As sung in the Lion King "Caaaan you feeeel the loove toooniiight" because magnesium is has entered the room and it's ready to take your breath away.
Not literally, hopefully.
We want you alive and well. You get the gist.
Heart disease is an ever growing problem in today's world with about 697,000 dying of it in the United States every year alone. Coronary heart disease is the most common type of heart disease, killing approximately 382,820 people annually and every year about 805,000 Americans have a heart attack. These are staggering numbers and in many cases, can be preventable with the support of lifestyle, nutritional and supplemental interventions.
Of the many nutrients the heart utilizes to stay strong and healthy, magnesium is one of the most pivotal ones. It helps with the regulation of one's heart beating through its usage of being an electrolyte and maintain healthy levels of nerve-muscle contractions, supports the removal of oxidant mineral forms that damage the heart, regulates many ion transporters such as potassium and calcium channels. Doctors are even aware of this for it's almost common practice to suggest magnesium injections following a heart attack to stabilize the heart.
Today though, we thought we'd go through some main heart disease issues and highlight how important magnesium is, as well as how it can avoid the condition from coming on in the first place.
1. Magnesium has been shown to lower the chances of up to 22% in people who are at risk of developing strokes. This is due to the fact that magnesium has a calming effect on the body and can help lower blood pressure, as well as the synthetization of cholesterol.
2. Magnesium has been shown to be protective against coronary heart disease too. observational studies have shown that high levels of magnesium can lower coronary heart disease risk factors by improving glucose and insulin metabolism, enhancing endothelium-dependent vasodilation, improving lipid profile and act as an antihypertensive and anti-inflammatory agent. You can read about it here.
3. A third reason magnesium should be taken for heart health is that it's been shown to help protect against heart failure. It does so by relaxing one's muscles that control blood vessels, easing blood to flow, as well as reducing elevated blood pressure, which can decrease the risk for heart attack and stroke.
4. Lastly, magnesium deficiency has been associated to atrial fibrillation and can induce heart rhythm changes such as atrial fluttering. In a study such as here, it was shown that magnesium depletion could cause such and by providing magnesium repletion through supplementation, the heart rhythm changed.
If you're someone who is concerned for their heart health and think you might be magnesium deficient, we highly recommend checking out our Upgraded Magnesium here and even ordering an HTMA kit with us to check your magnesium status here!
Barbara Madimenos
Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis Practitioner
Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner
Integrative Health Coach