Magnificent
Magnesium
Magnificent
Magnesium
Your Essential Key to a
Healthy Heart and More
Dennis Goodman, MD, FACC
The information and advice contained in this book are based upon the research and the personal and professional experiences of the author. They are not intended as a substitute for professional healthcare advice. The publisher and author are not responsible for any adverse effects or consequences resulting from the use of any of the suggestions, preparations, or procedures discussed in this book. All matters pertaining to your physical health should be supervised by a healthcare professional. It is a sign of wisdom, not cowardice, to seek a second or third opinion.
COVER DESIGNER: Jeannie Tudor
TYPESETTER: Gary A. Rosenberg
Square One Publishers
115 Herricks Road
Garden City Park, NY 11040
(516) 535-2010 • (877) 900-BOOK
www.squareonepublishers.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Goodman, Dennis (Dennis A.), author.
Magnificent magnesium : your essential key to a healthy heart and more / Dennis Goodman, MD.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0-7570–0391–2
1. Magnesium in the body. II. Title.
QP535.M4G66 20214
612.3’924—dc23
2013030576
Copyright © 2014 by Dennis Goodman, MD, FACC
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1.What’s Our Problem?
2. Magnificent Magnesium
and Why You Aren’t Getting Enough
3. Meet Your Heart
4. The Missing Link—
Magnesium Deficiency & Heart Disease
5. Magnesium’s Other Health Benefits
6. How to Take Magnesium
Conclusion
Resources
References
About the Author
Index
To my parents,
Joe and Muriel Goodman,
and my children,
Adam, Jonathan, and Rebecca
Acknowledgments
I am deeply appreciative of those who have nurtured, guided, mentored, and supported me throughout my life. Without these wonderful people, this book would not be possible.
I would like to thank my parents, Joe and Muriel Goodman, for inspiring me to always be kind and caring, to be my best self, and for ensuring that I received the very finest education in South Africa—which culminated in the conferment of my medical degree from one of the best universities in the world, the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Many thanks go to my teachers and mentors in high school and medical school. There is a long list of people to whom I am grateful, but I especially want to acknowledge Norman Sandler, Elliot Wolf, Eddie Tannenbaum, Doc Thomas, and Professors Stuart Saunders, Lionel Opie, Leo Schamroth, Cecil Craig, and Jannie Louw. I was privileged to do my internship at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, where the first heart transplant was performed by Christian Barnard in 1967. During those years at medical school and internship, away from my hometown of Johannesburg, four wonderful families took me in as one of their own; for this, I thank Dr. Louis and Joan Abramowitz, Harry and Myra Mark, Harry and Pauline Stein, Dov and Bernice Borok, and all their children.
I would like to thank Dr. Philip Troen and Dr. Sheldon Adler of Montefiore Hospital in Pittsburgh, for giving me the opportunity to do my internal medicine residency in the United States and subsequently become a citizen of this great country.
Thanks also to Dr. Robert Roberts, chief of the cardiology department at Baylor College of Medicine, which is associated with Dr. Michael Debakey’s cardiac surgery program in Houston, Texas. At Baylor, I received the very best cardiology training. Special thanks to my mentors, Drs. Al Raizner, John Lewis, Jim Young, Craig Pratt, Mario Verani, Phil Henry, Miguel Quinones, William Zoghbi, and the Chapman group.
I would like to thank all my colleagues and friends at Scripps Memorial Hospital and Scripps Clinic—Drs. John Backman, Isaac Bakst, Neil and Ruth Berkowitz, Joel Bernstein, Mark Boiskin, Barry Broomberg, Maurice Buchbinder, Stephen Capon, Martin Charlat, David Dockweiler, Dan Einhorn, Shaun Evans, Ray and Rhona Fink, Carl Fricks, Martin Griglak, Fred Hanson, Wayne Hooper, Paul Hyde, Len Jurkowski, Elizabeth Kaback, Norman Kane, Jurgen Lenz, John Lischke, Mike Mahdavi, Scott McCaul, Lou Katzman, Marc Kramer, Barnie Meltzer, Chris Mende, Frank Meyer, Howard Miller, Ernie Pund, Simon Ritchken, Don Ritt, David Roseman, Mark Sedwitz, Lorna Swartz, Paul Tierstein, Doug Triffon, Sabina Wallach, Pat Wolcott, and the great cardiac surgeons Scott Brewster, Don Buehler, Sasha Giritsky, Richard Stahl, Demetrio Vasquez, and so many others. I particularly want to thank Dr. John Carson, an exceptional human being who exemplifies the values, virtues, and teachings of Sir William Osler.
A special thanks to Gary Fybel, the administrator of Scripps Memorial, and to Susan Taylor, for their enduring friendship and support. Thank you to Irma Flores and Suzi Bustamante for all their help during my tenure as Chief of Cardiology at Scripps Memorial. And many thanks to my incredible office manager, Debbie Heggins, and nurse practitioner, Robin Whitman, who worked with me for over twenty years.
Thanks to Mimi Guarnieri and Rauni King, who put me on the path to becoming a truly integrative physician. I learned so much from them and their great team at the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine.
My thanks also go to Drs. Glenn Fishman and Norma Keller, who gave me the opportunity to work and teach as a cardiologist at one of the great medical institutions of the world, New York University Langone Medical Center. Thanks to the great staff and my wonderful partners at New York Medical Associates, Drs. Mark Lipton, Stanley Schrem, and Jeffrey Kohn. I am indebted to Drs. Frank Lipman, Daryl Isaacs, Florence Comite, Keith Berkowitz, Leah Lagos, and Marnie Potash for their unwavering support.
I am grateful to Larry Trivieri and Morley Robbins (the “Magnesium Man”) for being such fantastic resources and providing me with so much detailed information on magnesium. Their help with this book has been invaluable. Morley’s selfless passion and commitment to bringing the multitude of benefits of magnesium to the general public are unparalleled.
Thanks to the staff at Square One Publishers—to my publisher, Rudy Shur, who has been a rock of Gibraltar with his wisdom and support throughout the process, and my editor, Miye Bromberg, for her never-ending willingness to help.
I thank Drs. Norman Kane, Norman Gordon, Mike Forman, and Jim Adams; Gershon Jaffe; Mike, Patti, and Russel Hoffman; Rob Martin; Bob Austen; Dean Draznin; and Terri Slater; they have provided a wealth of knowledge and friendship.
Huge thanks to my special partner, Wendy Fisher, who has encouraged and supported me through all the many hours of researching and writing this book.
Thanks to my mother and my sisters, Myra Salkinder and Elaine Lucey—thanks to all my family. I am so fortunate to have their constant love and support.
Enormous thanks to my incredible children—Adam, my daughter-in-law Anat, Jonathan, and Rebecca—as well as to their wonderful mother, Tanya. Additional thanks to Adam and Jonathan for all their editing and research help along the way.
Lastly, I want to thank all of
the patients I have treated over my twenty-five years in practice. They have given me so much pleasure and the greatest gift of all—a meaningful life and the opportunity to make a small difference in the world.
Magnificent
Magnesium
Introduction
All too often, the public is besieged by reports that a particular supplement holds the secret to a longer, healthier life. Exciting new information is released, spurring a surge of interest and, of course, a rise in supplement sales. As claims about the nutrient circulate, people are exposed to some truth, some hype, and, often, a good deal of wishful thinking. The pity is that while the media focuses on a short-lived trend, some very important nutrients are often overlooked—to the detriment of everyone’s health.
Consider the following: Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States today. Each year, we spend billions of dollars on medical tests, operations, hospital stays, rehab centers, equipment, and drugs—all to help prevent or remedy heart disease—yet with very little to show for our investments. Heart disease accounts for direct and indirect costs of more than $190.3 billion each year, and the American Heart Association forecasts that these costs will increase by a minimum of 200 percent over the next twenty years.
Billions more go to the satellite industries that have developed to cater to our health epidemics, producing everything from bestselling diet books to weight loss centers to lines of “heart-healthy” foods and making promises that they can prevent or reverse these conditions. The media is flooded with ads and television shows that tell us that if we don’t do something, we are bound to become statistics—the victims of our own inaction. Yet there is something we can do to offset the outrageous expenditures and unnecessary procedures; in fact, there’s something we can take even now to help prevent these life-threatening health conditions from developing in the first place. The answer is simple, inexpensive, and effective: magnesium.
As a heart specialist, I feel that the treasures held within magnesium have yet to be embraced by the medical community. The more studies I read confirming the vital roles magnesium plays in the body, the more clearly I realize that too few people know how critical magnesium is to good health.
Magnesium is the eighth most abundant element on Earth and the eleventh most common element in the human body. It has been studied by medical researchers for over a hundred years, and while it has always been considered a reasonably important mineral, it is, in fact, essential to the proper functioning of the body. This master mineral is a necessary ingredient for approximately three hundred and fifty enzyme systems, thus playing a role in the majority of your body’s metabolic processes. Surprisingly, however, upwards of 80 percent of Americans are deficient in this nutrient.
Why is magnesium deficiency worth our attention? First and foremost, without the proper levels of magnesium in the body, we are subject to heart attacks—the number one killer of Americans—as well as a variety of other heart-related disorders. Second, many other serious health problems are associated with magnesium deficiency, including type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, osteoporosis, muscle cramps, fatigue, depression, migraines, and insomnia.
At this point, you may be wondering, “If magnesium is this important, why haven’t I heard about it before?” While there are many reasons why magnesium has been overlooked for so long, I strongly believe that magnesium’s time is now. Once you have read this book, you will understand the difference magnesium can make in your life. The goal of Magnificent Magnesium is to contribute to wider public knowledge about the value of this mineral—knowledge that you will be able to apply the moment you turn the book’s last page.
This book is designed to present an understanding of magnesium with a sharp focus on its role in heart health and several other aspects of physical well-being. Chapter 1 takes an unflinching look at the heart disease epidemic that claimed nearly 800,000 American lives in 2010, with stroke killing over 129,000 people that same year. It examines the most common forms of heart disease and details their causes, risk factors, symptoms, diagnoses, and typical treatment methods, so that you will be able to recognize and potentially prevent these devastating conditions.
In Chapter 2, you will be introduced to magnesium and its many roles in supporting and maintaining your body’s vital functions. You will also learn the reason that magnesium deficiency is so common in the United States today: stress. Stress comes in many forms—psychological, physical, and environmental. The important thing to understand is that all of these forms of stress contribute to the extensive depletion of magnesium from our bodies and food sources.
Chapter 3 sets the foundation for understanding heart disease, providing an overview of the cardiovascular system. By learning how your heart and blood vessels work under normal circumstances, you will be able to understand what happens when something goes wrong—as with the heart conditions discussed in Chapter 1. This knowledge base also allows you to see how magnesium can help your body, from the cellular level on up.
In Chapter 4, you will take a closer look at the way the medical community currently views and treats heart disease. The chapter also introduces an emerging model for understanding heart disease—and preventing it. The starved heart model of heart disease asserts that without an optimal supply of magnesium, the heart begins to break down at every level, leading to energy starvation, dysfunction, and eventually cardiovascular disease. Accordingly, to reverse or protect against cardiovascular disease, it is essential to maintain good magnesium levels and excellent magnesium stores.
Chapter 5 demonstrates that the benefits of magnesium extend far beyond their applications for cardiovascular disease. Many of the United States’ other major health conditions are caused or exacerbated by magnesium deficiency. This chapter lays out the research, showing that you can help improve, protect against, and even prevent these diseases by simply increasing your intake of magnesium.
Finally, in Chapter 6, all this information is put to work, providing you with a practical guide to integrating magnesium into your life. You will be shown how to determine the amount of magnesium you need to obtain and maintain optimal wellness, taking into account your current magnesium status and the amount you burn through on a day-to-day basis. You will also be provided with information on the best sources for getting this vital nutrient, so that you will never be without.
By the time you finish reading Magnificent Magnesium, you will be equipped with the knowledge you need to understand the origins of heart disease—and, potentially, to prevent it from ever developing. But while reading this book is a significant first step, it is far more important that you actually use the tools contained within to take charge of your health. Be proactive; only you can change your life!
1
What’s Our Problem?
Heart disease is the leading cause of mortality in the United States, accounting for 25 percent of all recorded deaths. It strikes indiscriminately—teenagers and adults, men and women, blacks and whites—all are susceptible. It can kill quickly or it can linger for years, causing pain, depression, and a wide variety of painful and debilitating symptoms. Affecting over 80 million Americans today, heart disease is a modern-day plague with a reach and severity that extend further with every passing week. And yet, for the most part, too many of us simply accept it as the price we pay to live in a country of so-called abundance. But it is a very high price.
So if we know we have a problem, why does heart disease persist? Is it genetics, our diet, or just a lack of exercise? Is it our cholesterol levels or blood pressure? Why is it that there are so many seemingly right answers, and yet, so many of us continue to die prematurely? This book attempts to address all of these issues, and to present an answer of its own. There is a solution to our health woes, a tragically underutilized remedy that has been with us for decades: magnesium.
In order to get a sense of just how fully magnesium can improve our quality of life, we need to examine the epidemic that poses the greatest challe
nge to our health: heart disease. Moreover, we need to know the ways in which this epidemic has typically been addressed by the medical community. An understanding of the types and causes of heart disease, and the standard medical responses to them, will enable you to make better decisions regarding your own well-being.
THE STATISTICS TELL A TALE
Since the beginning of the twentieth century, heart disease has been our nation’s number one killer. It is unlikely to give up that position any time soon. Consider these grim statistics from the American Heart Association’s Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—2013 Update:
•More than 2,150 Americans die of heart disease each and every day. That’s an average of one death every 39 seconds.
•An average of 150,000 Americans who die of heart disease each year are younger than 65 years of age, while 33 percent of all deaths caused by heart disease occur before the age of 75 years, which is well below the average life expectancy of 77.9 years.
•Coronary heart disease causes one of every six deaths in the United States each year, while one out of every eighteen deaths is caused by stroke.
•An average of 800,000 Americans die of heart disease each year.
•Each year, an estimated 785,000 Americans have a heart attack, and 470,000 more have a repeat attack.
•Approximately 195,000 Americans experience their first silent (unnoticed or undiagnosed) heart attacks each year.
•Approximately every 25 seconds, an American will have a coronary event, and approximately every minute, someone will die of one.
Once mistakenly thought to primarily affect men, approximately half of all deaths caused by heart disease in the United States each year occur among women, accounting for more than six times the number of deaths caused by breast cancer. Although mortality rates caused by heart disease have started to decline over the past fifty years, the overall toll continues to rise, both in terms of impaired health and financial cost.
Magnificent Magnesium Page 1