Dark Chocolate, Magnesium, And Your Heart

I am trying to convince myself eating Dark Chocolate covered Almonds and Peanuts for breakfast should be my new morning ritual. All three are very high in magnesium and living in North America, we do not get enough magnesium in our daily diet. The minimum daily requirement of magnesium is 400 mg. per day and the speakers at seminars estimate we get less than half from our daily diet. The minimum daily requirement does not take into account any functions and activities that require additional magnesium. The Adrenal Glands and muscles use magnesium. High daily stresses (who does no worry), hard physical labor work, periods (cramps are a sign of low magnesium), and the strength of your heart and arteries all demand magnesium above the minimum daily requirement.

Since our diets are not adequate in magnesium, we use our storage of magnesium to go day to day from our bones. We can pull 50 to 70 mg. of magnesium out of the bones daily to shore up or magnesium deficits. Some simple math and you can see we are all running low on magnesium. To make matters worse the typical standard magnesium supplements will not absorb. We have talked about magnesium absorption before and why I make such a big deal out of how the Mg Plus and Choline Citrate are taken.

The best way to track absorption of magnesium is the first morning’s urine. The litmus paper should be a medium dark green. If it is faint green or it stays orange, you do not have the ability to absorb magnesium. We have tested this concept with blood tests and it is measurable.

And this starts my conversation on what we have recently seen in the office and what I want to talk about. Magnesium is in all of our muscle layers and when we run chronically low it is not going to be built up in one day. Magnesium status is measurable with the concept of storage as the goal.

There are currently two blood tests for magnesium; the red blood cell levels and the serum levels. The red blood cell magnesium was always considered to be the more accurate test over the serum. I have had conversations with my friend, Dr. Jaffe, on magnesium testing and he has always said the truly accurate test would be an ionized magnesium and it simply is not being used by the laboratories because it is only known in the research world. We are stuck with the serum levels because it is more consistent with reliability vs. the red cell level. If we draw blood repeatedly the red cell magnesium jumps around and is difficult to see progression of improvement. What we want is the serum magnesium to be on the high side of the reference range and an optimal urine pH to show we are beginning to store magnesium.

You have to remember from a laboratory researcher’s point of view the absorption of magnesium in pill form is impossible and very little time is put into this. You and I are smiling right now because we know how to change this. That is why we have the Mg Plus and Choline Citrate. We can measure the first morning’s urine pH and determine if this is working.

For a heart issue, we have to build up enough magnesium in the artery walls so they stay open and the transient angina goes away. We have to build up enough magnesium so the uterine cramps and the leg cramps or restless legs go away. Osteoporosis, heart, and kidney function all need magnesium.

If the pH was normal and then it drops after taking the magnesium with choline it shows that there is a terrific storage of acids in the cells and magnesium is just being used at a very rapid rate. It is called a magnesium steal.

Another example of low magnesium levels is the drug Prednisone (steroids). It stresses the Adrenal Glands resulting in lower magnesium levels leading to irregular heart beats. Magnesium will help tremendously with these health issues over time. The stores of magnesium have to be rebuilt and this is the time issue and we need lots of magnesium.

There is a very important point to remember when dealing with all chronic health issues. The immune system, hormonal, and the nervous system are inter connected. The traditional Chinese teachings going back a few thousand years stumbled into this but had no idea what it was. Today they call it San Jiao or Triple Heater in Acupuncture. The knowledge that these three body systems intertwine has always been there. The challenge is knowing what to do about it.

We have seen heart beat irregularities improve with the delayed onset allergy test and getting the storage of magnesium back to optimal levels. When we destress the body by removing the delayed onset allergens the magnesium can start to build up and at the same time, the immune system leaves the nervous system alone. The heart beat is a nervous system electrical impulse and now that the immune system is no longer stressing the heart we can begin the process of healing.

And that brings me back to my dilemma of Dark Chocolate, Almonds, and Peanuts as my magnesium source. I pulled out the short pants yesterday and there is only one pair that fits, the one with the elastic waist. The fat content of the almonds and peanuts is not going to work as a magnesium source if losing the belly is the goal. We really need magnesium from dark green vegetables.

The Wall Street Journal yesterday had an excellent example of good tasting healthy eating. It took a little bit of time, make this the day before your family and friends show up next weekend. All you have to do is warm it up right before eating. It’s makes for less work and less hassle when everyone gets hungry. Healthy food is supposed to taste better than the traditional foods we would eat on holidays. This one works.

Stuffed Swiss Chard with Tomato Sauce, (the recipe called them Love Bites) WSJ Saturday Edition, May 18, 2019.

Swiss Chard is very high in magnesium. The recipe uses onion and garlic which provides the liver with sulfur for detoxification. It is a holiday weekend; if you drink sulfite free wine and beer you need less detoxification. Otherwise add in a little more onion.

Click on this link to go to the recipe.

I have a “work in progress” Recipe Link on the web page for additional recipes.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your Sunday,

Dr. McGuckin