Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Monday, June 10, 2013
Thursday, June 6, 2013
10 Best Ways To Detox Your Body
Monday, 27 May 2013 19:49 Ipshita Kumar
Is lethargy your second name? Does the outburst of acne on your face take you back to teenage years? If yes, then your body needs detox.
Detoxing doesn’t mean eating less, it means eating healthy. Practise these best ways to feel healthier than ever:
Image Credit: Shutterstock
There’s a reason why our parents had forced us throughout our childhood years to binge on fresh and colourful fruits and vegetables. The fruits and veggies contain a lot of fiber and anti-oxidants that help clear the liver and produce enzymes that clean your system.
Image Credit: Shutterstock
The heavier you eat, the more it distorts your digestive system. Keep your temptations away, be it greasy food or be it alcohol. Eat smaller and various meals through the day instead of gorging on a lot of food in one meal. Eating light will not only lower your weight, your cholesterol and blood sugar, but also keep your energy levels high.
Image Credit: Shutterstock
In order to boost your metabolism and clear your body of toxins, start by decreasing the amount of sugar you consume every day. Keep that chocolaty and sugar-filled cold coffee away, even if the scorching summer sun seems to dehydrate you. Drink water instead.
Image Credit: Shutterstock
To ease all kinds of digestive problems, resort to green or chamomile tea. Herbal tea also helps you sleep better. Avoid milk tea as much as possible and drink herbal tea to clear out toxins.
Image Credit: Shutterstock
Organic food is your best bet if you have to escape from the danger of pesticides or toxins. Though organic food is easily available in every city or town these days, yet if you have difficulty laying your hands on some, then choose fruits or vegetables with a thick outer layer that can be easily peeled-off.
Image Credit: Thinkstock
An apple a day might not be the only option to keep the shrink away. If you begin your day on a healthy note, starting with walking, jogging or cycling, or even taking your dog for a walk, it will definitely keep your digestive system clear.
Image Credit: Thinkstock
They say a man must hurry with everything but eating. There’s definitely a lot of truth in that adage. Chew your meal thoroughly and eat slowly. That way, you can enjoy your meal as well as prevent digestive trouble.
Image Credit: Shutterstock
Though water may be the best leveller for every kind of toxins, it’s the lemons that you want life to throw at you. A glass of lemon juice cleanses and alkalises your body, as it is one of the most powerful detox drinks.
Image Credit: Shutterstock
If you don’t want the protein structure of food to be changed to such an amount that it makes it harmful to your body, then quit the microwave. Research over the years has shown that the radiation emitted from the microwave can be damaging to your body.
Image Credit: spaoceansands (dot) com
We are very sure you will never say no to a good massage. And hence, we recommend this for your own benefit. A good body massage can eliminate toxins and also help improve blood circulation.
If you can follow these simple yet rules throughout, toxins will be a thing of the past. And you’ll only thank us more with each passing day.
You may also like:
Detox Diets – Things You Must Know
Why Fasting is Bad for You
7 'Healthy' Foods That Are Actually Unhealthy
http://www.mensxp.com/health/live-healthy/8987-10-best-ways-to-detox-your-body.html
Is lethargy your second name? Does the outburst of acne on your face take you back to teenage years? If yes, then your body needs detox.Detoxing doesn’t mean eating less, it means eating healthy. Practise these best ways to feel healthier than ever:
1. Say Yes To Anti-Oxidants
Image Credit: Shutterstock
There’s a reason why our parents had forced us throughout our childhood years to binge on fresh and colourful fruits and vegetables. The fruits and veggies contain a lot of fiber and anti-oxidants that help clear the liver and produce enzymes that clean your system.
2. Light Is The Way To Go
Image Credit: Shutterstock
The heavier you eat, the more it distorts your digestive system. Keep your temptations away, be it greasy food or be it alcohol. Eat smaller and various meals through the day instead of gorging on a lot of food in one meal. Eating light will not only lower your weight, your cholesterol and blood sugar, but also keep your energy levels high.
3. Avoid The Sugar Rush
Image Credit: Shutterstock
In order to boost your metabolism and clear your body of toxins, start by decreasing the amount of sugar you consume every day. Keep that chocolaty and sugar-filled cold coffee away, even if the scorching summer sun seems to dehydrate you. Drink water instead.
4. Sip Herbal Tea
Image Credit: Shutterstock
To ease all kinds of digestive problems, resort to green or chamomile tea. Herbal tea also helps you sleep better. Avoid milk tea as much as possible and drink herbal tea to clear out toxins.
5. Go Organic
Image Credit: Shutterstock
Organic food is your best bet if you have to escape from the danger of pesticides or toxins. Though organic food is easily available in every city or town these days, yet if you have difficulty laying your hands on some, then choose fruits or vegetables with a thick outer layer that can be easily peeled-off.
6. Exercise Daily
Image Credit: Thinkstock
An apple a day might not be the only option to keep the shrink away. If you begin your day on a healthy note, starting with walking, jogging or cycling, or even taking your dog for a walk, it will definitely keep your digestive system clear.
7. Be Slow And Steady
Image Credit: Thinkstock
They say a man must hurry with everything but eating. There’s definitely a lot of truth in that adage. Chew your meal thoroughly and eat slowly. That way, you can enjoy your meal as well as prevent digestive trouble.
8. Juice It Up
Image Credit: Shutterstock
Though water may be the best leveller for every kind of toxins, it’s the lemons that you want life to throw at you. A glass of lemon juice cleanses and alkalises your body, as it is one of the most powerful detox drinks.
9. Say No To Microwave
Image Credit: Shutterstock
If you don’t want the protein structure of food to be changed to such an amount that it makes it harmful to your body, then quit the microwave. Research over the years has shown that the radiation emitted from the microwave can be damaging to your body.
10. Don’t Miss The Massage
Image Credit: spaoceansands (dot) com
We are very sure you will never say no to a good massage. And hence, we recommend this for your own benefit. A good body massage can eliminate toxins and also help improve blood circulation.
If you can follow these simple yet rules throughout, toxins will be a thing of the past. And you’ll only thank us more with each passing day.
You may also like:
Detox Diets – Things You Must Know
Why Fasting is Bad for You
7 'Healthy' Foods That Are Actually Unhealthy
http://www.mensxp.com/health/live-healthy/8987-10-best-ways-to-detox-your-body.html
Five Myths About Salads - Busted!
Thursday, 06 June 2013 20:10
Ipshita Kumar
Before
you can claim hands down that you have arrived by eating salads and
knowing everything about this green diet, let us help you sift fact from
fiction.
Else, salads can give you equal nightmares like junk food does. We present the five busted myths about salads.
Image Credit: Shutterstock
Well, there are good fats and there are not-so-good fats. Your body does need some of that creamy fats to optimise cell functioning and to help absorb the antioxidants found in leafy veggies, tomatoes and carrots. These compounds actually help in reducing the risk of heart disease too. Moreover, the busted myth about salad is that the sugar present in fat-free dressing does not offer any nutrition.
Image Credit: Thinkstock
Not every leaf is lettuce, and not every lettuce is the same. First of all: forget the iceberg and endive, as they come with no nutrition. Instead, your best options would be arugula and watercress, which are loaded with cancer-fighting antioxidant compounds. If you want lettuce high in lutein, an antioxidant that reduces the risk of blindness and cancer, then go for spinach, kale and turnip greens. Romaine, red leaf and mesclun lettuces are high in beta-carotene, and will do you good.
Image Credit: Thinkstock
How green is too green? If you have been following the myth that anything organic is the best, then well, let’s bust that myth. Sure, there are reasons to choose organic, but a nutrient bonus isn’t one of them. The fertilizer used in growing organic products has actually no effect on the nutritional content of fruits and veggies.
Image Credit: Shutterstock
Yes perhaps a little better than those hearty servings of butter chicken, but not so much lesser! It’s true that they can be a waistline-friendly choice, but those salads that include a good amount of nuts, seeds, cheese, bacon or mayonnaise are usually loaded with calories and can easily contain more calories than a steak and chips. For your information, a typical chicken Caesar salad contains 780 calories, 60gm fat and 10gm saturates, another salad myth busted.
Image Credit: Shutterstock
At six calories per stalk, celery is undoubtedly a weight-friendly food. But doctors and researchers all across the globe have agree that there’s no such thing as a negative calorie! Celery’s low (or almost no) calorie intake makes it highly popular, but you’ll surely need other ingredients to satisfy your hunger and fulfil your nutritional requirements.
You may also like:
Busted: Top 10 Myths About Olive Oil
Busted: Top 10 Myths Related to Heart Problems
10 Most Common Medical Myths—Busted!
http://www.mensxp.com/health/live-healthy/9053-five-myths-about-salads-busted.html
Before
you can claim hands down that you have arrived by eating salads and
knowing everything about this green diet, let us help you sift fact from
fiction.Else, salads can give you equal nightmares like junk food does. We present the five busted myths about salads.
Fat-Free Dressing Or No Dressing Is Best
Image Credit: Shutterstock
Well, there are good fats and there are not-so-good fats. Your body does need some of that creamy fats to optimise cell functioning and to help absorb the antioxidants found in leafy veggies, tomatoes and carrots. These compounds actually help in reducing the risk of heart disease too. Moreover, the busted myth about salad is that the sugar present in fat-free dressing does not offer any nutrition.
Lettuce? What’s In A Name?
Image Credit: Thinkstock
Not every leaf is lettuce, and not every lettuce is the same. First of all: forget the iceberg and endive, as they come with no nutrition. Instead, your best options would be arugula and watercress, which are loaded with cancer-fighting antioxidant compounds. If you want lettuce high in lutein, an antioxidant that reduces the risk of blindness and cancer, then go for spinach, kale and turnip greens. Romaine, red leaf and mesclun lettuces are high in beta-carotene, and will do you good.
Organic Is More Nutritious
Image Credit: Thinkstock
How green is too green? If you have been following the myth that anything organic is the best, then well, let’s bust that myth. Sure, there are reasons to choose organic, but a nutrient bonus isn’t one of them. The fertilizer used in growing organic products has actually no effect on the nutritional content of fruits and veggies.
Salads Are Always Low In Calories
Image Credit: Shutterstock
Yes perhaps a little better than those hearty servings of butter chicken, but not so much lesser! It’s true that they can be a waistline-friendly choice, but those salads that include a good amount of nuts, seeds, cheese, bacon or mayonnaise are usually loaded with calories and can easily contain more calories than a steak and chips. For your information, a typical chicken Caesar salad contains 780 calories, 60gm fat and 10gm saturates, another salad myth busted.
Celery Has Negative Calories
Image Credit: Shutterstock
At six calories per stalk, celery is undoubtedly a weight-friendly food. But doctors and researchers all across the globe have agree that there’s no such thing as a negative calorie! Celery’s low (or almost no) calorie intake makes it highly popular, but you’ll surely need other ingredients to satisfy your hunger and fulfil your nutritional requirements.
You may also like:
Busted: Top 10 Myths About Olive Oil
Busted: Top 10 Myths Related to Heart Problems
10 Most Common Medical Myths—Busted!
http://www.mensxp.com/health/live-healthy/9053-five-myths-about-salads-busted.html
How to Survive a Car Accident
A car
accident is one of the most dangerous things the average person will
come in contact with during her/his life. This guide is posted in the
hope that it will help its readers avoid injury or death. It should be
noted that every vehicle is different, and much of the information here
(such as airbags) will not apply to those who drive vehicles from 1990
or earlier. The methods of avoiding an accident, and the position one
should be in during a crash, however, are effectively universal.
Steps
Be prepared
- 1Wear your seat belt. Wearing your seatbelt is one of the most important things you can do to survive a car crash. Make sure that your lap belt sits low on your hip bones and that the shoulder belt goes across the center of your chest. Children should be seated in proper child restraints until they are large enough to properly wear a lap and shoulder belt.
- 2Drive a safe car which is fitted with seat belts and other safety features. You won't have to worry about head support unless you are driving a really old car from the 1980s or under. Older cars, which may just have lap belts and almost never have any additional safety features, are generally less safe than large vehicles. SUVs tend to be more prone to rollover accidents than cars. Try to drive the safest car that suits your needs and budget. The Insurance Institute for highway safety maintains extensive crash test ratings and lists of safe vehicles of different sizes and styles.Cite error <cite_error_ref_too_many_keys>; $2 In Europe, Euro NCAP maintain these ratings. Their website is at: http://euroncap.com
- 3Store objects such that they will not hit you if the car gets hit. If an object could become a projectile during a crash, either remove it from the car, or stow it in the trunk, or, in the case of a minivan, in the well behind the seat.
- 4Make sure the safety systems on your car are serviced regularly. Airbags and seat-belts significantly reduce injury and death in automobile accidents.
- 5Do not lean against the dashboard. If there is a high-speed crash, the car's airbags inflate. They have saved lives, but they inflate with such force that if you are leaning against the dashboard when they inflate you will be thrown backwards and injured. If the car has curtainairbags (also called side airbags) it is also dangerous to lean against the sides of the car.
- 6Make sure your car's engine, brakes, transmissions, suspension and tires are in good condition. The safest accident is the one you don't get in; having your car in top running condition can help you avoid an accident or minimize harm in case you get in an accident.
Use good driving practices
- 1Obey traffic laws and be conscious of current conditions. Adjust your driving if in heavy traffic or inclement weather. Sixty mph may be safe when it's dry, but if a sudden rain falls, wetting the roadway and raising oil off the ground, it will probably be safer to drive at a lower speed.
- 2Focus on what you are doing. While driving, avoid using cell phones, reading maps, eating and other distracting activities. If you are a passenger, sit up straight with your seat-belt fastened. Don't lean your seat too far back, don't put your feet up on the dashboard, and definitely do not distract the driver. Do not place objects on top of the air bag enclosure.
- 3Anticipate potential problems. Observe the road looking for things that could end up causing an accident.[1]
- Look ahead for cars or pedestrians that may move into your car's path.
- Keeping a safe distance behind other vehicles (following the "two second rule" ) can help you have enough time to react when a vehicle in front of you makes an unexpected move.
- Stay away from distracted drivers (e.g., the guy on his way to work using an electric razor), tailgaters and other drivers engaging in risky behaviors.
- Keep an eye on parked cars. They may pull out in front of you; people may exit from them or move from between them without much warning.
Avoid or minimize an accident
- 1Stay calm. If an accident appears imminent, you need to respond quickly but smoothly. Vehicles of all types respond better to smooth steering and braking inputs.
- 2Choose your course of action. You need to decide what combination of steering, braking and accelerating will best serve to avoid or minimize the harm from an accident.
- 3Brake with control. Braking practices vary depending upon whether your vehicle has anti-lock brakes.
- No anti-lock brakes - If your car lack anti-lock brakes, you need to pump the brakes to keep the car under control. If you slam on the brakes, your car will start to skid and you will lose control. You cannot steer a vehicle when the brakes are locked. Press firmly, then release. If you feel the tires start to skid release the brakes before steering.
- Anti-lock brakes - Do not pump anti-lock brakes. Your car's ABS computer will pulse them much faster than you can (you will feel the pedal vibrate a bit when this occurs). Just hold the brakes firmly and steer normally.
- 4Steer smoothly. - Very jerky motions of the steering wheel, especially with heavy vehicles or those with light rear ends (e.g., pickup trucks) are likely to lead to skids.
- 5Accelerate if needed. Although it seems counter-intuitive, sometimes the best way to avoid an accident is to speed up and get out of the way.
- 6Take steps to recover if you start to skid or lose control. If your car starts to skid or if a tire blows, follow these steps to control the car.Cite error <cite_error_ref_no_input>; $2
- Don't hit the brakes. This will only make things worse.
- Keep a firm grip on the wheel.
- Steer in the direction of the skid. If the back of your car is sliding to the driver's left, turn the wheels to the left.
- Wait for your tires to regain traction before braking or pressing the accelerator.
- 7If a crash is unavoidable, try to minimize damage.
- Avoid head-on collisions into other vehicles or front-end collisions into immovable objects like large trees or concrete barriers.
- Do as much as you can to control your car's speed. The faster the impact, the more damage it will cause.
- Avoid side impacts. Serious injury is likely to result if another car strikes your car on the side where it is much weaker structurally and closer to the driver.
- 8After a crash, switch off your engine, do not smoke, and stop anyone else from smoking. This especially important if one of the vehicles involved in the crash was carrying dangerous goods (e.g. flammable goods such as paraffin or aerosols, or explosive goods), as in such crashes it is important to prevent explosions or fires, as much as you are not in a film and in reality cars can only really explode or catch fire after crashes if the crash involved a vehicle carrying dangerous goods.
- 9Call emergency services after a crash. Apply first aid if needed. Do not attempt to removed injured people from a vehicle yourself. Explosions are very unlikely, and you could aggravate any neck spinal injuries, even if the victim feels uninjured. Leave removal of injured people to the emergency services.
Edit Tips
- If you have a cell phone, make any calls you need to make either in the privacy of your car, if you can, or away from any witnesses. Again, do not try to explain what happened to anyone on the phone, e.g. the tow truck driver. Just say, there has been an accident.
- If you are purchasing a new vehicle, be sure to note the standard and optional safety features, such as where and how many air bags come with the car. Research crash test results, and consider built-in monitoring services such as General Motors' OnStar system. These can notify emergency personnel of an accident.
- Use your cell phone to take pictures of the accident.
- Be sure to exchange information with others involved in the accident and get information from eyewitnesses.
- Remain calm and above all remain silent. You will likely be disoriented and confused after a serious accident, even if think you're uninjured. Many people will arrive at the scene of the accident and ask you "What happened?" You do not have to speak to anyone about what you think may have caused the accident. Above all, avoid saying anything that may incriminate you, such as "I'm sorry" or "I think it may have been speeding" etc. Such comments could end up causing you thousands of dollars.
- If you aren't the one driving, in most, if not all cases, the middle back seat is the safest place to be, that is, with seatbelts. If the car crashes, you are in the middle seat and you are not wearing a seatbelt, you could be ejected from the vehicle, with fatal results.
- Write a list to yourself of what to do in case of an accident and keep it in your glove box. Read it and follow the instructions which you wrote to yourself.
Edit Warning
- Do not bend over or cover your head. In the event of a roll over, any force significant enough to warp in the roof and bend or break the A-beams might hit your head, and possibly knock you unconscious. It is unlikely to do nearly as much damage as that caused to your neck from having your head in front of the air bags when they deploy.
Edit Sources and Citations
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
What you need #1 NY Times & Amazon Bestseller Magnesium or Meet the Most Powerful Relaxation Mineral Available
A DEFICIENCY IN THIS CRITICAL nutrient makes you twice as likely to die as other people, according to a study published in The Journal of Intensive Care Medicine.(i)
It also accounts for a long list of symptoms and diseases — which are
easily helped and often cured by adding this nutrient. In fact, in my
practice, this nutrient is one of my secret weapons against illness. Yet
up to half of Americans are deficient in this nutrient and don’t know
it.
I’m talking about magnesium.
It is an antidote to stress, the most powerful relaxation mineral available, and it can help improve your sleep.
I find it very funny that more doctors aren’t clued in to the benefits of magnesium, because we use it all the time in conventional medicine. But we never stop to think about why or how important it is to our general health or why it helps our bodies function better.
I remember using magnesium when I worked in the emergency room. It was a critical “medication” on the crash cart. If someone was dying of a life-threatening arrhythmia (or irregular heart beat), we used intravenous magnesium. If someone was constipated or needed to prepare for colonoscopy, we gave them milk of magnesia or a green bottle of liquid magnesium citrate, which emptied their bowels. If pregnant women came in with pre-term labor, or high blood pressure of pregnancy (pre-eclampsia) or seizures, we gave them continuous high doses of intravenous magnesium.
But you don’t have to be in the hospital to benefit from getting more magnesium. You can start taking regular magnesium supplementation today and see results.
The Relaxation Mineral
Think of magnesium as the relaxation mineral. Anything that is tight, irritable, crampy, and stiff — whether it is a body part or an even a mood — is a sign of magnesium deficiency.
This critical mineral is actually responsible for over 300 enzyme reactions and is found in all of your tissues — but mainly in your bones, muscles, and brain. You must have it for your cells to make energy, for many different chemical pumps to work, to stabilize membranes, and to help muscles relax.
Even so, this mineral is mostly ignored because it is not a drug, even though it is MORE powerful than drugs in many cases. That’s why we use it in the hospital for life-threatening and emergency situations like seizures and heart failure.
You might be magnesium deficient if you have any of the following symptoms:
In our society, magnesium deficiency is a huge problem. By conservative standards of measurement (blood, or serum, magnesium levels), 65 percent of people admitted to the intensive care unit — and about 15 percent of the general population — have magnesium deficiency.
But this seriously underestimates the problem, because a serum magnesium level is the LEAST sensitive way to detect a drop in your total body magnesium level. So rates of magnesium deficiency could be even higher!
The reason we are so deficient is simple: Many of us eat a diet that contains practically no magnesium — a highly-processed, refined diet that is based mostly on white flour, meat, and dairy (all of which have no magnesium).
When was the last time you had a good dose of sea vegetables (seaweed), nuts, greens, and beans? If you are like most Americans, your nut consumption mostly comes from peanut butter, and mostly in chocolate peanut butter cups.
Much of modern life conspires to help us lose what little magnesium we do get in our diet. Magnesium levels are decreased by excess alcohol, salt, coffee, phosphoric acid in colas, profuse sweating, prolonged or intense stress, chronic diarrhea, excessive menstruation, diuretics (water pills), antibiotics and other drugs, and some intestinal parasites. In fact, in one study in Kosovo, people under chronic war stress lost large amounts of magnesium in their urine.
This is all further complicated by the fact that magnesium is often poorly absorbed and easily lost from our bodies. To properly absorb magnesium we need a lot of it in our diet, plus enough vitamin B6, vitamin D, and selenium to get the job done.
A recent scientific review of magnesium concluded, “It is highly regrettable that the deficiency of such an inexpensive, low-toxicity nutrient results in diseases that cause incalculable suffering and expense throughout the world.” (ii) I couldn’t’ have said it better myself.
It is difficult to measure and hard to study, but magnesium deficiency accounts for untold suffering — and is simple to correct. So if you suffer from any of the symptoms I mentioned or have any of the diseases I noted, don’t worry — it is an easy fix!! Here’s how.
Stop Draining Your Body of Magnesium
Include the following in your diet as often as you can:
Kelp, wheat bran, wheat germ, almonds, cashews, buckwheat, brazil nuts, dulse, filberts, millet, pecans, walnuts, rye, tofu, soy beans, brown rice, figs, dates, collard greens, shrimp, avocado, parsley, beans, barley, dandelion greens, and garlic
Take Magnesium Supplements
So if you’re coping with the symptoms here, relax! Magnesium is truly a miracle mineral. It is essential for lifelong vibrant health.
Now I’d like to hear from you…
Do you suffer from any of the symptoms I’ve mentioned?
Do you currently take a magnesium supplement? What results have you noticed?
Which of the tips mentioned above do you plan to try?
Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
To your good health,
Mark Hyman, MD
References
(i) Tong, GM and RK Rude. 2005. Magnesium deficiency in critical illness. J Intensive Care Med 20 (1):3-17. Review.
(ii) S. Johnson. 2001. The multifaceted and widespread pathology of magnesium deficiency. Med Hypotheses 56(2): 163-70
I’m talking about magnesium.
It is an antidote to stress, the most powerful relaxation mineral available, and it can help improve your sleep.
I find it very funny that more doctors aren’t clued in to the benefits of magnesium, because we use it all the time in conventional medicine. But we never stop to think about why or how important it is to our general health or why it helps our bodies function better.
I remember using magnesium when I worked in the emergency room. It was a critical “medication” on the crash cart. If someone was dying of a life-threatening arrhythmia (or irregular heart beat), we used intravenous magnesium. If someone was constipated or needed to prepare for colonoscopy, we gave them milk of magnesia or a green bottle of liquid magnesium citrate, which emptied their bowels. If pregnant women came in with pre-term labor, or high blood pressure of pregnancy (pre-eclampsia) or seizures, we gave them continuous high doses of intravenous magnesium.
But you don’t have to be in the hospital to benefit from getting more magnesium. You can start taking regular magnesium supplementation today and see results.
The Relaxation Mineral
Think of magnesium as the relaxation mineral. Anything that is tight, irritable, crampy, and stiff — whether it is a body part or an even a mood — is a sign of magnesium deficiency.
This critical mineral is actually responsible for over 300 enzyme reactions and is found in all of your tissues — but mainly in your bones, muscles, and brain. You must have it for your cells to make energy, for many different chemical pumps to work, to stabilize membranes, and to help muscles relax.
When was the last time you had a good dose of seaweed, nuts, greens, and beans? If you are like most Americans, your nut consumption mostly comes from peanut butter.That is why the list of conditions that are found related to magnesium deficiency is so long. In fact, there are over 3,500 medical references on magnesium deficiency!
Even so, this mineral is mostly ignored because it is not a drug, even though it is MORE powerful than drugs in many cases. That’s why we use it in the hospital for life-threatening and emergency situations like seizures and heart failure.
You might be magnesium deficient if you have any of the following symptoms:
- Muscle cramps or twitches
- Insomnia
- Irritability
- Sensitivity to loud noises
- Anxiety
- Autism
- ADD
- Palpitations
- Angina
- Constipation
- Anal spasms
- Headaches
- Migraines
- Fibromyalgia
- Chronic fatigue
- Asthma
- Kidney stones
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Osteoporosis
- High blood pressure
- PMS
- Menstrual cramps
- Irritable bladder
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Reflux
- Trouble swallowing
In our society, magnesium deficiency is a huge problem. By conservative standards of measurement (blood, or serum, magnesium levels), 65 percent of people admitted to the intensive care unit — and about 15 percent of the general population — have magnesium deficiency.
But this seriously underestimates the problem, because a serum magnesium level is the LEAST sensitive way to detect a drop in your total body magnesium level. So rates of magnesium deficiency could be even higher!
The reason we are so deficient is simple: Many of us eat a diet that contains practically no magnesium — a highly-processed, refined diet that is based mostly on white flour, meat, and dairy (all of which have no magnesium).
When was the last time you had a good dose of sea vegetables (seaweed), nuts, greens, and beans? If you are like most Americans, your nut consumption mostly comes from peanut butter, and mostly in chocolate peanut butter cups.
Much of modern life conspires to help us lose what little magnesium we do get in our diet. Magnesium levels are decreased by excess alcohol, salt, coffee, phosphoric acid in colas, profuse sweating, prolonged or intense stress, chronic diarrhea, excessive menstruation, diuretics (water pills), antibiotics and other drugs, and some intestinal parasites. In fact, in one study in Kosovo, people under chronic war stress lost large amounts of magnesium in their urine.
This is all further complicated by the fact that magnesium is often poorly absorbed and easily lost from our bodies. To properly absorb magnesium we need a lot of it in our diet, plus enough vitamin B6, vitamin D, and selenium to get the job done.
A recent scientific review of magnesium concluded, “It is highly regrettable that the deficiency of such an inexpensive, low-toxicity nutrient results in diseases that cause incalculable suffering and expense throughout the world.” (ii) I couldn’t’ have said it better myself.
It is difficult to measure and hard to study, but magnesium deficiency accounts for untold suffering — and is simple to correct. So if you suffer from any of the symptoms I mentioned or have any of the diseases I noted, don’t worry — it is an easy fix!! Here’s how.
Stop Draining Your Body of Magnesium
- Limit coffee, colas, salt, sugar, and alcohol
- Learn how to practice active relaxation
- Check with your doctor if your medication is causing magnesium loss (many high blood pressure drugs or diuretics cause loss of magnesium)
Include the following in your diet as often as you can:
Kelp, wheat bran, wheat germ, almonds, cashews, buckwheat, brazil nuts, dulse, filberts, millet, pecans, walnuts, rye, tofu, soy beans, brown rice, figs, dates, collard greens, shrimp, avocado, parsley, beans, barley, dandelion greens, and garlic
Take Magnesium Supplements
- The RDA (the minimum amount needed) for magnesium is about 300 mg a day. Most of us get far less than 200 mg.
- Some may need much more depending on their condition.
- Most people benefit from 400 to 1,000 mg a day.
- The most absorbable forms are magnesium citrate, glycinate taurate, or aspartate, although magnesium bound to Kreb cycle chelates (malate, succinate, fumarate) are also good.
- Avoid magnesium carbonate, sulfate, gluconate, and oxide. They are poorly absorbed (and the cheapest and most common forms found in supplements).
- Side effects from too much magnesium include diarrhea, which can be avoided if you switch to magnesium glycinate.
- Most minerals are best taken as a team with other minerals in a multi-mineral formula.
- Taking a hot bath with Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) is a good way to absorb and get much needed magnesium.
So if you’re coping with the symptoms here, relax! Magnesium is truly a miracle mineral. It is essential for lifelong vibrant health.
Now I’d like to hear from you…
Do you suffer from any of the symptoms I’ve mentioned?
Do you currently take a magnesium supplement? What results have you noticed?
Which of the tips mentioned above do you plan to try?
Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
To your good health,
Mark Hyman, MD
References
(i) Tong, GM and RK Rude. 2005. Magnesium deficiency in critical illness. J Intensive Care Med 20 (1):3-17. Review.
(ii) S. Johnson. 2001. The multifaceted and widespread pathology of magnesium deficiency. Med Hypotheses 56(2): 163-70
Sunday, June 2, 2013
10 ways to survive a cruise vacation- updated
Safety at Sea is normally a snooze-fest boring topic that few paid a lot of attention to up until now. The grounding of Costa Concordia
and the resulting loss of life alone are good reasons to pay attention
during the safety drill held at the beginning of every cruise. Add in
the occasional reports of teen rape, drug dealers on board or suspected
murder and we have good reason for a brief checklist that may very well
keep you alive.
- Pay attention during the safety drill. This is not the time to be drunk or absent. Ships commonly close bars a half-hour before safety drills take place. I don’t know a drunk on the planet that can sober up in 30 minutes enough to receive, process and retain information that may very well save their life later that night…which is exactly the skill needed by many guests on the Costa Concordia. One of the most common comments from passengers on Costa Concordia is that they could not hear or understand the instructions.
- Know where to go without instructions- When we hear the ship‘s whistle go off, hear an announcement over a public address system or simply get direction from a crew member, act on it. Right then. Do not wait around for others or count on seeing crew members placed strategically in places you can’t miss to guide you. On Costa Concordia, those heading to muster stations on the side of the ship that was going down had to make other plans or they would not have gotten off the ship. We often suggest memorizing the deck plans just as a way of efficiently knowing our way around the ship rather than bumping into walls and getting lost the first day or so. This is one more good reason to memorize deck plans and know where your cabin (and thus the location of your life vests) is in relationship to other common areas of the ship.
- Do your own safety drill- Inside every stateroom, as required by maritime law, is information on where to go when it is time to be at muster stations. Normally, the only time we see this place is for the safety drill. We think you should find this place and find alternate routes to it. Imagine where you might be at any given time and find your way there. If you are on a ship that stores life vests in the cabin, know several ways to get to your cabin and then from your cabin to the muster station quickly and efficiently. Again, knowing your way around the ship is essential.
- Don’t visit crew areas of the ship- This sounds like a no-brainer, crossing over into the world marked “crew-only”, but here’s one good reason for it: While you are visiting with your new crew friend, you are surely not in your cabin and that would be a great time for some other crew member to get in and take your stuff. If you or someone you know is entering the crew-only world that’s a big red flag that something is wrong. Maybe that person is drinking too much and having an alcohol-induced crush on that handsome bartender with the charming accent.
- Minors can and will buy booze and/or drugs ashore. Make no mistake; in most Caribbean ports of call there is no legal drinking age and sellers of everything from beer to hard drugs are as plentiful as the lovely scenery you see from the ship. Getting it back on the ship is only about half a step harder than buying it too
- Your wine added to a Shirley Temple makes for a great kiddie cocktail. There’s something to be said for setting a good example. Smuggling booze on to your cruise for the adults, in and of itself, is enough to open the door for teens to give it a try. Teens can and will sneak a bit of your hard-to-monitor box of wine. You may recoil at the thought of wine mixed with Coke but they won’t
- Keep an eye on the kids, at least a little bit. The notion of cutting your teens loose on the first day of the cruise then seeing them again on the last day is a bad idea. A cruise is a very flexible vacation option, offering everyone the opportunity to do just exactly what they want to do (or not do) that makes for a fun time. Let them sleep in if they want to, hang out with other teens on the ship or even go ashore with others in a safe pack-size group. That’s important for them to have a good time too. Equally important is meeting up regularly throughout the sailing.-
- Teens need to travel in a pack-I commonly encouraged our teen girls to travel in a pack with other nice kids (or kids who were sufficiently good at appearing to be nice kids) from the ship. Still, I remember one call in San Juan when one of them called me come get them from shore after the scene at Carlos and Charlies got uncomfortable.
- Bring a Cell Phone- Odds are that in an emergency, either on the ship or ashore, it will work. The premium fee you may incur to make that call will be rendered meaningless if it avoids a bad situation. Check with your cell phone service provider on rates, roaming fees and plans that may be available. Walkie-talkies are a bad idea; you don’t really need or want to know where they are all the time and the devices themselves are annoying. Royal Caribbean has phones you can rent on board, Disney is adding them as standard fare fleet-wide soon.
- You have no money- Regardless of the truth, don’t talk about, flash, or seem as though you have money. Going ashore? Leave the designer clothes, handbags and gadgets behind. Need cash? Get it from the ATM on the ship, not ashore. This is good advice for adults as well. Believe me, everyone ashore already knows you are a tourist and probably have cash with you, they just don’t know how much. Would-be robbers look for the fat, juicy wallets and hunger for more.
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Flickr photo by The Shopping Sherpa
Related articles
- Costa Concordia, the ship that was (chriscruises.net)
- Clearly, business-as-usual won’t work for the cruise industry (chriscruises.net)
- Social outlets buzz with cruise safety information (chriscruises.net)
- Costa Concordia update: Passengers rescued, Captain detained, details emerge (chriscruises.net)
- Carnival Corp issues statement regarding Costa Condordia (chriscruises.net)http://www.chriscruises.net/2012/01/10-ways-to-survive-a-cruise-vacation-updated/
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