CHAPTER 11

Health and Longevity

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT MAGNESIUM AND AGING

Magnesium is deficient in people who have Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease.

Aging itself is a risk factor for magnesium deficiency; as we get older we become more deficient in magnesium and therefore require more in our diet and in supplement form.

Magnesium binds and eliminates toxic chemicals and metals to keep them from contributing to symptoms of aging.

Three hundred years ago, people didn’t live as long as we do today. They lived in such unsanitary conditions that simple scrapes and cuts became mortal wounds. Bathing was looked upon with suspicion. Tuberculosis, fostered by extremely close quarters, little sun exposure, lack of fresh vegetables, and dampness, was highly contagious and struck down many in their prime. Indoor fires without adequate ventilation made for chronic bronchitis and emphysema, if the people even lived long enough to develop these conditions.

When we implemented universal sanitation, the infectious diseases began to recede. The land was still fertile, and plants soaked up vital nutrients. Farm animals ate them, and humans absorbed them from eating fresh meat and fresh produce. The industrial revolution, however, harmed our health in a new way, with factories belching smoke and chemical poisons. Industrial farming techniques began poisoning the soil with pesticides, herbicides, and nitrogen fertilizers. The soil became lifeless.

We may think we are better off in this century with our drugs and medical technology, but as we’ve seen, these can also become toxic and undermine our health, especially in a polluted environment where our basic nutrition is impaired. Popping antiaging pills and megavitamins do not add years to your life. An excellent diet that provides optimal nutrients, exercise, and an outgoing, optimistic attitude are the true keys to longevity.

Aging in industrialized societies is associated with an increasing prevalence of hypertension, heart disease, reduced insulin sensitivity, and adult-onset diabetes. Aging in general is associated with altered calcium and magnesium ion levels, indistinguishable from those observed in hypertension and diabetes.¹ In Chapters 5 and 6 we talked about insulin resistance and its role in exacerbating hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes mellitus. Insulin-resistant states, as well as what is often thought of as “normal” aging, are characterized by the accumulation of calcium and depletion of magnesium in the cells. With all this in mind, clinical researchers suggest that it is the disturbance of calcium and magnesium ions that might be the missing link responsible for the frequent clinical coexistence of hypertension, atherosclerosis, and metabolic disorders in aging.²

As evident from animal experiments and epidemiological studies, magnesium deficiency may increase our susceptibility to cardiovascular heart diseases as well as accelerate

“Smart drugs” such as piracetam, oxiracetam, pramiracetam, and aniracetam are thought to enhance learning, facilitate the flow of information between the two hemispheres of the brain, help the brain resist physical and chemical injuries, and supposed to be free of side effects. Magnesium fits all the criteria for “smart drugs,” but it is much less costly and has no side effects.

aging.³ In a study on nursing home residents, low magnesium levels were significantly associated with two conditions that plague the elderly, calf cramps and diabetes mellitus.⁴ Centenarians (individuals reaching a hundred years of age) have higher total body magnesium and lower calcium levels than the usual elderly person.⁵

FREE RADICALS, ANTIOXIDANTS, AND AGING

A free radical is an unstable molecule that is the product of normal body metabolism. It is formed when molecules within our own body’s cells react with oxygen. It has an unpaired electron that tries to steal a stabilizing electron from another molecule and as a consequence can produce harmful effects. External sources of free radicals include chemicals (pesticides, industrial pollution, auto exhaust, cigarette smoke), heavy metals (dental amalgam, lead, cadmium), most infections (viruses, bacteria, parasites), X rays, alcohol, allergens, stress, and even excessive exercise.

Antioxidants are vitamins and minerals such as magnesium, selenium, vitamin C, and vitamin E that turn off free radicals. The greater the amount of other antioxidants in the body, the more magnesium is spared from acting as an antioxidant and is free to perform its many other functions. So antioxidants protect the level of magnesium in the body, which prevents elevation of calcium, which can lead to vascular muscle spasm.⁶ If there are not enough antioxidants available, overabundant free radicals begin to damage and destroy normal, healthy cells. Free radicals are necessary and normal products of metabolism, but uncontrolled free radical production plays a major role in the development of degenerative disease, since free radicals can damage any body structure: proteins, enzymes, fats, even DNA. Free radicals are implicated in more than sixty different health conditions, including heart disease, autoimmune disease, and cancer.

According to current research, low magnesium levels not only magnify free-radical damage but can hasten the production of free radicals. ⁷ One study utilizing cultures of skin cells found that low magnesium doubled the levels of free radicals.⁸ In addition, cells grown without magnesium were twice as susceptible to free radical damage as were cells grown in normal amounts of magnesium. Another study showed that red blood cells from hamsters fed low-magnesium diets were deficient in magnesium and consequently more susceptible to free-radical damage. It appears that low magnesium damages the vital fatty layer in the cell membrane, making it more susceptible to destruction and allowing leakage through the membrane.

A number of reports have identified pesticides as a cause of Parkinson’s disease (which affects over one million Americans), with in-home exposure to insecticides carrying the highest risk.⁹ Glutathione is a naturally occurring antioxidant made in all the cells of the body, including neurons, which acts to detoxify the body of certain chemicals. Cells grown in magnesium-deficient conditions, however, have lower glutathione levels. Adding free radicals to a low-magnesium cell culture causes glutathione levels to fall rapidly, making the cells much more susceptible to free radical damage. Neurosurgeon Dr. Russel Blaylock tells us that a fall in cellular glutathione within part of the brain called the substantia nigra appears to be one of the earliest findings in Parkinson’s disease.¹⁰

ALZHEIMER’S

In North America, approximately 10 percent of the population over sixty-five, and 50 percent over eighty-five, suffer from Alzheimer’s. It is associated with severe memory loss, impaired cognitive function, and inability to carry out activities of daily life. Alzheimer’s disease is often diagnosed when all the other identifiable brain conditions are ruled out (e.g., brain tumor, alcoholism, vitamin B₁₂ deficiency, mercury amalgam poisoning, depression, hypothyroidism, Parkinson’s, stroke, excessive prescription drug use). In truth, it is only at autopsy that a definitive diagnosis can be made. The brain will show the identifying characteristics of Alzheimer’s: plaques and tangles in the nerve fibers, particularly in the cerebrocortex and hippocampal area. Dr. Abram Hoffer, the founder of orthomolecular medicine along with Linus Pauling, cautions that almost half the diagnosed cases of Alzheimer’s may be such treatable conditions as simple dehydration, prescription drug intoxication, severe cerebral allergies to foods or chemicals, or chronic nutrient deficiencies.

Chemicals and toxic metals are associated with Alzheimer’s disease, especially aluminum, which many Americans are exposed to through aluminum pots, aluminum cans, aluminum-containing antacids and antiperspirants, aluminum foil, and tap water that may be high in aluminum.^11,12 Considerable research has proven that brain neurons affected in Alzheimer’s disease have significantly higher levels of aluminum than normal neurons. Alzheimer’s patients also have consistently low magnesium levels within the hippocampus, the area of the brain most damaged by Alzheimer’s. Aluminum is able to replace magnesium in certain enzyme systems in the body, mimicking its function but causing harm. Aluminum can also replace magnesium in the brain, which leaves calcium channels in the brain nerve cells wide open, allowing calcium to flood in, causing cell death.¹³

PARKINSON’S DISEASE

Similarly, with Parkinson’s disease aluminum can be a contributing factor in central nervous system degeneration. In one autopsy study, calcium and aluminum were elevated in the brains of victims of Parkinson’s disease as compared to people with normal brains.¹⁴

Enzymes function in the body only when they have access to the proper cofactors, which are mostly vitamins and minerals, especially magnesium, selenium, vitamin C, vitamin B₆, and vitamin E. Heavy metals such as cadmium, aluminum, and lead attach themselves to certain enzymes, kicking out minerals such as magnesium, and either prevent the normal enzyme activity or create abnormal activity leading to cell destruction.

Research indicates that ample magnesium will protect brain cells from the damaging effects of aluminum, beryllium, cadmium, lead, mercury, and nickel. We also know that low levels of brain magnesium contribute to the deposition of heavy metals in the brain that heralds Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. It appears that the metals compete with magnesium for entry into the brain cells. If magnesium is low, metals gain access much more readily.

There is also competition in the small intestine for absorption of minerals. If there is enough magnesium, aluminum won’t be absorbed. When monkeys are fed diets low in calcium and magnesium but high in aluminum, for instance, they become apathetic and begin to lose weight. When their spinal cords are examined under the microscope, they show swelling of the anterior motor cells (movement centers), plus accumulation of calcium and aluminum in these cells.¹⁵ If you eat from aluminum pots, use aluminum-containing antiperspirants, wrap your food in aluminum foil, and drink tap water with high aluminum content, the levels could overwhelm the magnesium in your gut, and aluminum will be absorbed instead. This has consequences on the amount of magnesium in your brain and allows the buildup of aluminum associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. It may be that aluminum acts as a co-toxin in these diseases, adding to the toxicity produced by excitotoxins.

Dr. Blaylock reports that when scientists study the soil of regions that have a high incidence of neurological diseases, they find high levels of aluminum and low levels of magnesium and calcium. The neurons from victims of the disease also show high levels of aluminum and low levels of magnesium. On the island of Guam the areas with the lowest levels of calcium and magnesium in the soil are also the areas of highest incidence for all neurological diseases. Magnesium plays a vital role in protecting neurons from the lethal effects of aluminum.¹⁶

William Grant, an atmospheric scientist, had an interest in Alzheimer’s because of a strong family history. Grant already knew that people with Alzheimer’s typically have elevated concentrations of aluminum in their brains. He put that bit of information together with the fact that acid rain makes aluminum more abundant in trees and seems to make trees age prematurely. Grant theorized that the diets of Alzheimer’s patients might be very acidic, leaching the calcium and magnesium from the body. He found that people with Alzheimer’s have elevated amounts of aluminum, iron, and zinc and have reduced amounts of alkali metals such as magnesium, calcium, and potassium, which neutralize the acidity in the diet. An acid-forming diet is the typical Western fare—high protein, high fat, and high sugar are additional factors in creating aluminum overload in Alzheimer’s.

The body’s ability to absorb magnesium declines with age, so at particular risk are elderly people who do not eat an adequate diet and who use drugs that deplete the body’s magnesium. (Studies show that senior citizens take on average six to eight medications regularly.) Add to that the effects of antacids, which many elderly people take to cover up symptoms caused by a bad diet. Antacids suppress normal stomach acid and can lead to incompletely digested food, which causes gas, bloating, and constipation. Another hidden danger is the use of aluminum in most antacids.

But aside from the direct toxic effect of aluminum, dementia may also be caused by magnesium depletion alone.¹⁷ Several studies show that severe neurological syndromes can result when conditions cause extremely low levels of brain magnesium, such as with the chronic use of diuretics, which millions of people take to control high blood pressure. These neurological conditions can present as seizures, delirium, coma, or psychosis, which are quickly reversed by administering large doses of intravenous magnesium. Excessive amounts of aspartame and MSG (glutamate) in the diet of elderly people may also cause symptoms of dementia due to their direct effect, which is also magnified in magnesium deficiency.

Dr. Jean Durlach, a preeminent magnesium expert in France, sums up the current research on magnesium and aging.¹⁸

Chronic marginal magnesium deficiency reduces life span in rats.

Magnesium deficiency accelerates aging through its various effects on the neuromuscular, cardiovascular, and endocrine apparatus; kidneys and bones; and immune, antistress, and antioxidant systems.

In developed countries, magnesium intake is marginal throughout the entire population regardless of age: around 4 mg/kg/day instead of the 6 mg/kg/day recommended to maintain satisfactory balance. However, the elderly population is extremely heterogeneous: diseases, handicaps, and physical or psychological impairments expose individuals to more severe nutritional deficiencies.

Around the age of seventy, magnesium absorption becomes two-thirds of what it is at age thirty.

Various mechanisms of deficiency include intestinal malabsorption; reduced bone uptake and mobilization (osteoporosis); increased urinary losses; chronic stress; insulin resistance leading to diabetes with severe magnesium loss in the urine; lack of response to adrenal stimulation; loss caused by medication, especially diuretics; alcohol addiction; and cigarette smoking.

Magnesium deficiency symptoms in the elderly include central nervous system symptoms that seem largely “neurotic”: anxiety, excessive emotionality, fatigue, headaches, insomnia, light-headedness, dizziness, nervous fits, sensation of a lump in the throat, and impaired breathing. Peripheral nervous system signs are common: pins and needles of the extremities, cramps, muscle pains. Functional disorders include chest pain, shortness of breath, chest pressure, palpitations, extra systoles (occasional heart thumps from an isolated extra beat), abnormal heart rhythm, and Raynaud’s syndrome. Autonomic nervous system disturbances involve both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, causing hypotension on rising quickly or borderline hypertension. In elderly patients, excessive emotionality, tremor, weakness, sleep disorders, amnesia, and cognitive disturbances are particularly important aspects of magnesium deficiency.

A trial of oral magnesium supplementation is the best diagnostic tool for establishing the importance of magnesium.

TREATMENT BEYOND MAGNESIUM

MANAGEMENT OF ALUMINUM TOXICITY
AND ALZHEIMER’S

Use only filtered water that guarantees removal of aluminum; drink eight glasses per day. Check labels and avoid antacids containing aluminum. Use natural antiperspirants. Avoid cooking in aluminum pots or drinking fruit juice or soft drinks from aluminum containers. Get checked for thyroid disease and treat appropriately. Check for heavy metal toxicity (aluminum, mercury, copper, lead, and iron) through urine testing or hair analysis. Pursue either oral or intravenous chelation to remove your heavy-metal burden.

DIET

Avoid all junk food and salty, fried, and fatty foods. Stay away from meat, alcohol, coffee, caffeine, and sugar. Check for food sensitivities, particularly wheat and dairy. Therapeutic foods include cilantro, onion, seaweeds and ginger, which help bind and excrete heavy metals.

SUPPLEMENTS

Magnesium: 300 mg two or three times per day
Calcium: 500 mg twice per day
Vitamin E as mixed tocopherols: 400 IU daily
Vitamin C: 1,000 mg twice per day
B complex: 50 mg twice per day
Vitamin B₁₂: 1,000 mcg intramuscularly weekly
Lecithin granules: 2 tbsp per day
Flaxseed oil: 1–2 tbsp per day
Fish oil (halibut liver oil or cod liver oil): 1 tsp per day
In addition, the herbs Ginkgo biloba and Gota cola improve
cerebral circulation. Drugs that worsen Alzheimer’s in-
clude chlorpromazine, antihistamines, barbiturates, psy-
chotropic drugs, and diuretics.

ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES FOR ALZHEIMER’S

Avoid mercury fillings or have them replaced. But the work must be done by a dentist who specializes in this area; improper removal can result in more mercury being released into the tissues. Clean out all the chemicals in your home and immediate environment. Eat organic food. Exercise and take regular saunas.