At one time or another we have all seen Super Heroes in action at the movies.  Is there a “hero mineral” that could prevent you from ever having a heart attack, balance your cholesterol, slow down heart disease and lower your chances of having a stroke? Dr. Glenn S. Rothfeld’s recent article in Nutrition & Healing singles out magnesium as just such a mineral and supports its importance in promoting heart health with a growing body of research that confirms these findings.

Much of what I do in my practice now centers on education.   Spending more time with people means I know them better and have the opportunity to share important discoveries like this research on Magnesium.  Dr. Rothfeld’s ideas about this lesser known mineral could change your life. Did you know that magnesium can contribute having a good night’s sleep as well as strong bones?  Yet potentially the most important benefit according to Dr. Rothfeld’s article is that it could be just what the doctor ordered to stop a deadly heart attack before it even strikes.

Understanding inflammation and how it affects the body is important to recognizing how Magnesium works.  For years medical science had a very limited view of how widespread inflammation is inside our body and how harmful it is.   Magnesium’s ability to fight inflammation has been largely unrecognized until recently. We are now coming to know that inflammation starts to break down your body’s organs, including your cardiovascular system. When the cells that line your arteries become inflamed, your body responds with messages that harm is being done and the body tries to patch the problem resulting in plaque deposits that can obstruct the artery.  Trying to repair the damage actually leads to damage.

Hardened arteries can lead to high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, and other problems called atherosclerotic cardio-vascular disease, or ASCVD . Dr. Rothfeld referenced a study where rabbits with varying levels of cholesterol were fed a diet either high or low in magnesium. The most aortic plaque formation occurred where there was high cholesterol and low magnesium. But surprisingly, high cholesterol, when coupled with high magnesium, showed that the rabbits were almost plaque –free. Magnesium is also a calcium blocker which is important because too much calcium increases muscle contraction, which is harmful to the heart. Magnesium can also keep your cholesterol in check, can inhibit the enzyme that makes cholesterol in the first place, and can prevent triglycerides from getting too high.

Dr. Rothfeld’s article mentioned another study that showed that as little as 100mg of magnesium daily has been associated with reducing the thickness of arteries and that low levels of magnesium contributed to increase thickness. Several studies showed 100mgs of magnesium daily led to an 8% reduction in the type of stroke caused by blockage vessels that bring blood to the brain.  Taking daily supplements and eating a magnesium -rich diet, like spinach, dark leafy greens, bananas, nuts, seeds, fish, avocado and dark chocolate are all good choices to improve health and work toward wellness.  Sometimes a little thing can go a long way; a small daily dose of Magnesium along with Magnesium rich foods may be the small thing that can prevent a big heart problem.