Mercury and Magnesium

A few years ago, when I finally figured out that I was mercury toxic and started chelating, I was not surprised to find an old favorite high on the list of recommended supplements for neutralizing the effects of mercury: Magnesium.

I had already been taking it, but throughout the course of chelation, I doubled my daily dose, then doubled it again. And took a little extra while I was on round. 800 to 1,000mg a day of whatever kind I could lay my hands on — oxide, orotate, malate, citrate — worked great for me. Plus additional Epsom Salts baths. I learned that it was perfectly safe to take high doses, because it’s impossible to overdose on magnesium supplements. Any excess you consume just isn’t absorbed and goes right on through your gut.

Magnesium is awesome. Over the years it has helped with my constipation and various other digestive issues, but more importantly it has helped lift my mood, something that was sorely needed when I was in the throes of mercury detox. I have taken a lot of supplements in my time, and would have to say that magnesium is the one that tops my list.

Which is why my first book review on this blog is for The Magnesium Miracle by Carolyn Dean. The author of this book is an MD who also has trained as a naturopathic doctor, and she really knows her magnesium facts.

Since I’m a big magnesium fan, I found it really fun to read about all the different ways in which magnesium works in the body, and which symptoms are really magnesium deficiency in disguise.

Did you know that you can take all the calcium in the world, but it won’t do your bones a lick of good unless there is enough magnesium present to keep it in solution? (Sometimes Osteoporosis = magnesium deficiency, it’s true!)

That’s the kind of personality magnesium has: helping out in hundreds of different ways in the body, but rarely in the limelight. What a shame, it deserves just as much attention as the constantly-advertised calcium.

The author of The Magnesium Miracle has clearly done her homework, and I enjoyed her approach a lot. She supports her claims with scientific papers, but comes across as frustrated with big pharma’s current stranglehold on scientific research. To me, this shows she’s got a practical understanding of the way things really work. She’s not just another doctor who’s blindly following the party line – a refreshing change.

All in all, two thumbs up for the mineral magnesium, and three cheers for a book and an author who are championing the supplement world’s most deserving underdog.

Magnesium deficiency is not just about depression, constipation and osteoporosis.  Click here to see the author’s list of all of the conditions magnesium deficiency can cause.

Leave a comment below if you’re a magnesium fan like me!