April 2015
Hi Everyone,
As some of you know, Terry and I have purchased some land 10 minutes from town..Am
enjoying spending more time in nature and getting in deeper touch with nature’s cycles.
Being present in the now has such powerful benefits. More aliveness, more peace and more
connection with not only nature’s cycles but also our bodies rhythms and needs. Quite often
I am asked about this particular diet or that, whether it is Paleo, Atkins, Fit for Life,
Macrobiotic, Ayurveda, Vegan, Raw food etc etc. All have their gifts and challenges, but
ultimately the best thing we can do for our bodies is eat naturally, get our bodies back in
balance and then eat intuitively. Just like wild animals, who naturally know what to eat, how
much and when, so do we when we slow down, listen, and get in touch with our bodies. If
we all ate with presence and intuitively, there would be no diseases of excess, obesity or
lifestyle degenerative diseases. Our wild nature doesn’t crave processed, chemically laden,
artificial food. It is drawn to food that is alive with lifeforce, fresh, natural and full of
nutrition. Our wild nature knows how much is enough, and when to stop and so there is no
overeating. And our wild nature wants to move and dance and play, and so is not sedentary.
I invite you this month to get more in touch with nature and your wildness, to slow down,
and to listen to your body. Enjoy
Yours in health
Janine
Today’s Quotes
1.
11 Tasty Ways to Up Your Magnesium
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✉
You're hard on your body. Help it stay in tip-top shape
by getting enough of this much-needed mineral.
by Claudine Arndt, Experience Life Magazine
Magnesium plays a significant role in our detoxification processes, preventing possible damage to your body
and brain from environmental toxins and heavy metals.
If you follow current health news and trends, you’ve undoubtedly been deluged with data proselytizing the
critical role vitamin D plays in optimizing health. For years, science has shown how insufficient vitamin D
levels contribute to health concerns on virtually every level — immune system dysregulation, depression, poor
bone health, and lack of energy, to name a few. And many have responded, boosting levels through
supplementation or quality time in the sun.
Move over, vitamin D (but don’t stray too far). There’s a mineral that has a similarly staggering, wide-reaching
effect. Often referred to as "the miracle mineral," magnesium is proving to be an incredibly versatile and critical
nutrient. Norman Shealy, MD, one of the world’s leading experts in pain management and founder of The
Shealy Institute, has said, "Every known illness is associated with a magnesium deficiency. Magnesium is the
most critical mineral required for electrical stability of every cell in the body. A magnesium deficiency may be
responsible for more diseases than any other nutrient."
As overblown as this might sound, Dr. Shealy isn’t alone in his thinking. Today, many health experts claim
magnesium may be the single most important nutrient for human health. Yet it’s estimated that a whopping 68
percent of Americans are deficient.Related Article: Boost Your Performance with Probiotics
Not long ago, our ancestors effortlessly satisfied their bodies’ need for magnesium. They drank clean, mineralrich water straight from rivers, lakes, and streams, and ate naturally organic foods grown in fertile soil.
We live in a different world today. The city water we drink is purified and treated to remove contaminants, a
process that can strip minerals. Much of our food is a shadow of its former self, nutrient-poor from harsh
factory-farming methods that degrade soil integrity and rely on chemical fertilizers rich in nitrogen, phosphorus,
and potassium. Factor in the increasing incidence of gut distress and poor nutrient absorption from which so
many people suffer, and it’s easy to see why deficiencies are rampant.
Like vitamin D, magnesium supports seemingly endless functions and bodily systems. It’s the fourth most
abundant mineral in the body and is a cofactor for the proper functioning of 325 enzymes. Ongoing magnesium
deficiency has been linked to numbness and tingling, muscle cramps and twitches, headaches and migraines,
constipation, insomnia, irregular heart rhythms, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure,
premenstrual syndrome, personality changes, anxiety, fatigue and weakness, fibromyalgia, vertigo and seizures.
And this is just the beginning.
While we’re all familiar with the importance of calcium for strong bones, it can’t do the job alone, as it requires
magnesium to help transfer the calcium into bone. Magnesium relaxes muscles, including your heart muscle and
blood vessels, and helps the heart muscle itself function optimally. It’s also a natural sleep aid; many suffering
from insomnia have added magnesium supplementation to their sleep regimen.
The list goes on. Magnesium plays a significant role in our detoxification processes, preventing possible damage
to your body and brain from environmental toxins and heavy metals. Even your body’s "master antioxidant,"
glutathione, requires magnesium for its synthesis. Considering we live in an increasingly toxic world, anything
we can do to decrease our total "body burden" of toxins is a no-brainer.
Additionally, circling back to our ever-popular friend, vitamin D, magnesium activates the enzymes that
metabolize and use vitamin D. Magnesium also has been shown to help reverse vitamin D resistance.
Finally, science has shown that magnesium plays a key role in improving insulin sensitivity, regulating glucose
and helping prevent type 2 diabetes. Several studies from 2013 all concluded that magnesium’s ability to
improve insulin sensitivity may actually slow or stop progression from pre-diabetes to diabetes. In an October
2013 study from the American Diabetes Association, researchers stated: "Magnesium intake may be particularly
beneficial in offsetting risk of developing diabetes among those at high risk." Carolyn Dean, MD, ND, author of
The Magnesium Miracle, concurs, stating that supplementing with magnesium can help reverse pre-diabetes.
For an extensive list of symptoms and diseases related to magnesium deficiency, check out the Center for
Magnesium Education & Research.
Fortunately, magnesium is available through a variety of whole foods, provided you’re consuming organic, highquality foods grown in nutrient-dense soil, as mentioned earlier.
Some magnesium-rich foods include:
- Leafy green vegetables, like Swiss chard and spinach
- Beans, especially pinto and black beans
- Nuts and seeds, especially cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds
- Kelp
- Agar seaweed
- Avocados
- Brown Rice
- Squash
- Coriander leaf
- Cocoa powder (chocolate counts!)
- Flaxseed
Cooking and processing foods does deplete magnesium somewhat, so including some fresh, raw greens and raw,
sprouted nuts and seeds in one’s diet is valuable.
In addition to emphasizing magnesium-rich foods, if you suspect you’re low, you can experiment with
supplementation. Functional medicine practitioners generally recommend supplementing with magnesium
citrate, glycinate, or taurate, and avoiding magnesium oxide, carbonate, sulfate and gluconate, which aren’t
absorbed very well.
The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for magnesium for adults is between 310–420 milligrams per day,
yet the Vitamin D Council contends these levels aren’t high enough. According to Dean, the best way to tell if
you’re getting enough magnesium is how you feel. Symptoms like insomnia, muscle cramps, fatigue, high blood
pressure, and migraines can all improve.
Originally from: http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/news/articles/2015/03/the-case-for-moremagnesium.aspx#ixzz3W0mu4nBB