Transdermal Magnesium Therapy Mark Sircus Pdf
Marcelo Eichel
These are super-concentrated forms of magnesium chloride, a form of magnesium known for its superior solubility. Magnesium is absorbed through the skin, giving transdermal magnesium therapy many of the same benefits as some of the transdermal patches available today.
A clear benefit of transdermal magnesium is its potential to accelerate the process of magnesium replacement therapy. It has been shown that restoration of magnesium levels can take anywhere from six weeks to an entire year. 5 6
Dr. Norman Shealy, M.D. Ph.D. and founder of the American Holistic Medical Association, was an early advocate for the advantages of magnesium and the particular benefits of transdermal applications of magnesium:
Upon being introduced to the potential of liquid soaks for magnesium and natural DHEA stimulation, Dr. Shealy, a trained neuroscientist and medical researcher who studied at Duke University, performed experiments to test the ability of the skin to absorb magnesium.
Dr. R.H. Waring of the University of Birmingham has also studied topical magnesium absorption in the form of magnesium sulfate salts. In his study, nineteen subjects in good health took daily baths of 12 minutes in duration for a period of seven days. Magnesium sulfate was added to baths and agitated to solution prior to entry. Magnesium blood levels and urine samples were measured in the study, by a flame photometric method.
The results of the study reported changes in magnesium levels in blood before and after the testing period. Blood levels showed an average increase of 10 ppm/ml after one day of soaking, and 36.3 ppm/ml after seven days, indicating an increase in blood magnesium concentration after prolonged soaking.
The most common laboratory test for assessing magnesium status is serum magnesium, which is known to inconsistently represent actual total-body or intracellular magnesium content (content inside the cells). In a study published by the American College of Nutrition, it was noted that as many as 50% of cases of magnesium deficiency are not recognized, due to statistical errors in the normal range set for serum magnesium testing. 10
Researchers suggested both changes in the way that serum magnesium tests are evaluated, as well as a more proactive stance by the medical community on providing magnesium therapy for patients whose symptoms or diagnoses stood to benefit. These included:
There are almost no precautions to observe with regard to transdermal magnesium therapy. For most people without kidney disorders, the skin automatically regulates safe intake, so dosage issues are simply a matter of personal choice.
Considering the significant number of magnesium-related symptoms and conditions, you may want to seek information on your personal level of magnesium deficit, as this can provide clues as to the amount of magnesium replacement therapy may be required for you.
Consulting with a medical practitioner knowledgeable and active in the area of nutrition can be helpful. You can also take our Magnesium Self-Assessment for a good starting point as to whether you may be deficient.
The US Department of Agriculture's 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans identified a number of key nutrients Americans may be deficient in. Since the majority of our patients live on the Standard American Diet, there are a few key symptoms to watch for that may complicate your diagnosis, when all the patient needs is some supplementation, not a drug from their physician. The most common nutritional deficiencies in our diet are calcium, Vitamin C, D, E, K, Potassium, Magnesium and Selenium.
Let's take a look at the value of magnesium for a variety of health challenges. Magnesium is essential for over 300 enzyme body functions including all enzymes associated with utilizing or synthesizing ATP. Deficiency of this mineral is related to a host of chronic health conditions including heart disease, strokes, cancer, migraines, asthma, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Roughly 70 percent of all Americans do not consume the RDA of Magnesium. (Recommended Daily Allowance is 420mg for adult males and 320mg for adult females.) A common symptom of magnesium deficiency is an enhanced "startle" response such as jumping when hearing an unexpected loud noise. After my patients supplement with transdermal magnesium, their startle response fades within a few weeks.
The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) was developed during World War II by a committee established by the United States National Academy of Sciences in order to investigate issues of nutrition that might "affect national defense."3 It was intended to make sure the American population was getting the bare minimum nutrition in the event of food rationing. It's not about optimal health, but rather about avoiding health conditions related to nutritional deficiencies such as rickets, scurvy, anemia, goiter and beriberi.
It's not only our diet that drives this deficiency. It's also US agri-business using the soil over and over again, depleting it of minerals, and if magnesium doesn't exist in the soil, it won't be available for the fruit or vegetable grown there. Results from the 1992 Earth Summit revealed that farmlands in North America were 85 percent nutrient depleted, so eating non-organic foods provide 15 percent of the nutritional value they once had 100 years ago.
As you can clearly see, as minerals are on the decline, mineral deficiency diseases are on the rise, and will continue to rise. A 1936 US senate meeting in Congress addressed that issue stating "...unless something is done about the poor nutrient content in the soil, there will be a serious rise in degenerative diseases within 50 years..." that warning was issued over 65 years ago and today we have the worst onslaught of degenerative diseases the world has ever seen: Cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, arthritis as well as infertility, autism, asthma, ADD/ADHD, etc. Compounding this problem is that there are a number of common drugs that deplete magnesium levels such as antacids, anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, birth control medication, cardiovascular meds and diuretics.
The table below offers some suggestions for you to recommend to your patients in addition to transdermal magnesium therapy. These must be organic to have a positive impact on magnesium levels. Note that brown rice has three times the magnesium as a sweet potato.
Inflammation is one of the recent "buzzwords" in the medical research community. C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and Homocysteine levels, which reflect inflammation, are far better predictors of heart disease than serum cholesterol and triglycerides. Obesity, type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease are linked to chronic inflammation. What's the major cause of inflammation in the human body? Diet and stress are the two most common causes. People who eat "fast food" are almost always in a pro-inflammatory state. Fungal, viral, and bacterial infections, heavy metal toxicity, sugar, consumption of hydrogenated oils, obesity, insulin and smoking also contribute to systemic inflammation. Chronic low-level inflammation leads to insulin resistance and eventually to full blown diabetes. Magnesium breaks the chemical cascade that leads to inflammation, protecting the body from a number of chronic diseases. In the exceptionally well researched and written book "Transdermal Magnesium Therapy: A New Modality for the Maintenance of Health" by Dr. Mark Sircus, L.Ac., OMD, magnesium is shown to increase oxygen to the cells, protect us from cancer, stroke, heart and vascular disease, Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, endocrine problems, diabetes, pain, insomnia, depression and assists in detoxification. I'll address how transdermal magnesium therapy combats the top three causes of death in America today: Heart disease, malignant neoplasms (cancer), and cerebrovascular diseases (stroke).4
Emergency rooms routinely use magnesium sulfate before, during and after cardiac arrest. One of the most important actions of magnesium is its vasodilating effects, improving the blood supply to ischemic areas and reducing infarct size.5 The results of a recent study in the United Kingdom of over 2,300 patients with suspected acute myocardial infarction showed that magnesium reduced mortality by a stunning 24 percent. It was a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled study using magnesium sulphate (8mmol over 5 min followed by 65mmol over 24 hours) vs. physiological saline as the placebo. The outcome measure was 28-day mortality. The researchers' conclusion was "Intravenous magnesium sulphate is a simple, safe and widely applicable treatment. Its efficacy in reducing early mortality of myocardial infarction is comparable to that of thrombolytic or antiplatelet therapy."6
A 1995 study showed that the in-hospital survival rate of heart attack patients was 75 percent higher for those who received IV magnesium compared to those given conventional therapy. Even though the hospitals were using Magnesium Sulphate, the chloride form of magnesium salt is best because it can be taken orally, injected or used transdermally. The major problem with taking any form of magnesium orally is that it is poorly absorbed, and speeds up colon motility leading to diarrhea. (Prunes are high in magnesium.) If your patient has a family history of heart disease or is suffering from atrial fibrillation, angina or has had a heart attack in the past, you should strongly consider adding transdermal magnesium therapy to your treatment plan. Why wait until they have a heart attack when you can offer a prophylactic approach that's safe, well-tolerated, and is beneficial for a broad spectrum of health conditions?
On the bright side, in Los Angeles, Calif., a trial named "FAST-MAG" (Field Administration of Stroke Therapy) has EMTs pushing magnesium intravenously in response to receiving a stroke victim. So far, the results are promising with feedback of being easy to administer, safe and potentially effective.11 A recently published study evaluating 58,615 healthy Japanese aged 40-79 years based on a food questionnaire over a period of 15 years showed that "Dietary magnesium intake was inversely associated with mortality from hemorrhagic stroke in men and with mortality from total and ischemic strokes, coronary heart disease, heart failure and total cardiovascular disease in women." The researchers' conclusion was that those with high magnesium levels had a greatly reduced chance of mortality from cardiovascular disease, especially for women.12
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