You Can Improve Your Heart Health (part 2)

Continuing the Journey of ReMineralization

You’ve been on a highly absorbed picometer magnesium and multimineral product and other vitamins recommended by the NIH for heart health. You also made some positive lifestyle changes. And, you have reached magnesium saturation because your cardiovascular magnesium deficiencies have subsided. Then, it seems like all of a sudden, they come back. Why?

Lifestyle checks

Time to peek under the hood and check the lifestyle mechanics.  Are you working longer hours? Are you stressed about a project? Did you lose a family member? Did you go on a business trip and get dehydrated? Perhaps you forgot to bring your supplements on vacation? Did you celebrate your birthday by eating a huge amount of ice cream cake? These are all triggers for the return of a deficiency symptom. If you aren’t keeping a health journal, then you’ll have to do a bit of digging in your memory to look for the trigger.

Here is a list of typical triggers:

• Air pollution
• Alcohol
• Calcium – consuming more than 600 mg of Calcium per day (food and supplements)
• Coronary artery disease
• Dental Infections, fillings, crowns, and cavitations
• Diabetes
• Electrolyte Imbalance
• Gas, bloating, hiatal hernia
• Gluten and glutamate sensitivity
• Heart attack
• Abnormal heart valves
• High blood pressure
• Heart structural changes
• The Holidays
• Hypoglycemia
• Infections
• Inflammation
• Lung disease
• Medications
• Intense physical activity
• Obesity
• Potassium deficiency
• Exposure to stimulants
• Sick sinus syndrome
• Sleep apnea
• Stress that leads to anxiety and panic attacks
• Surgical procedures
• High sugar diet
• Overactive thyroid gland
• Travel
• Overuse of Vitamin D
• Yeast Overgrowth

If you have triggered one of your magnesium or mineral deficiencies, it’s important to review your daily supplementation habit and make increase your intake until you feel better. Then, once you are stable, you can titrate down to the amount you used before you were triggered.

Now, you have my suggestions about magnesium supplementation and lifestyle changes. If you want to do more research with my advanced readers, then read on.

Growing in Your Knowledge and Expertise

When I begin to speak with individuals about magnesium typically they respond that they know ‘all about’ magnesium and then proceed to misquote many magnesium facts. What I recommend is becoming a Magnesium Expert by building a reading library that will support your health and the health of those around you.

Books to add to your shelves:

The Magnesium Miracle or my newest book, Magnesium The Missing Link to Total Health. Please start there. Also, I will make some suggestions to supplement that reading with additional expertise:

My first recommendation is to read Dr. James DiNicolantonio, et al.’s, study, Subclinical magnesium deficiency: a principal driver of cardiovascular disease and a public health crisis.

I also suggest you read another of Dr. DiNicolantonio’s publications, The Salt Fix: Why Experts Got It All Wrong and How Eating More Might Save Your Life. This is the book that describes why I suggest using 1/4 teaspoon of sea or Himalayan (unprocessed, colored salt which is filled with minerals) as part of my hydration guidelines.

Another interesting book that I recommend is Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill by Udo Erasmus.

Finally, by two outstanding magnesium experts, I highly suggest reading, The Magnesium Factor, by Mildred Seelig and Andrea Rosanoff.

Closing Thoughts

I peripherally mentioned earlier that eating and supplementing too much calcium and Vitamin D can affect your magnesium levels. If you are you uncertain how much vitamin D to take, you can review the Vitamin D Calculator at GrassrootsHealth.org. My recommendation for calcium is not to exceed 600 milligrams a day.

Some readers ask for my help for their family member/loved one to never start or get off heart-health-related medication. As I tell them, I never tell anyone to stop taking their medications. In fact, I’ve even said in this post that supplementation is complementary to your doctor’s guidance. However, at the time when you or your loved one’s cardiovascular magnesium deficiencies subside, your/their doctor at that point would be open to a conversation about reducing or weaning off of some of the medication. When you are nutrient-sufficient is the time to mention this to your doctor and weaning off medication under your doctor’s care is the safest way to do so, if appropriate.

Finally, many writers ask me about blood thinners. Most individuals and doctors do not realize that magnesium is a natural statin. But, again, I won’t tell you to stop taking a medication that your doctor prescribed for you. When your deficiencies subside is the time to talk with your doctor about reducing or weaning off medications. This is the time when the conversation will be easier and more elegant for you both.