8. THE MINERAL OF LIFE
Recent studies are throwing more and more light on the
metabolic role of magnesium. Because progress in learning about
this trace mineral has been painfully slow, however, we often see
what magnesium does without understanding how it does it. We know, for instance, that magnesium
bonds calcium and phosphate to teeth, thus strengthening
resistance to decay, without understanding the mechanism
involved. But now with the availability of the radioactive
isotope magnesium 28, scientists have been learning more about
how this mineral is absorbed, transported, and utilized in the
body.
A comprehensive review of the subject appears in a book called
The Role of Magnesium in
Biologic Processes (Thomas publishers, 1963) and a 1965
supplement by J. K. Aikawa, M.D., associate professor of medicine at
the University of Colorado. His
supplement informs us that magnesium plays important roles in
bone metabolism, energy-giving processes, and in formation of
nucleic acids that control the behavior and properties of living
cells.
To understand how magnesium
functions, we must consider its activity as an electrolyte, which
is an element whose atoms contain an electric charge that is
either positive or negative. The balance of these charged
particles in our bodies is actually slightly more positive than
negative. The magnesium cation with its positive charge is an
active electrolyte that is constantly moving back and forth
across cell membranes to maintain the proper balance. Scientists
are still unsure of the mechanism that transports magnesium
across membranes, but they have some theories.
Proper Amount Absorbed
Absorption into the gastrointestinal tract, for example seems
to depend upon the load presented to the mucous membranes of the
intestine. A study by L. Graham, J. Caesar, and A. Burger was
reported in Metabolism (Vol. 9, 1960). Radioactive magnesium was
used to trace the activities of the mineral. This radioactive
form used for study purposes is not the type obtained from our
diet.
In man, it was observed that, on a diet with an average amount
of magnesium, 44 percent of the ingested radioactivity was
absorbed; on a low-magnesium diet, 76 percent was absorbed; and
on a high- magnesium diet, only 24 percent was absorbed.
These results indicate that there is no need ever to fear an
overload of magnesium in the diet. Any excess will be excreted
harmlessly, whereas a deficiency could have serious results.
How does absorption occur in the small intestine? The presence
of calcium is an influencing factor. Magnesium and calcium have a natural affinity for
each other. Scientists have learned that if either of the
minerals is consumed greatly in excess, it will be carried out of
the system with the aid of the other element. However, these
minerals are absorbed more easily when they are both present than
when either is present alone. Thus, a deficiency of either
element can cause a deficiency of the other as well, particularly
in tissues where they are needed.
A study published in Clinical Science (Vol. 22, 1962)
by N. Alcock and I. MacIntyre demonstrates this concept. It was
observed that absorption of both
magnesium and calcium was impaired in magnesium-deficient rats.
Additional dietary calcium aggravated magnesium deficiency, but
the absence of calcium enhanced magnesium absorption. Dr. Aikawa
remarks: "These results suggest the existence of a common
mechanism for transporting calcium and magnesium across the
intestinal wall."
Bone structures, which contain about 60 percent of the body's
magnesium store, are also related to mineral transport. Dr. Aikawa
observes two ways in which magnesium becomes a part of bone:
living bone cells draw the element into the structure; or the
mineral may simply adhere to the bone surface through a process
called passive adsorption.
In laboratory tests, bone cortex and serum albumin both
compete for the absorption of magnesium. Dr. Aikawa
states: "Such a mechanism might play a role in the in vivo
[in a living organism] balance between storage of bone and
maintenance of the extracellular concentration of magnesium."
Magnesium regulates the functions
of cells other than bone. Certain small bodies within normal
cells called mitochondria are considered the cells chief source
of energy because they contain the enzymes that burn glucose to
release energy. This burning of glucose, however, does not take
place unless the enzymes are activated by an auxiliary substance.
Magnesium, recognized to be an activator for many enzymes, plays
an important role in this regard.
The mitochondria transport certain electrolytes and can take
up or force out water, but to perform these activities, energy is
again required. The studies of H. Baltscheffsky suggest that
magnesium is specifically involved in regulating mitochondrial
respiration, a process in which oxygen is taken in and carbon
dioxide is given off.
One of his experiments, published in Biochim. Biophys.
Acta (Vol. 20, 1965), revealed that when mitochondria were
placed in a magnesium-free medium, the rate of respiration
increased spontaneously. Baltscheffsky suggested that the
swelling and structural disintegration of mitochondria were
responsible for this increased rate, since it appears that
magnesium is linked to mitochondria by a bond; if this bond
breaks, respiratory rate is affected.
Magnesium is also "an absolute requirement for the, binding of
phosphate," according to Dr.
Aikawa. There are two kinds of
binding--active and passive. He sums up this complex but vital
transport function: "Since mitochondrion is probably a model for
cell membranes generally, coupled translocation of [the magnesium
ion] and phosphate in the mitochondrion provides the first
intimate glimpse into the active, transport which goes on in a
living system."
The structure of RNA (ribonucleic
acid), the genetic substance that synthesizes protein, is built
upon magnesium. RNA is believed to control thought and memory and
the structure of all organs. The mineral has been observed to
preserve the integrity of ribosomes, which contain tiny particles
of nucleic acid molecules. Dr.
Aikawa underlines the importance of this
added responsibility: "The ribosomes from adult frog liver are
subunits of RNA protein held together by magnesium. Removal of
magnesium from frog liver or whole tadpoles by versene breaks the
normal aggregation of 80 to 100 S particles into two to four S
pieces."
Undoubtedly, many more functions of magnesium will be
discovered in the coming years.
As Dr. Aikawa notes: "In
the final analysis, the ultimate explanation of the fact that
magnesium alone is operative in such diverse but fundamental
cellular processes must be based on the unique atomic structure
of this element. Just how it is unique remains to be
ascertained." To us it means that, while the emerging biochemical
information may be complicated and difficult to understand, its
underlying meaning is simple and basic. It has been learned and
established that magnesium is a key element in indispensable life
processes. Without enough magnesium in the system, life itself is
threatened. And since we cannot harm ourselves with an excess, it
is better to take too much than too little.
How magnesium, along with calcium, helps the body to sustain a
healthy nervous system is new information, that has recently been
unveiled in a report from Columbia
University. It is signed by Richard
D. Penn and Werner R.
Loewenstein and appeared in Volume 151 of Science (January, 1966) the organ of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science.
The new knowledge the report brings forth relates to the
electrical nature of nerve impulses, which is probably why it has
taken so long for laboratory science to learn these essential
facts. Until the development of very new instruments capable of
measuring the microcurrents of electricity that pass along the
nerves, all such studies were doomed to failure.
But the instruments now exist, and with their aid Penn and
Loewenstein were able to measure what happens to the electrical
currents conducted along a chain of nerve cells under various
circumstances.
Free Calcium Conductor
It was found that the nerve cells, as might have been
expected, transmit minute electrical currents from one to another
at the point where the cells join. It was also found, however,
that the calcium existing in a free state in the fluid outside
the cell acts as a conductor. And as, little by little, the
calcium in this fluid bath was decreased, the amount of current
that one cell was able to transmit to another also decreased. "At
a certain level of calcium withdrawal from the cell system,
junctional conductance reaches a critical low point at which the
cells become functionally disconnected: the nerve impulses which
are normally discharged in synchrony by the cells become
asynchronous. These effects of calcium on junctional connections
are irreversible . . ."
What this means, more specifically, is that Penn and
Loewenstein have found that when there is insufficient free
calcium in the serum, the individual nerve cells seal themselves
off and actually increase their resistance to the transmission of
electrical nerve impulses. There is thus a double action, the
assistance of calcium as a conductor being also lost. As a
consequence, an insufficiency of calcium leads to an inability of
the nerves to conduct commands to the various organs of the body
properly. Moreover, once this insufficiency has become
established, it cannot be reversed. No amount of calcium in the
diet will restore the health of nerves already damaged by a
deficiency of this precious mineral.
Magnesium As Good
According to Penn and Loewenstein, the only protection we have
against the ill effects of such a calcium deficiency would seem
to be the maintenance of a high serum magnesium level. "Magnesium
seems to substitute for calcium in maintaining intercellular
communication." They go on to
show that the nerve cells did not uncouple (sever their points of
contact) as long as there was a good supply of magnesium in the
serum, even without calcium.
In other words, a sensible person desiring to maintain a
healthy nervous system, which in turn is vital to general health,
will make certain that the level of free calcium and magnesium in
his blood serum is always a high one. Don't think you can get
along without these minerals for a few months and then catch up
later. Damage will be done, and once done, it cannot be
repaired.
Even though there are many good food sources of both these
minerals, to maintain a really high serum level we must face the
problem not only of eating them but also of absorbing what we
eat. And it is for purposes of absorption that we recommend that
everyone take supplements of both bone meal and dolomite.
These mineral supplements provide a complex of mineral nutrients
in the proportions that best promote complete absorption and use
by the human metabolism. If you take them daily, you can feel
confident that you will never suffer from a calcium or magnesium
deficiency.
PREVIOUS CHAPTER:
Chapter 7. Epilepsy
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