More causes of the low magnesium epidemic?
In my last blog article, I started to explore how every day food choices and medications were having an adverse impact on our magnesium levels. I now want to take a look at what we drink and ageing.
1. Cola drinks
Most dark colored soft drinks contain phospates, which actually bind to magnesium inside the digestive tract making it unavailable to the body.
2. Caffinated drinks
The kidneys regulate the level of magnesium in our body. Caffine found in tea and coffee caues the kidnesy to release extra magnesium.
3. Alcohol
Alcohol increased the excretion of magnesium by the kidneys.
4. Ageing
Finally if the list wasn’t long enough, we need to add one more thing that we can’t avoid, getting older. The over 55’s are particularly vulnerable to low magnsium. Magnesium metabolism may be less efficient as we grow older as changes to the GI tract and kidneys contribute to older adults aborbing less and retaining less magnsium.
References
Dean C. The Magnesium Miracle. New York: Ballantine Books; 2007.
Weiss GH, Sluss PM, Linke CA. Changes in urinary magnesium, citrate and oxalate levels due to cola consumption. Urology 1992;39:331-3
Brink E. J., Beynen A. C., Dekker P. R., Beresteijn E.C.H., Meer R. Interaction of calcium and phosphate decreases ileal magnesium solubility and apparent magnesium absorption. The Journal of Nutrition. 1992; 122:580-586
Seelig M, Rosanoff A. The Magnesium Factor. New York: Avery Books; 2003
Heaney RP, Rafferty K. Carbonated beverages and urinary calcium excretion. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2001; 74:343–347
Irwin R, Rippe J. Irwin and Rippe’s Intensive Care Medicine. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins; 2008
Bernstein A, Luggen AS. Nutrition for the Older Adult. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers; 2010.
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Do you have tight hips? – Part 2
I know many of my clients sit at a desk for very long hours which can lead to tight hips. So in this post I want to show you how to stretch them.
How to stretch your hips
Single knee hugging Lying on your back, grab your right knee and pull it toward your chest until you feel a stretch. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat on the left side. Bilateral knee hugging Lying on your back, grab both knees and pull them toward your chest. Hold for 20 seconds. "Cobra pose" Lie face down on the floor, hands parallel to your shoulders. Straighten your arms, lifting your upper torso off the floor. Your lower back should be arched, with your pelvis making contact with the floor. Hold for 20 seconds, then lower yourself back down Hip flexion with abduction/adduction Lying on your back, bring one knee up toward your chest. Holding your knee with both hands, roll your knee from one side to the other for 20 seconds. Repeat on the other side. External hip rotation Lying on your back, pull your right knee toward your chest. Place your right hand on the knee and your left hand on the ankle. Gently pull your right ankle in the direction of your head. Hold for 30 seconds, then repeat on your left leg. Internal hip rotation Lying face down, bend your knees 90 degrees and let your feet fall outward. Hold for 30 seconds. If after trying these stretches you are still strugling with tight hips why not book a deep tissue massage.
Mundance superfoods – part 5
My final swap is nettles for spiralina. Spirulina's deep blue-green color reveals its active ingredient — chlorophyll — clearly. Health.com explains it as one of the oldest life forms on Earth and possibly consumed in Aztec and African diets centuries ago. Today it's touted for its ability to strengthen the immune system, reduce fatigue and combat allergies. Nettles are another plant with chlorophyll that even rivals the amount found in spirulina, but they're often found in ditch banks, forests and riverbanks. It's sometimes called "stinging nettle" because it does just that; if you touch it without wearing gloves, the tiny hairs on every surface sting like a bee due to the presence of formic acid, leaving small red welts. But internally, Bon Appetit asserts, it acts like a tonic:
"Taken over time, nettle will strengthen your circulatory, immune, and endocrine systems to promote peak function. The stronger these systems, the better position our bodies are in to deal with whatever might come our way."
Cooked or dried, though, this pesky stinging problem goes away completely; good thing, too, because this free foraging food is highly nutritious, containing fiber, lecithin, chlorophyll, sodium, iron, phosphorus, sulfur, potassium and vitamins A and C, according to Mother Earth News. It's been used in birth rooms and battlefields to stop bleeding, both internally and externally, and is considered to purify blood, as well. As a tea:"It has been found to help cure mucus congestion, skin irritations, water retention and diarrhea … stimulate the digestive glands of the stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas and gall bladder. Applied externally, nettle tea … relieves rheumatism in both people and animals, makes a first-class gargle for mouth and throat infections, helps to clear up acne and eczema and promotes the healing of burns."
To complete the series I want to point out that brocalli is arguably one of the most nutirtious vegatables readily available in supermakets. Not only does it support normal cell function and division, it helps your body detoxify and reduces inflammation and damage from reactive oxygen species (ROS). Another vegatable that I would highly recommend is rocket. It has many of the same nutrients and healing compounds, including fiber, vitamins A, C (to boost the immune system) and K (for bone strength), folate, calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and manganese that are found in cabbage and brocalli. One study showed that rocket can be a powerful aid against gastrointestinal ulcers, psoriasis and skin, lung and mouth cancers. Many more vitamins and minerals help lower blood pressure and improve blood vessel function. References Bon Appétit July 19, 2017 Health December 27, 2016 Mother Earth News March/April 1981
After 20 years of genetically modified crops are they a sucess?
I have never been that keen on the idea of eating genetically modified food. I understand the economic argument about same amount of land would give you a greater yield and that the crops would be more robust and hence would need less pesticides. But I have always had my concerns about if scientist truly understood all the implications of modify crops. In Europe generally the idea of fooling with nature caused widespread protests. Genetically modified crops were more acceptable in North America and were introduced 20 years. Well I can safely say that any fears I had about any adverse side effects or any other fears of GM crops being "Frankenstein" food that is harmful to humans were laid to rest a long time ago. So I would say that GM crops are now more acceptable by the European general public, who here in the UK we probably eat GM crops that are imported from North America. So on the "Frankenstein" criteria they have been very successful. But what about the economic arguments that were put forward 20 years ago. Data from the united nations reveals that there is no discernible advantage in yields between North America and Europe that didn't introduce GM crops. Since GM crops like corn, cotton and soyabeans were introduced into North America the use of toxic chemicals to kill insects and fungi has fallen by 33% but the spraying of herbicides has increased by 21%. In France, the use of insecticides and fungicides has fallen by 65% and herbicide spraying as fallen by 36%. This suggests that GM crops aren't as robust as originally envisaged by scientist and they don't produce more abundant harvests either. So western europe didn't loose out by not introducing GM crops. Where GM crops do seem to have made a difference according to Matin Qaim, a researcher at Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Germany, is significant yield gains from insect-resistant varieties of crops in the developing world, particularly in India. References Genetically engineered crops: Experiences and Prospects report see >> https://www.nap.edu/login.php?record_id=23395

