How Minerals Like Magnesium Affect Weight

Larry Law

Cravings for food and overeating can simply be the body’s cry for missing nutrients. Processed food lacks the nutrients our bodies need. So, we can eat past the point of fullness in a desperate effort to obtain those nutrients. Empty calories pack on the pounds but deliver no sense of satisfaction. Minerals are important for our bodies to function optimally. Magnesium allows insulin to usher glucose into cells from the blood where it can be used to make energy within the cell.

Without sufficient magnesium, both insulin and glucose can become elevated in the fluid around the cells. Excess glucose will be stored as fat in adipose tissue.
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Stress also contributes to gaining weight. The stress chemical cortisol signals a metabolic shutdown that makes losing weight nearly impossible. It is like the body is under attack. So, it begins to conserve and hoard all of its resources including fat. It will not let them go under any circumstances. Magnesium has a calming effect and can reduce the effects of stress.

Dr. Carolyn Dean in her book, The Magnesium Miracle, reports that pregnant moms with low magnesium or high calcium can suffer vascular  complications. “Intervention with magnesium supplements can greatly improve the outcome for both mother and baby. If the magnesium depletion continues throughout pregnancy, the woman can suffer preeclampsia or eclampsia (fluid retention, high blood pressure, seizures), which is effectively treated with IV magnesium.”

Natasha Campbell-McBride observes in her book, Gut and Psychology Syndrome, that it takes 28 atoms of magnesium to process one molecule of glucose. If you are trying to break down one molecule of fructose, it takes 56 atoms of magnesium. Those ratios give you an idea why it is so hard to break down sugar if you have low magnesium levels.  Inability to utilize sugar leads to the formation of excess pyruvic acid and other sugars that accumulate in the brain, nervous system, and red blood cells where they interfere with cell respiration and hasten degenerative disease. This is how things like low density lipoproteins (LDL) become oxidized or rusted. Oxidized LDL is a contributor to heart disease.
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For more information on heart disease and cholesterol, see my book, There’s An Elephant in the Room – Exposing Hidden Truths in the Science of Health.