We look for the Secret - the Philosopher's Stone, the Elixir of the Wise, Supreme Enlightenment, 'God' or whatever...and all the time it is carrying us about...It is the human nervous system itself.

–Robert Anton Wilson

onsidering the sometimes overwhelming demands of our modern age, it’s easy to believe that we’re living in an era uniquely prone to fostering the stress–induced tandem of anxiety and depression. These disorders not only appear to be more prevalent today than ever before, but they also seem to be striking people at a notably younger age. Research has shown, for example, that among Americans born before 1905, only 1% developed depression by the age of 75. Among those born after 1955 however, it was found that 6% developed depression by the young age of 24.

Currently, an estimated 30% of the adult population in the U.S. meets the criteria for a diagnosable mental disorder. Studies have found anxiety disorders to be the most prevalent, followed by (and often co–existing with) other mood disorders such as major depression. Though not usually life–threatening, such disorders can be profoundly debilitating – neurologic and psychiatric disorders account for 28% of all years lived with a disability, and mood disorders are perennially the leading cause of disability in the United States, costing employers 16 billion dollars annually in lost productivity.

With a bit of contemplation, however, we can easily see that psychological stressors such as poverty, oppression, warfare, disease, and general social instability are certainly nothing new to the human experience. These same calamities have burdened mankind from time immemorial – and have often posed an even greater threat to outright survival than they do today.

One wonders then, why have stress–related disorders such as anxiety and depression become so increasingly common in our modern age?

There are, of course, no simple answers to this question; and it’s certain that numerous social and psychological factors play significant roles. Poets, philosophers, and neuroscientists alike have proposed that we find ourselves in an “Age of Anxiety” largely because the once–immutable social pillars of science, religion, family, and community now seem to be in constant flux. The thinking is that the uncertainty of our time leaves many of us with a chronic sense of uneasiness and despair.

But one often–overlooked (and more quantifiable) factor deserves significant attention as well – that is, the steadily deteriorating nutritional composition of our modern diet. After all, it would be difficult to find any societal change over the past century which has impacted more people on a daily basis than the industrialization of the very food which sustains us.

As pharmaceutical treatment for depression and anxiety often yields disappointing results, many researchers have begun to examine nutritional influences on various mood disorders. This research has often found that correcting nutritional shortcomings, at the very least, allows conventional therapies (both pharmaceutical and behavioral) to function more effectively.

Of course, many nutrients are involved in brain function and the regulation of mood, and where our modern diet exposes us to so many nutritional shortcomings it can be difficult to know where to begin to focus our attention. From the existing research, however, we can clearly see that some nutrients are of particular importance in our uniquely modern mental and physical disorders – both because of their wide–ranging biological functions, and because of their conspicuous absence from the modern food supply. As perhaps the quintessential example – considering the breadth of its biological significance for both mind and body – one of the most dire nutritional inadequacies of modern times is that of the essential mineral, magnesium.

Relative to pre–industrial diets, magnesium is in shockingly short–supply in our food today. Magnesium has been shown to be involved in over 325 enzymatic reactions in the body, and is an integral player in the production and utilization of energy for every cell in our body. Without sufficient magnesium, stress reactions are amplified – nerves fire uncontrollably and cells produce energy ever–more inefficiently. As magnesium levels decline, inflammation increases commensurately, and as normal metabolic processes go awry, cells throughout the body become prone to damage, destruction, and death.

Some of the earliest signs of inadequate magnesium intake are mood–related, and include anxiety, hyperexcitability, irritability, fatigue, and depression. But magnesium performs so many functions in human physiology, that it’s tempting to think of magnesium as a nutritional linchpin, the lack of which helps to explain not only the modern epidemics of anxiety and depression, but also, the mind–body link between these mood disorders and our uniquely–modern somatic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

Magnesium Deficiency – A Growing Concern In Modern Times

In the United States (and in many other Westernized nations) the widespread industrial processing of food has led to a dramatic reduction in the magnesium content of the average diet. The refining of wheat in the production of white flour, for example, may result in a loss of 80–96% of the grain’s magnesium content. Similarly, greater than 80% of the magnesium from brown rice is lost in the production of white rice. And even foods which aren’t industrially processed may lose significant magnesium depending upon how they’re cooked – boiling, for example, may cause greater than half of the magnesium content of vegetables to be lost.

See:

Study Link – Magnesium

The “textbook” list of magnesium–containing foods often includes things like whole grains, nuts, and green leafy vegetables – but most people, of course, never get around to researching exactly how much magnesium these foods actually contain. More often than not, the magnesium content of these foods is merely a small fraction of what is needed daily – so even if these foods comprise a significant portion of the diet, magnesium intake can easily still be inadequate.

For example, according to data from the USDA National Nutrient Database, a slice of “whole wheat” bread contains 12 milligrams of magnesium – a mere 3% of the RDI (incidentally, a slice of white bread contains only 6 milligrams of magnesium). Because magnesium is a component of the green plant pigment, chlorophyll, green leafy vegetables are often said to be good sources of magnesium. But a serving (85 grams) of romaine lettuce also contains a mere 12 milligrams of magnesium – far less than many people assume.

Nuts do fare a bit better as far as magnesium content is concerned, but it’s always important to assess foods based upon all of their component elements. For example, an ounce of almonds will contain 77 milligrams of magnesium – a respectable 19% of the RDI. But almonds (and most nuts, in general) also contain a particularly high amount of pro–inflammatory omega–6 fats. Most people in the Western world already consume these fats in gross excess of the body’s requirements, so consuming nuts as a source of magnesium probably isn’t an optimal solution – especially considering that these pro–inflammatory fats can directly compromise magnesium status as we’ll see later.

Note: Interestingly, the “heart healthy” benefits of nuts are often attributed to their constituent fatty acids; but where most diets already contain an excess of the type of fats found in nuts, any health benefits of nuts are likely to exist in spite of these fatty acids – not because of them. Unlike the unsaturated fats, however, most people are at least somewhat deficient in magnesium, making magnesium a better explanation for the health benefits associated with nut consumption. Some researchers have noted that the well–documented benefits of magnesium are often forgotten when the benefits of nuts are investigated:

Editorial Link – Is the magnesium content of nuts a factor for coronary heart disease?

In the final analysis, it seems that most of us (even if we try to consume a healthy diet) are falling far short of meeting our minimum magnesium requirements. Our current intake falls far below historical levels as well. Researchers have estimated that before the year 1900, the average daily magnesium intake in the United States was around 450 mg. But recently, the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from the years 1999 and 2000 found that the average daily intake of magnesium is currently nearly a third less than these levels. The survey found that almost 68% of modern Americans may not be consuming the recommended amount of magnesium each day. Nineteen percent of those surveyed failed to consume even half of the RDI for magnesium.

[Note: the recommended daily intake (RDI) for magnesium is 400 – 420 mg per day for men and 300 – 320 mg per day for women].

To make matters worse, researchers analyzing the NHANES data on magnesium intake found that some of the most common dietary sources of magnesium may, ironically, have a net–negative impact on magnesium status. In other words, many common foods which technically contain magnesium also contain other factors which may block its utilization, or increase its excretion.

Study Link – Dietary Magnesium Intake in a National Sample of U.S. Adults.

Quote from the above study:

According to the food codes, the top 10 contributors to dietary magnesium intake were ground coffee (3.7% of intake), 2% milk (2.6%), whole milk (2.1%), raw bananas (1.8%), beer (1.8%), skim or nonfat milk (1.5%), orange juice (1.5%), lite beer (1.4%), French fries (1.1%) and 1% milk (0.9%).

For example, though coffee and milk may be reasonable components of a healthy diet, caffeine (from coffee) has been shown to increase magnesium excretion; and the calcium from dairy products is likely to hinder magnesium absorption and greatly increase the body’s calcium–to–magnesium ratio (the dietary balance between calcium and magnesium is important to magnesium metabolism, as we shall see). Foods in the above list, like French fries and beer (which are without much redeeming nutritional value at all) are likely to have an even greater negative impact on overall magnesium levels.

And even many health–conscious people may have a false sense of security when it comes to their magnesium status. Millions of Americans currently take multivitamins and calcium–magnesium combination supplements; but even these products are probably not improving overall magnesium status. The researchers who conducted the above study noted that even multivitamins containing magnesium (most of which only contain around 100 milligrams of magnesium, usually in a form that’s relatively poorly absorbed) would be unlikely to help the people studied reach the RDI for magnesium:

Quote from the above study:

­…if one assumes that everyone who indicated that they used a supplement consumed 100 mg of magnesium every day, the resulting upper–bound median total magnesium concentrations would increase by as little as 15 mg/d among African American men aged 20–30 y and as much as 76 mg/d among Caucasian women aged 51–70 y. Even then, none of the upper–bound median magnesium intakes of any sex, race and age group reached the RDA.

And, as previously mentioned, calcium, in many ways, acts as an antagonist to magnesium. For this reason, calcium–and–magnesium combination supplements commonly used to support bone health (which usually contain twice as much calcium as magnesium) can’t necessarily be relied upon to rectify a suboptimal magnesium intake either. For many people, such supplements could even make a relative magnesium deficiency worse as calcium–rich foods are already more prevalent in the typical American diet relative to magnesium–rich foods.

Also, in looking at the above data which measured magnesium intake relative to the bare minimum of magnesium needed to prevent disease, it’s important to note the extensive research which shows that any sort of physical or emotional stress may deplete magnesium stores significantly. For this reason, many experts believe that even consuming the full RDI of magnesium may be insufficient to meet the true magnesium requirements of many people in modern society.

Assessing our true magnesium requirements through laboratory blood testing, however, is rarely done – and even when it is done, the test results often don’t mean what they seem to. It has been estimated that up to 99% of the magnesium in our body is stored in bone or inside the cells of our tissues. Serum blood tests do exist for magnesium, but these merely measure a portion of the 1% of magnesium floating around outside of our cells. The body keeps serum levels of magnesium remarkably constant – even if it needs to rob magnesium from other tissues, like the bones, brain, or heart, to do so. Animal studies have shown that serum levels of magnesium sometimes actually rise in response to stress – a clear indication that the body is mobilizing magnesium from its intracellular stores to keep blood levels of magnesium constant. This results in an increase in urinary magnesium excretion, and ultimately, depletion of bodily stores of the mineral.

See Table 1 in:

Study Link – Effects of acute and chronic treatment with magnesium in the forced swim test in rats.

For this reason, chronic stress may continually deplete magnesium from the tissues – even without this deficiency necessarily showing up in blood tests.

Stress, Depression, and Anxiety - A Role For Magnesium?

Our biological stress responses – including the adrenaline–driven “fight–or–flight” and fear responses – have their origins in the more “primitive” parts of the human brain. Though we often think of stress solely as a negative phenomenon, evolutionarily, a heightened stress response was likely to have been an important asset to survival. Before the distinctly human logical–processing centers of the frontal cortex could ever rationally assess a dangerous situation, the unconscious and automatic function of the limbic system (i.e., the “emotional brain”), likely allowed our ancestors to react quickly in the face of life–threatening danger. Because mere fractions of seconds could sometimes mean the difference between life and death, our brains seem designed to engage this over–reactive emotional circuitry first, and then ask questions later. But it’s often been noted that this sort of stress response doesn’t serve us well in modern times – as imminent threats to our survival have decreased, the long–term negative effects of chronic stress have become well–documented.

Both depression and anxiety are characterized by the body’s chronically exaggerated response to perceived stress. Because it places such huge metabolic demands upon the body’s energy reserves, chronic stress is well–known to deplete magnesium. But that’s just the beginning – it’s important to realize that a lack of magnesium, in and of itself, can trigger the stress response even independent of other stressful stimuli. In what often ends up becoming a vicious cycle, when magnesium is in short supply, the damaging effects of stress are then amplified – further depleting magnesium levels. This magnesium–depleting cycle doesn’t just affect mood disorders – it may actually be a major factor underlying the mind–body connection to disease.

Stress and Magnesium Depletion

We already know that the typical American diet is shockingly low in magnesium, and it seems that the day–in and day–out stresses of modern life really do cause us to lose precious magnesium at a notably accelerated rate. These two factors together make it all the more likely that our magnesium status may often be seriously compromised.

For example, even something as seemingly mundane as the short–term exposure to industrial noise is stressful enough to cause magnesium excretion to be increased for two full days:

Study Link – The effect of noise on serum and urinary magnesium and catecholamines in humans.

Quote from the above study:

Our study shows that noise induces significant increases of serum calcium and magnesium, with a borderline increase of serum phosphorus; this in turn is reflected in a significantly increased urinary excretion of magnesium and phosphate after exposure, which lasts for the following 2 days.

And the anxiety associated with taking final exams has been shown to cause a significant increase in the amount of magnesium excreted in the urine of university students:

Study Link – Anxiety and stress among science students. Study of calcium and magnesium alterations.

Quote from the above study:

…a significant magnesium and phosphate (phosphorus) increase were noticed in 24h urine collected during exams (94 ± 8 mg/L Mg, 929 ± 82 mg/L P) as compared with basal values (72 ± 5 mg/L Mg, 686 ± 42 mg/L P).

The following study, as well, found that both chronic and subchronic stress led to a significant reduction in magnesium levels. As magnesium levels declined, both study groups experienced increased markers of oxidative stress which is well–recognized to be a forerunner of the diseases of aging:

Study Link – Alterations in magnesium and oxidative status during chronic emotional stress.

Quote from the above study:

A negative correlation between magnesium balance and oxidative stress was observed suggesting that the same etiological factor (chronic stress) initiate decreases in both free and total magnesium concentrations and simultaneously increase oxidative stress intensity. These findings support the need for magnesium supplementation with antioxidant vitamins for people living in conditions of chronic stress.

And, given the fact that oxidative stress is well–recognized to be a result of magnesium depletion, it’s no coincidence that oxidative stress is also well–recognized to be associated with depression, anxiety, and numerous other psychiatric disorders:

Study Link – Oxidative stress in psychiatric disorders: evidence base and therapeutic implications.

Quote from the above study:

These data not only suggest that oxidative mechanisms may form unifying common pathogenic pathways in psychiatric disorders, but also introduce new targets for the development of therapeutic interventions.

Magnesium - Mind And Body

It’s become well–accepted that the modern epidemics of heart disease and diabetes are a direct result of our uniquely modern diet. Yet, in any discussion of the correspondingly modern epidemics of anxiety and depression, dietary factors are rarely given more than a passing mention.

But oxidative stress caused by a lack of magnesium may be a major link between mood disorders and these somatic (bodily) disorders. Numerous studies have shown, for example, that individuals suffering from depression and anxiety have a greater risk of developing heart disease and diabetes:

Study Link – The role of depression and anxiety in onset of diabetes in a large population–based study.

Quote from the above study:

Individuals reporting symptoms of depression and anxiety at baseline had increased risk of onset of type 2 diabetes at 10–year follow–up. No gender differences were found.

Study Link – Shared and unique contributions of anger, anxiety, and depression to coronary heart disease: a prospective study in the normative aging study.

Quote from the above study:

Anger, anxiety, and depression have each been identified as risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD).

In fact, looking at the relationship between stress, anxiety, depression, inflammation, and magnesium gives a very clear indication of how and why emotional and psychological disorders can ultimately lead to the physical diseases of aging. The mind–body connection in heart disease and diabetes is very real, and isn’t nearly as mysterious as it’s often made out to be. The mainstream medical community deserves some credit for finally recognizing the possible benefits of stress–reduction techniques such as meditation and behavioral therapy, but relatively little attention has been given to rectifying the sub–optimal magnesium status which may be a major factor causing or exacerbating the damaging effects of stress in the first place.

Along these lines, it’s important to state again that it’s not just the evolutionary structure of our brain, or our hectic lifestyles that are responsible for the modern incidence of excessive stress, anxiety, and depression. As we’ve seen, uniquely modern nutrient deficiencies (including and especially that of magnesium) can engage the brain’s stress response even independent of other stressful stimuli:

Study Link – Depression–like and anxiety–related behaviour of rats fed with magnesium–deficient diet.

Quote from the above study:

It was shown Mg deficiency resulted in depression–like and anxiety–related behavior in rats.

And research has clearly shown that the harmful effects of stress are even greater when magnesium is in short supply. A lack of magnesium (or an excess of calcium in relation to magnesium) can facilitate the release of adrenaline and related stress–chemicals collectively known as catecholamines. These “fight–or–flight” hormones are well–known to perpetuate their own release. Because they’re triggered by a perceived “emergency,” the catecholamines greatly stimulate energy production which results in a loss of magnesium from the brain and other tissues of the body. Catecholamines also stimulate lipolysis – the release of fatty acids into the bloodstream to be used as fuel. Many of these fatty acids however (especially if the diet contains an excess of chemically unstable unsaturated fats, as mentioned earlier) are generally toxic – they stimulate inflammation, platelet aggregation (blood clotting), and vasoconstriction (an increase in blood pressure). They may even directly worsen magnesium deficiency by complexing with the mineral, itself:

Study Link – Consequences of magnesium deficiency on the enhancement of stress reactions; preventive and therapeutic implications (a review).

Quote from the above study:

A low Mg/Ca ratio increases release of catecholamines, which lowers tissue (i.e. myocardial) Mg levels. It also favors excess release or formation of factors (derived both from [fatty acid] metabolism and the endothelium), that are vasoconstrictive and platelet aggregating; a high Ca/Mg ratio also directly favors blood coagulation, which is also favored by excess fat and its mobilization during adrenergic lipolysis… Thus, stress, whether physical (i.e. exertion, heat, cold, trauma––accidental or surgical, burns), or emotional (i.e. pain, anxiety, excitement or depression) and dyspnea as in asthma increases need for Mg.

Knowing these effects of adrenaline, it’s very easy to see why stress and anxiety are so closely associated with heart disease and diabetes. The physiological effects of adrenaline – increased blood pressure, increased tendency of blood to clot, and the elevation of blood lipids (e.g., triglycerides, and cholesterol), are all well–known to be characteristic markers of heart disease and diabetes risk.

Importantly, some of the most well–recognized functions of magnesium are the exact opposite of those of adrenaline – i.e., magnesium regulates blood pressure, decreases platelet aggregation (i.e., decreases the tendency of the blood to clot), and reduces (or prevents the release of) blood lipids.

The relationship between adrenaline and anxiety is easy to grasp, but it’s important to note as well that even depression – although it may manifest with the outward symptoms of lethargy, fatigue, and apathy – is, in fact, characterized by significantly elevated levels of adrenaline and related catecholamines:

Study Link – Resting Plasma Catecholamine Concentrations in Patients With Depression and Anxiety.

Quote from the above study:

The total resting plasma catecholamine concentration from 13 drugfree, depressed patients was found to be significantly elevated over concentrations from 47 normal controls. Differential determinations of epinephrine and norepinephrine revealed that both catecholamine components were elevated in the Patients.

So, not surprisingly, people with anxiety and depression exhibit many of the adrenalin–related risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. Elevated blood lipids and inflammation are well–documented to be associated with anxiety and depression. This makes perfect sense considering the previously–mentioned adrenaline–induced lipolysis (i.e., adrenaline causing the release of fatty acids into the blood):

Study Link – Serum cholesterol levels in patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and with GAD and comorbid major depression.

Quote from the above study:

Significantly higher cholesterol and triglyceride levels were found in the GAD group. CONCLUSION: Increased noradrenergic activity may be responsible for elevations in lipid levels in patients with pure GAD.

And knowing that magnesium is needed to counter the effects of stress and adrenaline, it’s not surprising to see that the addition of magnesium to the diet has been found to lower triglycerides and LDL cholesterol in some studies:

Study Link – Can dietary magnesium modulate lipoprotein metabolism?

Quote from the above study:

After 12 weeks, there was a significant decrease in total serum cholesterol (10.7%), low–density–lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (10.5%) and triglyceride (10.1%) in [the group receiving magnesium] compared to the values at entry to the study…

In the next installment of this series we’ll take a closer look at the fundamental role magnesium plays in supporting proper nervous–system function – both within the brain and throughout the rest of the body. We’ll see how magnesium regulates nerve transmission, and how this function may underlie magnesium’s important role in mood and cognition as well as cardiovascular function. Ultimately, we’ll further strengthen the case for magnesium as a nutrient of the utmost importance for the proper function of mind and body.

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