anxiety

Signs You Have Magnesium Deficiency and How to Fix It

May 9, 2017 By Morning Health Team 6 Comments

Are your chocolate cravings so intense that you feel like it screams your name? Do you ever jump out of bed in the middle of the night because of a muscle spasm? Or, no matter what you try, do you have difficulty sleeping? There’s a good chance you’re deficient in magnesium.

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Substantial numbers of Americans are deficient in the mineral magnesium. However, most people have no idea that they’re missing this vital mineral. Nutritionists often call magnesium the master mineral because it affects over 300 different enzymatic processes that help your body function properly.

As a registered dietitian, I’d like to share seven of the most common symptoms of magnesium deficiency — backed up by research — I see when clients come for nutrition counseling:

1. Muscle cramps or spasms

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If you’ve had one of these, you know how awful they can be whether you’re sitting at your desk or awakened in the middle of the night with a painfully tight calf! Muscle cramps are a result of muscle spasms, which are involuntary muscle contractions. Magnesium helps relax muscles throughout your body, so when you’re deficient your muscles will contract involuntarily.

2. Trouble sleeping

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Millions of Americans have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. Magnesium plays an important role in the function of your central nervous system. Without sufficient magnesium, you may experience insomnia. Also, magnesium levels drop in your body at night, leading to poor quantity and quality of REM sleep, which is the most critical sleep cycle to recharge your body and mind.

3. Chocolate cravings

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Dark chocolate is high in magnesium, and one square provides about 24% of your daily value of magnesium. Intense “I have to have it” chocolate cravings are another sign of magnesium deficiency. Your body actually craves what it needs sometimes.

4. Anxiety

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Magnesium is the most powerful relaxation mineral. If you experience anxiety, this is a common early symptom of how your central nervous system is affected by magnesium deficiency. When you feel anxious, taking 200mg of magnesium may make you feel more relaxed.

5. High blood pressure

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Many people wonder why they have high blood pressure even though they follow a healthy, whole food diet. Magnesium may be the answer; another important function of magnesium is relaxing and dilating your blood vessels. When you’re low in magnesium, your blood vessels constrict more, causing high blood pressure. Adequate magnesium levels also help balance your electrolytes. Unbalanced electrolytes can create high blood pressure as well.

6. Irregular heartbeat

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It has become common for people to develop heart arrhythmias, then be put on medications. Your heart is a muscular organ, making the cardiovascular system highly dependent on magnesium to properly function. If your heart is deficient in magnesium, it can’t contract properly, which may cause irregular heartbeats.

7. Constipation

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If you experience constipation regularly, that’s another sign you’re deficient in magnesium. When you’re low in magnesium, your intestines contract more, making it harder for stool to pass. Not only will magnesium relax your bowel to create a more regular bowel rhythm, but it also has an osmotic effect. Magnesium pulls water into the bowels, softening the stool. Choose magnesium citrate to help constipation.

8. Muscle Pain / Fibromyalgia

A study published in Magnesium Research examined the role magnesium plays in fibromyalgia symptoms, and it uncovered that increasing magnesium consumption reduced pain and tenderness and also improved immune blood markers.

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Oftentimes linked to autoimmune disorders, this research should encourage fibromyalgia patients because it highlights the systemic effects that magnesium supplements have on the body.

9. Osteoporosis

The National Institute of Health reports that, “The average person’s body contains about 25 grams of magnesium, and about half of that is in the bones.” This is important to realize, especially for the elderly, who are at risk of bone weakening.

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Thankfully, there’s hope! A study published in Biology Trace Element Research uncovered that supplementing with magnesium slowed the development of osteoporosis “significantly” after just 30 days. In addition to taking magnesium supplement, you will also want to consider getting more vitamin D3 and K2 to naturally build bone density.

10. Type II Diabetes

One of the four main causes of magnesium deficiency is type II diabetes, but it’s also a common symptom. U.K. researchers, for example, uncovered that of the 1,452 adults they examined low, magnesium levels were 10 times more common with new diabetics and 8.6 times more common with known diabetics.

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As expected from this data, diets rich in magnesium has been shown to significantlylower the risk of type 2 diabetes because of magnesium’s role in sugar metabolism. Another study discovered that the simple addition of magnesium supplementation (100 milligrams/day) lowered the risk of diabetes by 15 percent!

11. Fatigue

Low energy, weakness and fatigue are common symptoms of magnesium deficiency. Most chronic fatigue syndrome patients are also magnesium deficient. The University of Maryland Medical Center reports that 300–1,000 milligrams of magnesium per day can help, but you do also want to be careful, as too much magnesium can also cause diarrhea.

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If you experience this side effect, you can simply reduce your dosage a little until the side effect subsides.

12. Migraine Headaches

Magnesium deficiency has been linked to migraine headaches due to its importance in balancing neurotransmitters in the body. Double-blind placebo-controlled studies have proven that 360–600 milligrams of magnesium daily reduced the frequency of migraine headaches by up to 42 percent.

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Most of my clients have at least one of the above symptoms and have found great relief after increasing their magnesium levels.

How can you increase your magnesium levels?

First, stop eating foods that deplete nutrients, such as flour and sugar. Instead eat foods high in magnesium, such as meat, avocados, leafy green vegetables and nuts. If you’re eating chocolate to restore some of your magnesium, make sure it’s at least 70% cocoa, and keep your chocolate intake to one ounce or less per day.

Even if you eat a healthy diet, you will likely still need to supplement with magnesium. Look for a good-quality magnesium supplement in the form of magnesium glycinate, which is one of the most absorbable forms. Most people need about 400 mg, but you can go up to 1,000 mg per day if needed. Take magnesium at bedtime for best absorption and to provide deep, rejuvenating sleep!

Panic Attacks and Anxiety Linked to Low Vitamin B and Iron Levels

April 12, 2017 By Morning Health Team 1 Comment

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“Patients undergoing a panic attack (PA) or a hyperventilation attack (HVA) are sometimes admitted to emergency departments (EDs). Reduced serotonin level is known as one of the causes of PA and HVA. Serotonin is synthesized from tryptophan. For the synthesis of serotonin, vitamin B6 (Vit B6) and iron play important roles as cofactors.”

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On the off chance that you experience the ill effects of tension or get occasional panic attacks marked by episodes of hyperventilation, you could only be encountering the symptoms of a basic supplement inadequacy that is effortlessly correctable, as per Jonathan Benson of Natural News.

This unquestionably seems to have been the situation with 21 individuals who took an interest in a late study based out of Japan, which recognized an absence of both vitamin B6 and iron among members who experienced panic or hyperventilation episodes.

The generally small study assessed supplement levels among a gathering of members with fluctuating degrees of uneasiness and frequencies of panic and hyperventilation episodes, some of which brought about emergency room visits. A control gathering was additionally assessed, and its members’ supplement levels contrasted with those of the essential gathering.

Upon assessment, scientists noted that both vitamin B6 and iron were inadequate in the subjects with nervousness and hyperventilation issues, while those in the sound gathering had sufficient levels of these critical supplements. B vitamins and iron are especially essential for the amalgamation of tryptophan into serotonin, a neurotransmitter that manages not only disposition and mental soundness, but rest and cardiovascular capacity.

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“These results suggest that low serum concentrations of vitamin B6 and iron are involved in PA (panic attacks) and HVA (hyperventilation),” said the creators in their research conclusion. “Further studies are needed to clarify the mechanisms involved in such differences.”

Supplementing with entire nourishment based vitamins may advance better mental wellbeing. Despite the fact that this specific study did not recognize a connection between general insufficiencies of other B vitamins like B2 and B12 and high recurrence or power of panic attacks, all B vitamins are essential for sound mind and real capacity. A lack in any B vitamins, as it were, can prompt mental wellbeing issues, which is the reason it is critical to hold your levels under wraps.

“Chronic stress, poor diet, and certain medical conditions can deplete the body’s stores of vital nutrients,” explains one source about the important of B vitamins. “

Many of those who suffer from agoraphobia (fear of crowded spaces or enclosed public places) are deficient in certain B complex vitamins, and this may be the case for other anxiety-related conditions as well. Symptoms of vitamin B deficiency may include anxiety, restlessness, fatigue, irritability, and emotional instability.”

In the event that you are looking to supplement with B vitamins, make sure to buy entire food-based varieties like those delivered by organizations like Megafood and Garden of Life. Entire nourishment based supplements of any sort are not just preferable consumed by the body over their synthetic counterparts,however they are likewise healthier than standard, common vitamins and better fit for giving ideal restorative advantage.

“Vitamins are made up of several different components – enzymes, co-enzymes, and co-factors – that must work together to produce their intended biologic effects,” explains Dr. Ben Kim. “The majority of vitamins that are sold in pharmacies, grocery stores, and vitamin shops are synthetic vitamins, which are only isolated portions of the vitamins that occur naturally in food.”

Bird Watching Good for Mental Health

February 28, 2017 By Morning Health Team Leave a Comment

More and more Americans are becoming health conscious these days. They are eating less red meat, more fish, more leafy and colorful vegetables and more whole grain foods. The infamous food pyramid is constantly being reworked, leaving many people confused as to what food groups are what and how much of each they should be eating. Which dairy products are good and which aren’t?

One day some new study is being reported by the media that shows that coffee is good for you and then another one says coffee is not good for you.

Nuts like raw almonds and walnuts help lower blood pressure and blood glucose levels yet they contain a lot of fat that isn’t good for diet and weight loss.

Then there are always new reports on how much exercise one needs or should get every day or every week. One report says 20 minutes a day, seven days a week and another says 30 minutes a day at least 3 days a week. Other reports says that too much exercise lowers a person’s sex drive so that could be a problem as well.

But what about our mental health? Are there things we can do that are proven to improve our mental health?

YES!

I’ve seen many reports that indicating that doing things like puzzles help with mental health and can even help keep the mind of an older person sharper. I’ve read several studies that things like Sudoku puzzles are great for mental health, if one can keep from becoming frustrated. They force the mind to think and reason and are considered to be exercises for the mind on same par as walking and jogging are for the physical body.

Don’t laugh or scoff but now you can add bird watching to the list of things that are said to be good for one’s mental health. According to a new study conducted by the University of Exeter, University of Queensland and the British Trust for Ornithology:

“People living in neighbourhoods with more birds, shrubs and trees are less likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and stress…”

“The study, involving hundreds of people, found benefits for mental health of being able to see birds, shrubs and trees around the home, whether people lived in urban or more leafy suburban neighbourhoods.”

“The study, which surveyed mental health in over 270 people from different ages, incomes and ethnicities, also found that those who spent less time out of doors than usual in the previous week were more likely to report they were anxious or depressed.”

“After conducting extensive surveys of the number of birds in the morning and afternoon in Milton Keynes, Bedford and Luton, the study found that lower levels of depression, anxiety and stress were associated with the number of birds people could see in the afternoon. The academics studied afternoon bird numbers – which tend to be lower than birds generally seen in the morning – because are more in keeping with the number of birds that people are likely to see in their neighbourhood on a daily basis.”

“In the study, common types of birds including blackbirds, robins, blue tits and crows were seen. But the study did not find a relationship between the species of birds and mental health, but rather the number of birds they could see from their windows, in the garden or in their neighbourhood.”

Bird watching is easy and doesn’t require a lot of expensive equipment or knowledge. One can get a bird guide to their area and binoculars if they want, but simply watching out a window, sitting in the yard or talking a walk down the street or to the park can be all it takes to watch our feathered friends. It can be coupled with physical exercise or it can be done by anyone with physical limitations and limited mobility.

Whenever you find yourself feeling stressed, anxious or even depressed and down in the dumps, take some time to look or go outside and watch our feathered friends. According to this latest study, your stress, anxiety and depression will fly away along with the pigeons, Cardinals, robins, sparrows, wrens and more.

Although the study didn’t address added benefits of bird watching, from what I’ve read of other studies about exercising the mind, learning to identify the different birds by sight, their song or the way the fly should also prove to help with one’s mental health and keeping the mind active.