• Posted on

The Enlightening Power of the Pineal Gland

The Enlightening Power of the Pineal Gland

Have you ever had an epiphany? Did the proverbial lightbulb in our head turn on so that you could suddenly understand something profound? The definition of epiphany is: a divine manifestation, appearance or revelation. The pineal gland also happens to be known as conarium or ‘epiphysis’ cerebri. The prefix ‘epi’ means outside, extra or supra and the word ‘physis’ relates to the physical, with ‘cerebri’ meaning 'of the brain'. Let’s explore this fascinating lightbulb a little more.

The pineal gland sits in the centre of the brain, exactly between the left and right brain hemispheres in line with the eyes and behind the hypothalamus and pituitary glands.  It forms part of the neuro-endocrine system and runs our biological clock (circadian rhythm). It is responsible for the diurnal day-night wake-sleep cycle, as well as the speed of our ageing, health and wellness. 

As master regulator of the neuro-endocrine system, the pineal gland is responsible for signalling of hormone release from the pituitary gland. The pituitary in turn signals the rest of the endocrine system to produce and release hormones.

This mysterious gland is the size of a small bean and in the shape of a pine cone, which follows the sacred geometry Fibonacci sequence. It is just one tiny gland, whereas other organs and glands are divided into two hemispheres or parts.  They are binary, but the pineal gland is a single unit:  One central component linking the body’s networks like a bulls’eye’ or zero point.

The pineal gland produces melatonin at night during deep sleep, which works as a potent neuro-protective antioxidant that helps to detox the cerebrospinal fluid of the brain. It has even been shown to have anti-viral effects. When we don’t get a restful deep sleep, which produces enough melatonin, we wake up with leftover pollution and waste products in the brain. Waking up and feeling like you haven't slept at all is torture.

The third eye and ‘lamp of the body’

There is a lot more to the pineal gland than meets the ‘eye’.

It has been referred to traditionally as ‘the third eye’ (after the first two eyes on the outside of our head), which acts as the eye responsible for ‘inner sight’ or ‘insight’. In other words, intuition.  The pinealocytes (pineal cells) are even structurally similar to the retinal cones, neurones and neuroglia of the first two eyes. (1)


Operation of the pineal gland from Descartes in the Treatise of Man (figure published in the edition of 1664)

Scientists have deduced that the pineal gland, in conjunction with the Suprachiasmatic Nuclei of the hypothalamus, works like a device that receives and transmits frequency information in relation to our position on the planet as it rotates around itself, and seasonally in its movement around the sun.  In a way it’s like a biological GPS device.

Our sixth sense (gut feel), ability to intuit and inner spiritual ‘compass’ are dependent on the health of the pineal gland.

Jesus is said to have referred to ‘the eye’ as the lamp of the body that accesses spiritual knowing, or sees things clearly and in truth. “The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.” Luke 11:34-36  The ‘evil’ refers I believe to corruption of the ‘eye’, which means the body becomes more polluted (dark) and sick until it blocks spiritual insight.

In the Book of Revelation, those with the sign of the beast on their forehead were deemed to have a closed-down pineal gland (eye), meaning spiritual death.

In the 1600s, Rene Descartes called the pineal gland 'the seat of the soul'. The Romans proclaimed the pineal gland to be the supreme gland. In Hinduism, the pineal is referred to as the Eye of Shiva; in Buddhism, it is the Eye of Wisdom and Compassion; and in Egyptian culture, the pineal gland is known as the Eye of Osiris, Eye of Horus, and Eye of Ra.

To add to the mystique, the pineal gland not only produces melatonin to detox the brain during sleep, but it also produces traces of DMT (dimethyltryptamine), which is a psychedelic. It produces feelings of euphoria, love and consciousness expansion or deep insight. This molecule is released at significant times of life such as at birth, at the end of life and in near-death-experiences. It is also produced during vivid dream states and advanced meditation practices.

Sleep deprivation is a killer

We need to be resting to be restored, as well as to digest food. This is called the parasympathetic state of ‘rest and digest’, or the opposite of the sympathetic state of ‘fight or flight’.  You can’t have the engine running on full capacity during that cleaning and maintenance process.  When people suffer chronic sleep deprivation they get very sick because the garbage wastes start to pile up.

Sleep disorders are associated with the epidemic of obesity.  In obese people the pineal gland is usually significantly smaller than that of lean people. The smaller size of the pineal gland is correlated with dysregulation in the production of melatonin, our sleep hormone.1

Stress-relief-500x500.jpg.webp__PID:aa25e6ec-90a6-40be-a515-48d2258afc9e

The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) reports that about 70 million Americans suffer from chronic sleep problems, which are generally associated with obesity, diabetes, hypertension and increased cardiovascular risk. Other co-morbidities include: dementias, chronic pain, mental illness and gastro-intestinal disorders.  STUDY: Sleep Patterns and Risk of Chronic Disease.

People with Schizophrenia OR Major Depressive Disorder also tend to have a smaller sized pineal gland.  Depression commonly occurs as a symptom of PTSD, triggered by a trauma or chronic stress.  Chronic stress and PTSD is associated with magnesium deficiency, as stress and trauma causes excessive magnesium loss.  People with depression suffer excessively from sleep disorders, lack of melatonin, and consequent headaches, inflammation and metabolic syndrome (also connected to hypothyroidism).

Unfortunately, the pineal gland has the highest calcification rate among all organs and tissues of the human body. The more your pineal gland becomes calcified, the more it hardens and shrinks, and the less melatonin sleep hormone it can produce. 

Pineal calcification generally increases with age, and is a marker for premature ageing and degeneration.  When we are children, the pineal gland is pliable like a ligament, hydrated and juicy. Due to the presence of liquid crystals, it has piezoelectric properties and can vibrate in response to frequency. “When a mechanical drive is applied to these crystals, a minute electrical pulse is generated, particularly in the matrix of the connective tissue, which becomes harmonic and oscillating. The information is transmitted electrically through the connective tissue (Oschman 2003).”

As we get older, it shrinks, hardens and stiffens. However, you can slow down this ageing process by looking after your pineal gland via good nutrition, magnesium supplementation and lifestyle practices, including sunshine and oxygenating exercise.  In other words, have some fun swimming at the beach!

Metabolic syndrome and weight gain

Free floating anxiety or pain conditions, associated with the sympathetic state of ‘fight or flight’, keep adrenalin high. This blocks deep sleep and prevents melatonin production.

Deep sleep is the time where the brain does its housekeeping after all the metabolism and energy spent during the day, which produces free radical waste by-products.  It is also the time where tissue cells get serviced and replaced – in other words, when healing mostly happens.

At night cortisol levels should drop for sleeping deeply, and rev up again in the morning when we need to get up and ready for action. However, when the stress hormones are high in the circulation, and the cortisol keeps stimulating the nervous system, it can’t relax enough to induce melatonin cycle in the pineal gland. When there is not enough melatonin, there is not enough detoxification of the neuro-endocrine system. The cortisol also grabs hold of glucose and insulin to deliver to cells for energy, but at night we don’t use that much energy, so what we don’t use tends to be stored as extra fat.

This becomes a vicious cycle because the less sleep, the more stress, and the more we suffer from excessive magnesium loss, which then increases sensitivity to stress until we fall apart at the slightest provocation. Little issues become big issues. The adrenals can get overloaded by the constant stress hormone production, until it affects metabolism and chronic fatigue sets in.

There is a frustration that comes from feeling wired (agitated and ready to run), but too tired to answer the call to action. The ‘wired’ part is the stress hormone cascade triggering excessive cortisol, but crashing into fatigue and weight gain. There’s nowhere to go with that fuel because metabolism is on vacation, so it gets parked in extra fat cells.

To add insult to injury, the extra fat cells produce too much oestrogen and can put us in oestrogen overload (especially if also exposed to other estrogen-mimicking chemicals). Estrogenic conditions cause unstable emotions and fragility, foggy brain, and more fatigue. In this state we tend to shrink back and feel sorry for ourselves, taking everything personally, and lacking the confidence and motivation to fix our problems.

Stress and digestion

When we feel stress and anxiety the body’s resources are channelled towards the muscles (so you are ready for action), and away from the stomach and digestive system. Your body gets back to the work of digestion and detoxification during the parasympathetic mode of ‘rest and digest’. 

The vagus nerve is the largest nerve in the body and runs down the front along the digestive tract. It is influential in managing the switching between sympathetic and parasympathetic mode and works closely with the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis, which produces hormones for signalling throughout the nervous system. Under stress the vagus nerve automatically tightens and restricts the digestive tract. The pineal gland sits at the top of this chain of command to regulate neuro-endocrine responses, dependent on environmental stimuli. 

Gut microbiome and digestion problems (usually from a lot of stress) contribute to metabolic syndrome. Not only does the slow transit of food and sluggish elimination cause a backup in wastes which start to putrefy, but when we can’t digest and break down food properly due to low stomach acid, we can’t extract and absorb the nutrients we need, such as magnesium.  This dampens down the production of electrical energy for enervating our neuro-endocrine system to produce the hormones and antioxidants we need – like glutathione, superoxide dismutase and melatonin. This compromises detoxification.

It can also have a side effect of Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), which causes a lot of bloating, excessive gas and reflux due to the attraction of bacteria to the food scraps. Pathogens that produce more acids also move in downstream as the environment of the intestine becomes too acidic. The excessive acids can eat holes in your intestinal mucosal linings, allowing toxins to be re-absorbed. This condition is called ‘leaky gut syndrome’, which causes even more stress and feelings of anxiety.

Before you know it, you find yourself tossing and turning night after night with deep sleep elusive, and your brain not switching off because the adrenalin and cortisol stress hormones can’t subside. Lack of deep sleep means lack of melatonin, which results in a pile up of metabolic wastes. The next day you get toxic headaches and brain fog, feeling fatigued and depressed.

The pineal gland needs light and dark cycling

The pineal gland is fed by full spectrum daytime light photons. After they pass through the optic nerves of the first two eyes, the light triggers the Suprachiasmatic Nuclei to cause tryptophan to be converted to serotonin, which is made into melatonin during night time deep sleep. Scientists have found that even fully blind people can have their pineal gland stimulated by sunlight to make serotonin and melatonin. The light still gets through.

Melatonin is best produced at night between the hours of 12 midnight and 4am in the most darkened environment.  Don’t go to bed after midnight because you miss the right window to enter the proper deep sleep cycling, and your sleep may remain too light or restless for the rest of the night.

The pineal gland needs darkness, quiet, and the least amount of stimulation, including electro-magnetic activity.  Avoid sleeping next to a plugged-in electrical appliance, and don’t expose your eyeballs to computer screens or TV during the couple of hours before sleep time. The LED light is very stimulating.  Before bed dim down your environment to low warm light (as in incandescent globes or candles), and try meditation or listening to relaxing music.  Some people like to pick up a book and read for a while to fall asleep – the old fashioned way! For best sleep conditions draw the curtains and blinds to ensure it's very dark, so that not even moonlight gets through.

Antioxidant power to neutralise free radicals

In addition to detoxification, melatonin has another important job: It also activates the pituitary gland to release Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone, and it’s the melanocytes that produce melanin.  Melanin is another powerful antioxidant that is very dark and can absorb all parts of the light spectrum. It helps neutralise free radicals produced from radiation exposures (sun), as well as metabolic wastes. It is produced not only in the skin to give you a nice tan and protect the skin barrier, but is also found in all the organs, including the brain.  In general, it is found in highest quantity wherever there is a lot of mitochondrial activity because this antioxidant is a powerful neutraliser of free radicals produced by metabolism.  

Melatonin is not only produced by the pineal gland, but recent studies have shown that, like melanin, it is produced everywhere in the body where there are mitochondria producing electrical energy (oxidative phosphorylation), which then leaves behind metabolic wastes that need to be neutralised and cleared out. This extra-pineal melatonin can be produced during daylight hours and is not dependent (like the pineal gland is) on deep sleep cycles, to make melatonin.

This particular melatonin production occurs in all the other organs – and especially the tissue cells of the gut lining where there is a lot of mitochondrial metabolism going on. So, if you have digestive disorders and a compromised gut lining, your melatonin antioxidant production will also be depressed.

Interestingly, the total melatonin production outside the pineal gland adds up to more melatonin produced than in the pineal gland, but only the pineal gland is involved with circadian rhythm regulation and detoxification of the cerebral spinal fluid. Pineal melatonin is just for the brain.

Serotonin should subside as darkness increases

Serotonin is a daytime hormone that generally makes us feel satisfied, motivated, positive, energetic and happy. Serotonin’s presence is associated with adrenalin and cortisol (stress hormones), which provide action potential so we can work and exercise.  At night time the serotonin you accumulated during the day subsides, and via enzymes, is converted to melatonin during the deep sleep cycle.

Sleep.jpg__PID:3dad3d6e-4a77-4dad-a981-b1880271fbdd

You need enough magnesium for mitochondria to produce the electrical energy that drives enzymes to make melatonin. Magnesium also dampens the effect of the stress hormones, controls the calcium channels, and so relaxes the muscles and nervous system – ready for sleep.

Studies have shown that melatonin has an effect on serotonin levels. If you can’t make enough melatonin to use up serotonin, and your serotonin piles up, it can cause serotonin syndrome, whereby serotonin becomes oxidised and neuro-toxic.  It shouldn’t hang around too long and ‘go off’.

Toxic levels of serotonin are associated with more stress responses, excessive adrenalin, higher estrogen levels, hypothyroidism and dysregulated HPA axis function – which are all associated with magnesium deficiency! 

Tryptophan, herbal teas, and magnesium soaks and massage

Tryptophan, or L-tryptophan, is one of the nine essential amino acids, an important building block of protein. Your body can't make it on its own, so you need to get it from food. Tryptophan is converted to niacin, a B vitamin necessary in metabolism.

You also need tryptophan to make serotonin.  The foods with high tryptophan tend to be high in protein too, so if you have digestion problems, make sure you also use natural digestive aids to support your stomach digestion and gut health.  

The tryptophan in foods can make us feel sleepy. This is why cultures have traditionally used warm milk as a supper time drink to relax the body.  I recommend organic full cream unprocessed dairy milk (if you are okay with digesting the lactose), and add a touch of honey and cinnamon. Nutmilks can be used as a substitute.

Remember to use topical magnesium massage, or a magnesium bath or footsoak, to compensate for the extra calcium in the milk, as these two minerals compete. This should prepare the way nicely for a relaxing deep sleep. 

Herbal teas like chamomile, valerian root, peppermint, ashwagandha, holy basil, St John’s wort, wild lettuce, hops, lavender, lemon balm, passionflower and magnolia bark have been used traditionally as sleep promoting teas before bed time.  It’s interesting to note that these teas also support better digestion by calming the vagus nerve and neutralising acids, so they help to relieve reflux too. The bonus is that there are little to no calories in herbal teas.

Eat light: eat right

The most important thing to do is to eat an alkalising diet, which means a lot of fresh antioxidant vegetables, avoiding ‘dead’ processed foods and chemicals.  Avoid sugar and processed grains like white flour (eg bread and noodles).  Avoid thickened sauces, fried foods and chemical additives like monosodium glutamate (MSG). Don’t have stimulants like caffeine after midday or evening so as not to overstimulate the nervous system.

Beware of fluoride

Beware of fluoride ingestion, the most common vector being via tap water or its derivatives. Fluoride binds calcium and deposits in tissue, such as endothelial linings, bone and the pineal gland.  Fluoride also robs your magnesium. Studies published by Luke et al showed significantly higher levels of fluoride deposited in the calcified pineal glands than in the bone. 

The pineal gland is particularly vulnerable to fluoride toxicity because it sits outside the blood-brain barrier, bathed in a very high vascular blood supply second only to the kidneys. The fluoride is attracted to calcium and both accumulate in the pinealocytes, stiffening the tissue. The more rigid the pineal gland becomes, the less flexible it is, which affects its piezoelectric capacity, and therefore the less able it is to sense subtle frequencies.  We need magnesium for muscles and ligaments to relax and flex, and to control the calcium and fluoride which make tissue cells rigid.

It's interesting to note that children in fluoridated areas who are exposed to fluoride early in life experience a delay in the eruption of their second teeth. However, they tend to go into puberty earlier than their counterparts in non-fluoridated areas. These developmental milestones are body clock rhythms that become disrupted when the pineal gland's function is affected by environmental chemicals or stressful conditions.

Melatonin supplementation

Melatonin is not considered addictive, nor does it have the negative side effects of drugs like benzodiazepine or sleeping tablets.

It can be useful after air travel through different time zones to help re-adjust the body clock, and to neutralise toxins produced from the stresses of sleep deprivation.  Doctors recommend its use normally to help adjust body clock sleep cycles after some kind of disruption, such as air travel or shift work. For healthy people, regular ongoing use is discouraged so as to avoid reduction of the body's endogenous melatonin production. However, several recent studies have used longer term melatonin supplementation for its antioxidant capacity in helping to neutralise free radicals in those with infections like Ebola (2), or even to buffer the acid wastes of cancer treatment (3). Scientists are recommending that future research should be done to investigate the benefits of melatonin treatment for those with metabolic syndrome and diabetes (2), as this group commonly suffers from chronic sleep problems. In this case the metabolism issues cause disruption in pH balancing, as well as excessive cortisol at night, which interferes with endogenous melatonin production.

Say a prayer

Letting go and giving yourself over to sleep also requires trust. You can’t afford to be on alert and in control during this time or you won’t be able to move into the parasympathetic calm state for sleeping.  The sleep-promoting rituals listed above are very important, but so is a little prayer for your guardian angels to look over you while you surrender to sleep, your inner ‘maintenance time’ and perhaps a peak into other dimensions.

You need to be able to, ‘let go and let God’ so you can harness the power of your pineal gland to receive important messages that impact your life, survival, as well as emotional and spiritual wellness.  Practice this ritual every night and have faith that you will be safe and nurtured. Take note also of your dreams, which can be a way your subconscious conveys messages (albeit in a cryptic way). You get better at it over time, so be persistent.

By Sandy Sanderson © 2021

Reference:

(1)       Tan, D. X.; Xu, B.; Zhou, X.; Reiter, R. J. Pineal Calcification, Melatonin Production, Aging, Associated Health Consequences and Rejuvenation of the Pineal Gland. Molecules 2018, 23 (2), 301. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23020301.

(2)       Masters, A.; Pandi-Perumal, S. R.; Seixas, A.; Girardin, J.-L.; McFarlane, S. I. Melatonin, the Hormone of Darkness: From Sleep Promotion to Ebola Treatment. Brain Disord Ther 2014, 4 (1), 1000151. https://doi.org/10.4172/2168-975X.1000151.

(3)       Li, Y.; Li, S.; Zhou, Y.; Meng, X.; Zhang, J.-J.; Xu, D.-P.; Li, H.-B. Melatonin for the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer. Oncotarget 2017, 8 (24), 39896–39921. https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.16379.

About The Author

Leave a comment

Read Also

See all Articles
Heart Palpitations, Arrhythmia and Atrial Fibrillation
  • Posted on
Heart Palpitations, Arrhythmia and Atrial Fibrillation
Arrhythmia is a condition where the heart beats irregularly (skipped or half beats), too fast (tachycardia) or too slow (bradycardia). It can feel like light flutters starting in the left ventricle of the heart, and if the issue isn’t addressed, over time it can progress to atrial fibrillation, an irregular beat of the main atrium of the heart. This can cause a panic response with extra adrenalin and rapid heart beats. It can lead to heart attack if the condition becomes severe enough.
Magnesium: The Immune System's Super Mineral
  • Posted on
Magnesium: The Immune System's Super Mineral
Magnesium (Mg2+) is required for homeostasis and regulation of the immune system. Chronic magnesium deficiency leads to enhanced baseline inflammation associated with oxidative stress, which can lead to temporary and long term immune dysfunction. The lower the magnesium status, the more hypersensitive and primed for inflammation the immune system becomes.
Recover From Feet Stress With Magnesium
  • Posted on
Recover From Feet Stress With Magnesium
All stress causes excessive loss of magnesium via urine, but we tend to feel feet stress more due to their extensive enervation. Feet are very sensitive parts of our body! The lower the magnesium in cells the more likely feet stress can cause oedema, referred pain, headaches, migraines, sleep problems and anxiety – as well as cramps, muscle twitches, and restless legs.
How Does Magnesium Get in Via Skin?
  • Posted on
How Does Magnesium Get in Via Skin?
We can use the skin to deliver large amounts of magnesium very safely and effectively in order to avoid crisis and maintain optimum magnesium status.  The skin, being the largest organ of the body and part of the integumentary system (skin, hair, nails, bones, teeth), can act as a reservoir to store magnesium where the body may draw from it what it needs in a self-regulating manner. 
How Does Magnesium Alleviate Peripheral Neuropathy?
  • Posted on
How Does Magnesium Alleviate Peripheral Neuropathy?
As neuropathic pain is strongly correlated with magnesium deficiency and the associated hyper-inflammatory state, researchers have discovered that supplementary magnesium can directly affect the nerve recovery process to alleviate peripheral neuropathy.
Calming Down Eczema, Psoriasis and Dermatitis
  • Posted on
Calming Down Eczema, Psoriasis and Dermatitis
Irritating skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis can become very debilitating for some people, with inflamed itchy skin tormenting them year after year.  If you are in this category and have been shunted from pillar to post trying a multitude of creams, ointments and pills without success, then you may be very interested in some nutritional solutions that work.  The health of the skin is a window to what is happening on the inside of the body, and is just as dependent on gut health, as it is on the care of skin. Optimal results occur when you can work both ends towards the middle.
Magnesium Bath Benefits
  • Posted on
Magnesium Bath Benefits
A magnesium bath using epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) is better than nothing, but over time the sulphate strips out too much oil from the skin, leaving it feeling dry and itchy (like a detergent does). Magnesium sulphate also only has 9% elemental magnesium, but our magnesium chloride flakes have 15-16%. Magnesium chloride is also kinder to skin.  Overall, magnesium chloride is more effective and offers better value.
Overcome Fatigue and Burnout: Recharge Your Electrical System
  • Posted on
Overcome Fatigue and Burnout: Recharge Your Electrical System
As magnesium is an essential component of the electrical nervous system, it’s like running out of spark plugs so there is nothing to ignite the engine to burn the fuel and perform tasks. It’s like unplugging your battery power.  If you don’t have enough electrical ‘juice’ running through your system, it will slow down accordingly.
Magnesium Tablets VS Transdermal Magnesium
  • Posted on
Magnesium Tablets VS Transdermal Magnesium
Magnesium tablets and oral supplements may not be able to deliver the magnesium to your cells that you really need. Most people don’t realise how hard they are to digest and absorb, and that most of the magnesium ends up going down the toilet. Our nutritional needs are increasing, as can be seen by the increase in magnesium deficiency symptoms. This is because of depletion in the food supply, drug interactions and chemical exposures, as well as loss of magnesium due to stressful conditions, via perspiration or urination (hypermagnesuria). 
Long Covid, Post Viral and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – A Magnesium Deficiency Problem?
  • Posted on
Long Covid, Post Viral and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – A Magnesium Deficiency Problem?
Long Covid seems to present with stronger, more acute inflammatory symptoms. It commonly affects the lungs, brain, heart, gastro-intestinal system, and the kidneys. Patients can experience hair loss, fatigue, muscular weakness, joint pain (arthralgia), followed by dyspnea (labored breathing) or cough, and chest pain and palpitation. Neurological symptoms also occur frequently, such as headache, sleep disorders, anxiety and depression, and cognitive disturbances including lack of concentration or ‘brain fog’.
Magnesium Calms Hyperactivity in Children
  • Posted on
Magnesium Calms Hyperactivity in Children
If children are sugar sensitive they can become hyperactive with only small amounts of sugar. That gives you another clue as to possible magnesium deficiency because as magnesium becomes more deficient in the body, sugar sensitivity increases.  In contrast, as magnesium stores go higher, it dampens down the sugar sensitivity and hyperactivity. This relationship has a see-saw effect.
Immune System Boost with Lemon Peel
  • Posted on
Immune System Boost with Lemon Peel
Lemon is an important medicinal plant of the family Rutaceae. Studies have found lemon peel is full of nutrients including Vitamin C, potassium, calcium, magnesium and pectin. Pectin is a soluble fibre which is great for gut health, weight loss and the cardiovascular system.  It brings more hydration to the bowel, which supports colon health and the microbiome. Lemon peel may even have several anti-cancer properties because it works to detox and neutralise acidic waste products and free radicals, which supports pH balance.
How to Stop the Bloating of Water Retention
  • Posted on
How to Stop the Bloating of Water Retention
Kidney (renal) disease can also cause magnesium deficiency as the tubules become stiffer with ageing and don’t recycle magnesium as well as they used to. If your kidneys lose too many alkalising minerals, it gets harder to control pH balance and the acids take over.
Managing Neuropathic Pain with Magnesium
  • Posted on
Managing Neuropathic Pain with Magnesium
Neuropathic pain is the type of pain you feel if your nervous system has been damaged or isn’t working correctly. The pain comes from the various levels of the nervous system, which include the peripheral nerves, the spinal cord and the brain. People often describe it as a shooting or burning pain, but it can also be felt as tingling or numbness. Neuropathic pain sometimes goes away on its own, but often it’s a chronic condition that persists, particularly in the senior years when arthritis sets in, or after injuries. For some people, it can be severe and unrelenting and for others, it comes and goes like a phantom. What can you do to allevaite the symptoms naturally?
Magnesium, Stress Hormones and Heart Disease
  • Posted on
Magnesium, Stress Hormones and Heart Disease
Hormones greatly influence our growth and development, health, behaviours, metabolism, sex life and fertility. Pretty well everything we do and experience in life is governed by the chemical messages of hormones. As we get into our more mature and senior years, or are young but chronically stressed, our energy and hormone production can become out of balance, acidic, oxygen-deprived and dehydrated.  In this article I will focus on magnesium's effect on catecholamines (stress hormones), including cortisol, adrenaline and aldosterone, which are produced by the adrenal glands and directly affect the cardiovascular system.
Oxytocin - the Life-Saving Love Hormone
  • Posted on
Oxytocin - the Life-Saving Love Hormone
One hormone of note is the neurotransmitter oxytocin, which is a happy 'feel-good' hormone with similar pain-relieving properties to endorphins (opiate chemicals). It is released in the body when we interact with others in a loving and caring way. An oxytocin deficiency is also associated with stress sensitivity, anxiety and depression, lack of motivation and a dark outlook on life.  You need enough magnesium to make oxytocin in the body.
Defend Your Heart Against Spike Proteins
  • Posted on
Defend Your Heart Against Spike Proteins
Chronic or severe stress is a known risk factor for metabolic syndrome, diabetes, obesity and heart disease, because stress is the biggest contributor to magnesium loss and deficiency.  Magnesium deficiency leads to metabolic syndrome, which progresses to diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
What has Osteoporosis Got to do With Calcium and Magnesium?
  • Posted on
What has Osteoporosis Got to do With Calcium and Magnesium?
Many people have become obsessed with the notion that lack of calcium causes osteoporosis.  Yes, calcium and osteoporosis are related, however the bones are made up of a myriad of different minerals that come together to make healthy and strong bones.  We have been collectively 'taught' by dairy industry advertising since last century that calcium is the mineral that prevents osteoporosis.  This is simply not true.  What bones need is good balance of minerals , with the presence of calcium in the right proportion. In fact, if you overdose on calcium you can create serious complications and side effects - namely the suppression of magnesium.
Are You Overdosing on the Fluoride 'Neurotoxin' in Tap Water?
  • Posted on
Are You Overdosing on the Fluoride 'Neurotoxin' in Tap Water?
Many people mistakenly think of fluoride as a mineral, and many a politician promoting fluoridation has referred to it as, “the magic mineral.” However, this is not true. Fluorine in its pure form is a gas which is the most toxic of four main halogens; chlorine, bromine and iodine. Fluorine happens to be the most tightly binding element on the periodic table, so it is mostly found as a compound clinging to something else. Fluoride binds up magnesium, and so steals it from your body. The symptoms of fluoride toxicity are the same as magnesium deficiency.
Magnesium Massage Supercharges Health Benefits
  • Posted on
Magnesium Massage Supercharges Health Benefits
Both magnesium and massage therapy have important health benefits for blood circulation, waste clearance and muscle recovery, as well as alleviation of anxiety and stress. Magnesium massage supercharges health benefits by promoting pain relief, stress relief, faster recovery from injury, bolstering the immune system, and prevention of premature ageing. 
Blood Clot (Thrombosis) Risk Increases With Inflammation
  • Posted on
Blood Clot (Thrombosis) Risk Increases With Inflammation
Clotting disorders are more prevalent in those with cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetic acidosis.  These metabolic issues are also strongly associated with chronic magnesium deficiency. 
Why You Cannot Afford to Have Toxic Metals Block Magnesium
  • Posted on
Why You Cannot Afford to Have Toxic Metals Block Magnesium
Did you know heavy metals disrupt your body’s mineral balance causing many negative side effects? People who are chronically ill may not realise that it can be the harmful accumulated toxic metals in their tissue cells that are a big part of their problem..
Magnesium Deficiency in Dogs is the Number 1 Cause of Muscle Spasms
  • Posted on
Magnesium Deficiency in Dogs is the Number 1 Cause of Muscle Spasms
It is now well-known that dogs need all the essential vitamins and minerals that humans do. One of these key nutrients is magnesium because it’s needed for energy production at the cellular level. Magnesium deficiency in dogs can lead to a diverse set of symptoms. Every time your pet moves a muscle, experiences a heartbeat or has a thought, magnesium is needed to help them achieve this.
Fasting for Detox, Weight Loss and Energy
  • Posted on
Fasting for Detox, Weight Loss and Energy
Increasing your magnesium levels also supercharges the cleansing process. This is because magnesium supports detoxification by energising the detox enzymes such as glutathione and superoxide dismutase. These are powerful antioxidants, which neutralise free radicals and help to restore pH balance and energy production. This will give your metabolism a great boost - especially if you have been feeling sluggish and foggy, if the weight is piling on when it shouldn't be, or if you are battling with IBS and debilitating gut issues.
Pain Relief With the Most Important Mineral
  • Posted on
Pain Relief With the Most Important Mineral
Without the relaxation and antioxidant support of magnesium, the stress and tension increases acidity, weakens the immune system and microbiome balance, which promotes inflammation and headache.  These symptoms are common during influenza or coronavirus infections because they increase the stress and toxic load, thereby depleting more magnesium.
The Power of Magnesium in Water
  • Posted on
The Power of Magnesium in Water
When the body is dehydrated it can also cause oedema, a pooling of fluids around the ankles or puffiness around the eyes.   The reason for fluid retention is usually because the body cannot properly eliminate wastes when there is not enough free water flowing through the system. In order to protect the vital organs the body holds back and pools water in regions where the toxicity needs to be diluted most (eg. sites of inflammation or acidity). Waste products can also pool up and cause swelling in the lymph system - the body's protein waste disposal system. This is another case where toxic residues need to be diluted with more water.
Could Anxiety be Caused by a Toxic Gut Microbiome?
  • Posted on
Could Anxiety be Caused by a Toxic Gut Microbiome?
The microbial balance of our gut directly influences our Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis, the production of hormones and neurotransmitters, and our immune system's regulation. Stress is very debilitating and causes depletion of magnesium because of excessive magnesium loss via the kidneys.  Magnesium deficiency causes energy depletion and acidosis, which triggers inflammatory states, resulting in moods swings, hormone imbalance, mental illnesses, fatigue, irritability, pain symptoms, and a weaker immune system. Magnesium deficiency also directly affects the beneficial bacteria, which thus leads to depressive-like behaviours.
The Most Important Mineral When You're Pregnant or Breastfeeding
  • Posted on
The Most Important Mineral When You're Pregnant or Breastfeeding
Magnesium is an essential mineral which performs some very important functions when you're pregnant. It’s used to maintain healthy blood sugar levels in the body (see study) and it helps build healthy teeth and bones by working in partnership with calcium. It also regulates cholesterol and irregular heartbeat.
Lose Weight and Improve Brain… by Sleeping
  • Posted on
Lose Weight and Improve Brain… by Sleeping
Magnesium deficiency or antagonism (blockage) can cause any one of these steps to malfunction, causing overdose of stress hormones and inability to relax enough to sleep deeply.
What is a Toxic Magnesium Dose?
  • Posted on
What is a Toxic Magnesium Dose?
It's almost impossible for you to get a toxic magnesium dose or overdose, unless magnesium is given at high dose intravenously, where there is no magnesium deficiency or the person has kidney problems and can’t excrete excess salts. 
What are the Dangers of Exercise Addiction?
  • Posted on
What are the Dangers of Exercise Addiction?
We can become addicted to more than just pharmaceutical drugs or alcohol.  Researchers are now noticing symptoms of addiction also to excessive exercise.  Does excessive exercise or over-training have negative side effects?  Could it harm health and cause premature ageing?  The research indicates yes, mainly because of increasing magnesium deficiency.
Is 'Overtraining Syndrome' Harming Your Health?
  • Posted on
Is 'Overtraining Syndrome' Harming Your Health?
Magnesium deficiency weakens performance, stamina and increases risk of injury When you push your muscles hard your brain is telling your body to ‘squeeze’ and act. Adrenalin and cortisol increase, and that helps push the calcium into the calcium channels of the muscle fibre cells, which makes them contract. Magnesium is temporarily pushed out of these channels during the contractions. When we relax, calcium comes out and magnesium moves back into the channels to relax the muscles again. 
Vitiligo and Hashimotos (Autoimmune) Hypothyroidism
  • Posted on
Vitiligo and Hashimotos (Autoimmune) Hypothyroidism
I was over 50 when menopause set in, accompanied by an autoimmune disorder called Hashimotos Hypothyroidism, severe heart arrhythmia, and the emerging white patches on my skin. This form of autoimmune hypothyroidism is thought to be prevalent in about 5% of the world’s population, however I believe the numbers are growing as people become more chemically sensitive to pollutants that stress the thyroid.
Immune System Defence with Vitamin C and Magnesium
  • Posted on
Immune System Defence with Vitamin C and Magnesium
The haemoglobin of red blood cells requires magnesium to help it take up oxygen from lungs and deliver that oxygen to tissue cells in other parts of the body. Researchers believe this is because, as part of the ATP energy currency, magnesium is vital to membrane integrity of red blood cells. The heme protein (containing iron) in these cells needs to ‘attract’ oxygen molecules from lung sacs as blood passes by. The oxygen molecules need to pass through the red blood cell (RBC) membrane – to get ‘onboard’ the train so to speak.
Drought, Dehydration and Stress
  • Posted on
Drought, Dehydration and Stress
Note that dehydrated states can cause feelings of anxiety where we just don’t know the reason for our fear or agitation, but the feeling persists.  Re-hydrating the body with ample water and magnesium can calm down these sensations because magnesium has a dampening effect on adrenaline and cortisol.  When the brain has ample water and magnesium we can think more clearly and make better decisions.  This is especially important during crises because our magnesium reserves can become dangerously low.
Protect Against Cardiovascular Disease With Magnesium
  • Posted on
Protect Against Cardiovascular Disease With Magnesium
Magnesium is so important to cardiovascular function, its scarcity being correlated with the development of cardiovascular disease, that it has become the focus of intense scientific study and review over recent years.  A meta-analysis review of epidemiological studies published in 2017 concluded that magnesium intake is associated with lower risk of major cardiovascular risk factors such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes and hypertension, as well as incidence of stroke and total cardiovascular disease.  Higher levels of circulating magnesium are also associated with lower risk of heart disease, mainly ischemic and coronary heart disease.
Calm Cramps and Restless Legs Fast!
  • Posted on
Calm Cramps and Restless Legs Fast!
You may not realise it, but cramps and restless legs are quite easy to fix and you can do it without drugs.  All you need is enough magnesium (and water) to get to where it is needed in the muscles for recovery and performance.
Can Magnesium Relieve Anxiety and Depression?
  • Posted on
Can Magnesium Relieve Anxiety and Depression?
As magnesium drops lower from excessive stress, there is less control over adrenaline and cortisol release, so that these catecholamines (stress hormones) escalate and chronically flood the system in a fight or flight (sympathetic) mode.  We can get stuck in that mode, unable to relax and move back to rest and recover grazing (parasympathetic) mode.  The stress hormones prompt glutamine to overstimulate neurons causing rapid and incessant calcium firing.  Without enough magnesium to control the calcium and switch off the catecholamine release, we can’t relax.
The Connection Between Magnesium and Ageing
  • Posted on
The Connection Between Magnesium and Ageing
It’s been coined the master mineral and deemed as critical as water. But how exactly does it correlate to the process of ageing? The ways are numerous, but we’ll highlight a few of our standouts. From menopause to migraines, bone health to beautiful skin, you’ll be eager to lather up in magnesium cream by the time you’ve finished reading this. And remember, even if you’ve had a blood test that did not show up a deficiency in magnesium, only a small portion of magnesium stores actually sit in the blood. There are other areas more likely to be depleted that won’t be detected so simply.
Magnesium Kids are Healthier
  • Posted on
Magnesium Kids are Healthier
Optimal nutrition for our children means they will have the best opportunity to realise their fullest genetic potential to be well balanced, healthy and happy into adulthood.  We all want our children to be ‘upgrades’ from ourselves. We want to pass on our seeds to future generations, but what about the quality of those seeds when magnesium is low? Can ‘magnesium kids’ offer a better hope for optimal health over a lifetime?
Collagen and Elastin Production for Skin, Muscle and Bone
  • Posted on
Collagen and Elastin Production for Skin, Muscle and Bone
Healthy cells need lipid protection, magnesium charge and ample hydration to support mitochondrial energy metabolism of Mg-ATP ‘batteries’.  This energy is then used to assemble amino acids into the various proteins we need to build collagen structures.  It is also used to manufacture hormones, enzymes, neurotransmitters and other chemical messengers.
Glyphosate: a Toxin Round Up That Steals Energy
  • Posted on
Glyphosate: a Toxin Round Up That Steals Energy
The review goes on to explain glyphosate’s mechanism of toxic action. Firstly, it is a strong chelating agent, creating complexes that immobilize the mineral micronutrients of the soil, such as magnesium, calcium, iron, manganese, nickel and zinc, making them unavailable to plants. This means that the food supply is robbed of vital mineral nutrients. We eat the food, it fills a void, but it doesn’t supply valuable nutrition. The end result is that we keep eating more and more empty carbs until obesity and other metabolic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, senile dementia, inflammatory bowel disease, renal failure, thyroid or liver cancer develop.
Magnesium Soothes Pain and Inflammation
  • Posted on
Magnesium Soothes Pain and Inflammation
Inflammation and pain can be part of a healing crisis, but if your magnesium status is healthy you will heal and recover relatively quickly because the metabolism can perform the way it should. The lower the cellular magnesium levels get however, the slower it becomes to recover from the stresses and the more painful and amplified are the symptoms.
Menopause - No Big Deal Thanks to Magnesium
  • Posted on
Menopause - No Big Deal Thanks to Magnesium
Premature ageing is usually marked by excessive weight gain (especially adipose tissue around the middle), exaggerated dehydration, hypercalcemia, joint stiffening, acidosis and inflammation.  In other words, getting overweight, dry and stiff with creaky and brittle bones before our time. Skin can also get very dry and saggy looking. As we need magnesium to synthesise collagen proteins and elastin fibres, which are the structures that hold us together as skin, bone, ligaments, sinew, smooth muscle walls in arteries etc, low magnesium means those structures lose their integrity. [6]  Thus magnesium helps us to stay more hydrated, flexible and stretchy longer!
Magnesium and the Gut Microbiome
  • Posted on
Magnesium and the Gut Microbiome
Did you know that our gut microbiome needs a good supply of magnesium for energy to do all their jobs properly? Beneficial gut bacteria are extremely important to good health.  Did you know that we rely on our gut microbiome more than our own cells and enzymes for digestion of food and nutrient absorption?  If digestion is compromised we can be short-changed on magnesium uptake. Low magnesium can lead to feelings of depression, mood disorders, fatigue, restless and disturbed sleep, foggy brain, anxiety and much more.  See the STUDY: "Dietary magnesium deficiency alters gut microbiota and leads to depressive-like behaviour."
Transdermal Magnesium - Myth or Reality?
  • Posted on
Transdermal Magnesium - Myth or Reality?
Transdermal magnesium absorption means that magnesium ions (electrolytes) can pass into the epidermis (outer layer) of the skin, which acts as a nutritional reservoir until the tiny capillaries of the dermis underneath can absorb nutrients as required. From this skin reservoir the body may also absorb the vitamin D it made when you got some sunshine on your skin.
Magnesium Cream Relieves Keratosis - 'Chicken Skin'
  • Posted on
Magnesium Cream Relieves Keratosis - 'Chicken Skin'
Keratosis can also develop concurrently with inflammatory states such as eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, allergies and asthma.  If the inflammation is adequately quelled, the skin issues also tend to dissipate.  Magnesium is a powerful anti-inflammatory. Many studies since last century have confirmed that in low-magnesium states we are more likely to develop inflammatory conditions. Where those inflammatory conditions manifest depends largely on genetics and environmental factors.  Some people can experience skin problems or mood swings and depression, while others develop hardening of the arteries or sugar-sensitivity (metabolic syndrome) and unstable energy fluctuations.   Multiple symptoms can occur and are usually a sign of magnesium deficiency.
Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) versus magnesium chloride: what's the difference?
  • Posted on
Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) versus magnesium chloride: what's the difference?
When you purchase epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) from the supermarket however, it is usually not one harvested from ocean water, but manufactured in a factory as an isolate which is magnesium sulfate. It does not contain the other sea trace minerals that would be present in dehydrated sea salt.  Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) is very cheap and in the event you can’t get hold of anything else, it can certainly save your life.
Magnesium – Number 1 Mineral for Health and Longevity
  • Posted on
Magnesium – Number 1 Mineral for Health and Longevity
Magnesium is the one mineral we lose most of under stressful conditions and will directly affect our longevity if we don’t have enough of it.  It’s also the mineral we need a lot of in order to relax and recover from stress.  Magnesium is used by mitochondria to make ATP (adenosine triphosphate), our cellular energy currency.   It is therefore absolutely essential to all electrical function in the body.  Every message sent by our nervous system, every detoxification event, every action of our immune system and all building of new cells relies on magnesium to give it power.