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A poisonous cocktail of glyphosate , heavy metals and fluoride all work to block the activity of magnesium and other essential trace elements.
As magnesium in particular is the essential electrolyte involved in mitochondrial metabolism of ATP, protein synthesis and enzyme activity, its deficiency is likely to be at the very root of this environmental toxic assault. Starved of energy, cells die. Over-exposure to glyphosate, heavy metals and fluoride may turn out to be the worst environmental disaster in human history contributing to the exponential rise of degenerative diseases like diabetes, renal failure, heart disease, cancer, auto-immune disorders, autism spectrum disorder, alzheimers, parkinsons, dementia and cancer.
How Did This Get so Bad?
In March 2015 the Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France, a department of the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate (the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup) as ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’. The evidence that glyphosate caused cancer in animals was considered ‘sufficient’ and the evidence concerning the genotoxicity of the product (ability to damage DNA) was considered ‘strong’. Various scientific studies have also shown the ability of glyphosate to induce genetic damage, oxidative stress in cells and damage to liver by inhibiting metabolic processes. [1]
Fast forward three years: In a ground-breaking decision on August 10, 2018, a court in California ordered Monsanto to pay US$289 million in damages to Dewayne Johnson, a school grounds keeper who had alleged Monsanto's glyphosate-based weed-killers, including Roundup, caused his cancer.
Lawyers are now scrambling to take advantage of this precedent to represent a large cohort of further damages claims. Bayer’s shares had plummeted in value following the announcement, as they had recently purchased Monsanto for a reported 63 billion dollars. Bayer may however not be so concerned about Monsanto’s legal woes, as they apparently intend to ditch the name Monsanto in the not-to-distant future. The acquisition of Monsanto’s assets will leave Bayer with a new global market dominance in control of nearly one third of the combined world market for seeds and pesticides.
That’s not all! Bayer also happens to have an extensive pharmaceutical division. Its parent company had a long history in the manufacture of drugs, including Aspirin and Heroin, in the early part of last century. They were also involved in the chemical experimentation on prisoners of war in Nazi Germany.
Modern Bayer’s current pharmaceuticals division now focuses on prescription products including cardiology and women’s health care products, as well as cancer treatments. Its non-prescription range includes products for dermatology, nutrition, digestive health and cardiovascular prevention. These products are attempting to deal with exactly the issues and symptoms that can result from chronic glyphosate exposure and accumulation. One has to wonder if this cosy revolving-door business model came about by chance or by design…
What Happened to the Food?
The original promise of genetically modified organism (GMO) technology was that use of toxic chemicals would be reduced. However just the opposite has happened. For example, in 2002, the use of glyphosates on GMO soybean increased by 21%; and in 2011 farmers who cultivated corn, soya and cotton GMP crops used 24% more glyphosate than those who grew the same, but non-GMP varieties. [1]
In addition to spraying on GMP crops, glyphosate is also extensively used as a desiccating agent before harvest of non-GMO crops such as wheat, rye, barley, lentils, citrus and sweet potatoes to drench and dry down the crop, making the harvest easier. Our agricultural animals are also fed a substantial amount of these glyphosate-tainted crops. More studies need to be done to measure residues in meats. Once glyphosate was introduced into water and staple crops, it became ubiquitous in the food supply over the years as an invisible and sinister cellular intruder.
Environmental Working Group (EWG) found in their lab tests that 31 of 45 samples of conventionally grown oats had 160 ppb or more of glyphosate, thereby exceeding EWG’s health risk benchmark. Some organic products even had traces of glyphosate, but below the limits. This contamination of organic crops is because glyphosate residues can drift in wind, as well as be carried by birds and bees.
A glyphosate review published by an Italian University in March 2018 summarised the evidence as, “Glyphosate is the most sprayed and distributed chemical substance in human history [1-7]. Therefore, over the years of its use a global contamination has occurred, which has not only affected the soil, but also the surface and underground waters, the atmosphere and even food and objects of common use such as diapers, medical gauze and absorbents for female intimate hygiene – all materials in which glyphosate has been found in significant quantities [8].” [1]
Yes, you heard right girls. That means your tampons and menstrual pads. Is nothing sacred?
To add insult to injury, glyphosate is made more toxic within the Roundup formula due to adjuvants that help it penetrate plant membranes – which also end up penetrating human membranes and barriers. We can breathe it in, we can absorb it through the skin and we can consume it via food supply.
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.
Celiac Disease, Gluten Intolerance and the Shikimate Pathway
Celiac disease and gluten intolerance is characterised by symptoms of nausea, diarrhoea, skin rashes, macrocytic anaemia and depression. In their ground-breaking research into celiac disease and gluten intolerance, scientists Anthony Samsel and Stephanie Seneff reported an associated pathology of inflammatory response in the upper small intestine, leading to a flattening of the microvilli, impairing their ability and important role of absorbing nutrients. Furthermore, undiagnosed celiac disease is associated with a 4-fold increased risk of death, mostly due to increased cancer risk. [2]
In Monsanto’s own studies, soybeans showed a seven-fold increase of trypsin inhibitor which, if eaten, would give a patient gas and bloating. Gut dysbiosis and gluten intolerance are notably common bio-markers in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and other mental health issues. [3] Seneff also published a graph linking the incidence of autism growing in line with growth in the use of glyphosate.
The severity of glyphosate damage to living organisms is expressed via its disruption and inhibition of the Shikimate enzyme pathway in bacteria and plants – a pathway human cells (apparently) don’t have. It was promoted by Monsanto that this was the reason humans would be immune to the toxic effects of Glyphosate. However it turns out that nothing could be further from the truth.
Humans depend on beneficial bacteria (which respire using the Shikimate enzyme pathway) for digestion and absorption of nutrients, synthesis of vitamins (including B12), detoxifying harmful chemicals, improving intestinal permeability and increasing the defences of the immune system. If this system is choked via blocking of respiration and metabolism, the bacteria die and the gut can become victim to overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria that are more resilient to the effects of glyphosate.
Toxic Bacteria Can Influence Central Nervous System, Cardiovascular System, Lungs, Kidney and Liver
Samsel and Seneff have documented evidence of pathogenic overgrowth and intestinal infections resulting from glyphosate exposure in poultry, cattle and swine. They note that, “Salmonella and Clostridium are highly resistant to glyphosate, whereas Enterococcus, Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus are especially susceptible.”[2] A similar gut dysbiosis occurs on those with Celiac disease and leaky gut because pathogenic bacteria produce acidic by-products which eat holes into the intestinal lining.
If the gut lining is compromised, toxins can penetrate the interior of the body, blood circulation and brain, causing inflammatory responses. A particularly nasty metabolite is called p-Cresol; “produced via anaerobic metabolism of tyrosine by pathogenic bacteria such as Clostridium difficile (D’Ari and Barker, 1985). It is a highly toxic carcinogen, which causes adverse effects on the central nervous system, the cardiovascular system, lungs, kidney and liver (Kelly et al, 1994).” [2]
ATP Energy Production Suffocated by Glyphosate
From the chloroplasts in plants that photosynthesise and turn sunlight into starches (stored energy) to the mitochondria of human cells that convert that stored energy into electrical energy, these pathways of ATP energy metabolism are reliant on enzyme activity. As enzymes are proteins and protein synthesis relies on availability of magnesium, enzyme activity requires magnesium. Glyphosate binds up and blocks the activity of magnesium.
“Most cellular ATP is utilized in protein synthesis via tRNA aminoacylation and GTP regeneration. Magnesium (Mg2+), the most common divalent cation in living cells, plays crucial roles in protein synthesis by maintaining the structure of ribosomes, participating in the biochemistry of translation initiation and functioning as a counter-ion for ATP.”[4]
Plant chloroplasts contain chlorophyll – the green pigment that absorbs sunlight. The chlorophyll molecule has magnesium at its centre because magnesium is intimately involved in conductivity of electrons (electrical energy flow). In the process of photosynthesis (photophosphorylation), the energy of sunlight is used to create a high-energy electron donor and an electron acceptor. This moves electrons along an Electron Transport Chain (ETC) using water and CO2, which then creates an attractive force via a proton gradient (pump) across a membrane, resulting in energy and oxygen by-products. The energy surplus is converted to starches.
The use of an electron transport chain to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in plant mitochondria, like the mitochondria of most other eukaryotes, also produces reactive oxygen species (ROS), which is an oxidant (acidic by-product and electron stealer). Oxidants need to be neutralised by anti-oxidants (electron donors) to restore pH balance, otherwise the acids can cause cell damage. Glyphosate is an electron-stealer and promoter of acidosis and oxygen starvation (hypoxia).
Gomes et al in 2016 found in their study, “In addition to interfering with the shikimate pathway, glyphosate can induce oxidative stress in plants through H2O2 formation by targeting the mitochondrial Electron Transport Chain, which would explain its observed effects on non-target organisms.” [5]
Bacteria and mitochondria also use cytochromes containing heme protein (red pigment from iron) to shunt electrons in a variety of Electron Transport Chain configurations for respiration. Heme has an affinity for oxygen binding and transport. To produce energy, cytochromes shunt electrons along the chain to the oxygen (which was a by-product from plant respiration) and end up with water and CO2.
The most energy is produced when oxygen is available, however in anaerobic environments, different electron acceptors are used including nitrate, nitrite, ferric iron, sulphate, carbon dioxide, and small organic molecules such as fumarate.
ATP Energy Metabolism Needs Magnesium
Proton pumps are the heart of the electron transport process. They produce the transmembrane electrochemical gradient that enables ATP Synthase to synthesize ATP (electrical energy currency). ATP Synthase is an enzyme requiring magnesium support. In fact, if not enough magnesium is available, ATP production is limited in order to compensate and re-balance with the amount of available magnesium in cell stores. [4]
Animal cell and mitochondrial membranes are made up of a phospholipid bilayer containing the lipid soluble Ubiquinone (also called CoQ 10 enzyme) which helps move electrons and protons across the membrane to produce energy (ATP). Magnesium is needed to support CoQ10 enzyme activity, as well as by mitochondria in the making of ATP. Without enough magnesium, ATP production slows because ATP without magnesium can become toxic.
The mitochondria are particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress. They need a lot of antioxidant support in order to neutralise the acids of metabolism by-products such as Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). Heavy metals and xenobiotic chemicals like glyphosate can interfere and inhibit the anti-oxidant process so that pH and energy metabolism of the cell drops, causing degeneration. Note that magnesium can act directly as an antioxidant (electron donor), as well as to support protein synthesis and enzyme activity as part of mitochondrial ATP energy production.
To help defend cells and their mitochondria it is not only important to avoid exposures to these chemical disruptors, but also to ensure absorption of higher levels of magnesium and antioxidants through diet and lifestyle. This supports both energy production and detoxification systems.
According to Turrens et al, “The delicate balance between antioxidant defences and ROS production may be disrupted by either deficient antioxidant defences, inhibition of electron flow or exposure to xenobiotics. This imbalance appears as a common denominator in various pathological processes in which the resulting oxidative insult causes tissue damage and, eventually, cell death.” [6]
Important detoxification enzymes are disrupted by Glyphosate, such as Glutathione and CYP P450. Problems with the activity of these enzymes are strongly associated with autism spectrum disorders, mental illness, auto-immune disorders, celiac disease, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. All of these conditions have in common heightened inflammatory responses, accumulation of waste products and acidosis leading to cell energy starvation and dysfunctional detoxification systems, blocked by heavy metals like aluminium together with chemicals like glyphosate and fluoride.
Glutathione Detoxification Enzyme for pH Balance – Hindered by Glyphosate and Heavy Metals
Glutathione (GSH) is a powerful antioxidant fat-soluble enzyme used by the liver in detoxification to neutralise free radicals and prevent cellular damage. The three sulphur-containing amino acids - glutamine, glycine and cysteine - used by the body to make glutathione, are also a vulnerable target for heavy metals. When the body is overloaded with toxic metals there are not enough of the sulphur-containing amino acids available to make glutathione. In other words, the toxic metals block the body’s ability to detoxify.
Magnesium is required to produce glutathione, as glutathione is a protein. Glutathione is found in every cell, but more commonly in liver cells, as the liver is the main detoxification organ and has to do most of the heavy lifting.
GSH is thought to participate in the detoxification of acidic metabolism by-products, as well as inflammatory acidic by-products such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), including those produced by the action of another detoxification enzyme - cytochrome P-450.
It is shown that GSH transferase B inhibits lipid peroxidation (ie, acidification). GSH is important for pH balance and neutralisation of acids in order to maintain our ‘good’ cholesterol – HDL (high density lipoprotein).
As the brain is largely composed of cholesterol fats it also needs all the help it can get to detoxify. Scientists have found that sulphur amino acid deficiency, which are the precursors to production of glutathione enzyme, depresses the brain glutathione level. [7] This makes it harder for the brain to eliminate waste products and chemical toxins.
CYP P450 Detoxification Enzyme for Elimination of Toxins – Suppressed by Glyphosate
Glyphosate inhibits cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP), which are involved with cleaning up and eliminating environmental toxins, activating vitamin D3, catabolizing vitamins and maintaining bile-acid production for digestion and sulphate supplies to the gut.
Cytochrome P450 proteins, named for the absorption band at 450 nm of their carbon-monoxide-bound form, are one of the largest superfamilies of enzyme proteins. The P450 genes (also called CYP) are found in the genomes of virtually all organisms, but their number has exploded in plants.[8]
They are involved in energy metabolism and used in plants and humans against chemical assault and contribute to vital processes such as carbon source assimilation, biosynthesis of hormones and structural components of living organisms, as well as carcinogenesis and degradation and elimination of xenobiotics (ie, toxins).
Sleep Disorder, Anaemia and Brain Hypoxia Caused by Glyphosate
According to Seneff et al, the combination of aluminium and glyphosate, the main active ingredients in Roundup, has a synergistically more virulent toxic effect on the brain and pineal gland. This interferes with the production of tryptophan and subsequently melatonin, a powerful brain antioxidant produced during deep sleep.
“Glyphosate chelates aluminum, allowing ingested aluminum to bypass the gut barrier. This leads to anemia-induced hypoxia, promoting neurotoxicity and damaging the pineal gland. Both glyphosate and aluminum disrupt cytochrome P450 enzymes, which are involved in melatonin metabolism. Furthermore, melatonin is derived from tryptophan, whose synthesis in plants and microbes is blocked by glyphosate.” [9]
Toxic Synergy of Fluoride, Heavy Metals and Glyphosate
Fluoride also has an affinity for heavy metals including aluminium. In fact the fluoridated water flowing through pipes corrodes and can pick up aluminium and other metals from fittings during its transit to your kitchen tap. Not only that, but the fluoride chemicals commonly used in water fluoridation are derived from industrial chimney wastes and contain aluminium, lead, mercury and other heavy metals.
The phosphate fertilizer industry is the biggest producer of fluoride wastes used in water fluoridation, as fluoride is a major component in phosphate rock that is mined. Therefore, the phosphate fertilizers themselves contain a significant amount of fluoride, which can be taken up by plants from soils. Black tea is particularly good at taking up fluoride in the leaves. Many researchers have speculated that the combination of aluminium and fluoride has led to an epidemic in brain disorders including Alzheimers, Parkinsons and Dementia.
Fluoride blocks and binds up magnesium, literally stealing it from your cells. Fluoride toxicity mimics magnesium deficiency symptoms – including the development of hypercalcemia where calcium deposits excessively in soft tissue (including arterial lining) and joints. Fluoride is a calcium attractor via its inhibition of magnesium, as magnesium controls the calcium ion channels. Low magnesium means that calcium is free to block your tubes.
Fluoride is a poison and neurotoxin which inhibits cell respiration and enzyme activity – like glyphosate! Reports from China, India, and Iran have found that children in high fluoride areas had significantly lower Intelligence Quotient (IQ) compared to children in low fluoride areas (Seraj 2006; Tang 2008; Trivedi 2007).
Fluoride exposure causes neurochemical and biochemical changes in the brains of laboratory animals (Li 2003; NRC 2006). Fluoride also increases the production of free radicals in the brain (Chouhan 2008; Zhang 2007; Zhang 2008). Studies of rats exposed to fluoride compounds reported distortions of brain cells and neuronal deformations, and neurodegeneration (Bhatnagar 2002; Shivashankara 2002; Varner 2002). These neurobiological effects are associated with developmental delays, behavioural problems, and possibly dementia in late adulthood (NRC 2006).
Both glyphosate and fluoride bind up and inhibit magnesium – thereby inhibiting enzyme activity and cell respiration. If you are drinking fluoridated water or beverages and eating foods tainted with glyphosate it is a very dangerous combination leading to the build-up of a toxic metal cocktail, which stifles energy production, causing degeneration and cell death.
Mineral Ion Imbalance and Liver Damage
According to Juan Tang et al, mineral ion imbalance is involved in the oxidative damage to liver caused by glyphosate exposure.
“These results suggested that glyphosate caused obvious damage to rats' liver and caused various mineral elements content imbalances in various organs of rats. Ion imbalance could weaken antioxidant capacity.” [10]
Magnesium and Chloride – Essential for Shikimate Metabolism
The seven enzymes of the Shikimate metabolic pathway in bacteria, fungi and plants are dependent on magnesium and chloride ions. “Magnesium influences the conformation of the shikimate hydroxyl groups and the position of the side chains of some of the residues of the active site. Chloride seems to influence the affinity of ADP and its position in the active site and the opening length of the LID domain.” [11]
This is supported by another study which demonstrated that magnesium is essential for the gut microbiome and that a magnesium-restricted diet induces anxiety and depressive-like behaviour in humans and rodents. [12]
Supporting the Body to Defend Against Toxic Chemicals
The contamination of our environment and food supply by glyphosate working synergistically with heavy metals like aluminium and chemicals like fluoride, could turn out to be the worst environmental disaster in the history of humanity (that was self-inflicted).
Although we cannot realistically avoid all possible exposures to glyphosate, fluoride and heavy metals, as they are now so ubiquitous in the environment and food supply (unlabelled), we can do our best to avoid GMP crops which are certain to contain glyphosate and we can purchase (or grow) organic foods wherever possible. Make sure to read ingredients of any brand of herbicide if you intend to use one in your garden or lawns because many of them can contain glyphosate.
We can also get a fluoride filter (reverse osmosis or ion-exchange), but make sue to add the electrolytes back into the water to re-mineralise and alkalise. If you have a calcium filter additive then add extra magnesium chloride salts to counteract the calcium, as calcium in oversupply can inhibit magnesium’s work.
Finally, eat fresh foods (preferably organic) and avoid package foods which usually contain chemical preservatives and additives. Over-processing also leads to magnesium loss in the food. Transdermal magnesium can give you a big boost to magnesium levels as it is easier to absorb larger amounts of magnesium via skin compared to taking oral tablets and powders, which are hard to digest and absorb through the gut wall. You can feel a tangible fast result with Magnesium Cream, Magnesium Charge Lotion, Magnesium Oil Spritz and Magnesium Chloride Flakes soaking. RELAX! There is a way to recover... More information is at www.elektramagnesium.com.au
By Sandy Sanderson © 2018
REFERENCES
- Torretta, V., et al., Critical Review of the Effects of Glyphosate Exposure to the Environment and Humans through the Food Supply Chain. Sustainability, 2018. 10(4): p. 950.
2. Samsel, A. and S. Seneff, Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases II: Celiac sprue and gluten intolerance. Interdiscip Toxicol, 2013. 6(4): p. 159-84.
3. Goldani, A.A.S., et al., Biomarkers in Autism. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2014. 5: p. 100.
4. Pontes, M.H., A. Sevostyanova, and E.A. Groisman, When too much ATP is bad for protein synthesis. Journal of molecular biology, 2015. 427(16): p. 2586-2594.
5. Gomes, M.P. and P. Juneau, Oxidative stress in duckweed (Lemna minor L.) induced by glyphosate: Is the mitochondrial electron transport chain a target of this herbicide? Environmental Pollution, 2016. 218: p. 402-409.
6. Turrens, J.F., Mitochondrial formation of reactive oxygen species. The Journal of Physiology, 2003. 552(Pt 2): p. 335-344.
7. Paterson, P.G., et al., Sulfur amino acid deficiency depresses brain glutathione concentration. Nutr Neurosci, 2001. 4(3): p. 213-22.
8. Werck-Reichhart, D. and R. Feyereisen, Cytochromes P450: a success story. Genome Biology, 2000. 1(6): p. reviews3003.1-reviews3003.9.
9. Seneff, S., N. Swanson, and C. Li, Aluminum and Glyphosate Can Synergisti-cally Induce Pineal Gland Pathology: Con-nection to Gut Dysbiosis and Neurological Disease. Vol. 06. 2015. 42-70.
10. Tang, J., et al., Ion Imbalance Is Involved in the Mechanisms of Liver Oxidative Damage in Rats Exposed to Glyphosate. Frontiers in Physiology, 2017. 8: p. 1083.
11. Dias, M.V., et al., Effects of the magnesium and chloride ions and shikimate on the structure of shikimate kinase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Acta Crystallogr Sect F Struct Biol Cryst Commun, 2007. 63(Pt 1): p. 1-6.
12. Winther, G., et al., Dietary magnesium deficiency alters gut microbiota and leads to depressive-like behaviour. Acta Neuropsychiatr, 2015. 27(3): p. 168-76.
By Sandy Sanderson
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Anxiety has become the most common mental health challenge affecting Australians, with 1 in 4 of us experiencing it at some point in our lives. That's over 3 million people dealing with racing thoughts, physical tension, difficulty settling, and sleep disturbances.
There's often an expectation that we should be able to simply "think our way through" anxiety, that it's purely a mental issue we should have control over. But this overlooks a fundamental truth: anxiety doesn't just live in your mind. It lives in your tight shoulders, your shallow breathing, your racing heart, and your tense jaw. It's a whole-body experience.
What if instead of trying to think your way out of anxiety, you learned to work with your body to create an internal environment that allowed the mind to settle? In this article, you’ll learn a simple and practical approach to start supporting yourself this way: an acupressure massage routine using topical magnesium.
Understanding Anxiety From A Chinese Medicine Perspective
In Chinese medicine, we don't separate the mind from the body. They're two sides of the same coin, inseparable aspects of a whole. The quality of your thoughts and mind are profoundly influenced by your physiology and how well your body is functioning. This is why you can't just "think positive" your way out of anxiety. Your body is stuck in a state of imbalance that creates the internal environment for anxiety to thrive.
When I see someone struggling with anxiety in my clinic, there’s several common patterns that come up (individually or in combinations of the following):
● There's often an unsettled, restless quality - like the mind can't settle in the body or find stillness. Thoughts race from one worry to the next without resolution. There may be dream disturbed sleep or frequent wakings at night. This reflects a deeper disturbance in the body's ability to rest and settle.
● Many people are running too hot and revved up - stuck in overdrive with no off switch. The body is constantly in a stress response, even when there's no real threat. It's like having your foot on the accelerator all the time. These people may have trouble falling asleep or waking early, unable to return to sleep. They may not even be aware of this because it’s just become “normal”.
● Others experience the exhaustion of being simultaneously wired AND tired. Chronic stress has depleted their reserves, but the nervous system won't let them truly rest. This can look like burn out or certain forms of chronic fatigue where sleep does not recharge you like it should. You're running on empty but can't stop running.
● Physical tension is almost universal with anxiety. Tight neck and shoulders, clenched jaw, restricted breathing. This tension doesn't just result from anxiety—it actually perpetuates it by restricting healthy circulation through the body.
The solution from a Chinese medicine perspective is to cultivate more stillness, coolness, and grounding in the body. We need to nourish the body's capacity for rest, restoring its natural rhythms. Making sure that we have sufficient magnesium is one way that supports this, and when we combine this with targeted acupressure, we have some powerful ways to help our mental health.
Magnesium's Role In Calming Anxiety
Magnesium levels can play a major role in managing anxiety. Think of magnesium as like a brake pedal for your nervous systems. When you have adequate magnesium reserves, it helps manage the release of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol.
When you're magnesium deficient, you lose that brake pedal. Your body can get stuck in "fight or flight" mode, constantly primed for threats that aren't really there. Without adequate magnesium, calcium floods into your cells unchecked, causing excessive firing of neurons, muscle tension, and the release of more stress hormones. It becomes a vicious cycle: stress depletes your magnesium, and low magnesium makes you more reactive to stress.
To make matters worse, excessive stress hormones also cause dehydration at the cellular level. When calcium floods into cells, it causes water loss, and your body essentially panics when hydration drops too low. This physiological panic can manifest as feelings of anxiety. Magnesium helps to bring the water back into the cells, pushing calcium back out to restore balance and calm.
Unfortunately, magnesium deficiency is incredibly widespread. Our modern diets tend to be magnesium depleted for a variety of reasons, and many people suffer from poor magnesium absorption or increased loss through urine.
Here's where the gut connection becomes crucial: chronic stress damages your gut lining and disrupts your microbiome, impairing your ability to absorb magnesium from food or oral supplements. Many people taking magnesium tablets experience digestive upset or simply don't absorb much at all. It's yet another frustrating cycle - the anxiety that depletes your magnesium also makes it harder to replenish through conventional means.
This is precisely why topical magnesium offers such an elegant solution.
Why Transdermal Magnesium?
A main key benefit of applying magnesium directly to your skin is that it bypasses the digestive system entirely. It is absorbed through the skin straight into your muscles, fascia, and bloodstream, delivering the mineral exactly where your body needs it.
You also won’t have to worry about overdosing or experiencing digestive issues that can come with oral magnesium supplements. Your body is remarkably intelligent and will only absorb what it needs through the skin, leaving the rest.
But there's another profound benefit that goes beyond simple absorption: the ritual of massage and intentional touch itself is deeply calming to the nervous system. When you slow down, breathe, and gently work with your body in this way, you're signaling safety. You're moving out of sympathetic fight-or-flight and into parasympathetic rest-and-digest mode.
Even better, when you apply magnesium with the understanding of the acupuncture channels in the body, moving through specific acupuncture points, you're working WITH your body's natural patterns, rather than just generically supplementing. You can target pathways that help with calming, restoration, and emotional balance to amplify your benefits.
The Yin Channel Acupressure Routine
The routine I'll share with you involves massaging Magnesium Cream (for those with dry skin conditions), or the stronger Charge Lotion (my favourite) along the inner surfaces of your arms and legs, into the hands and feet. These are where the acupuncture "yin" channels pass through and are most accessible.
Think of channels as the rivers and water ways of the ecosystem of your body. We want good flow through the channels to nourish the health of our body. The yin channels run deeper and are more associated with rest and relaxation, while the yang channels are more external, protective and stimulating.
In anxiety, there is often too much yang activity in the mind, and so we want to help move things deeper into the body, promoting more calm, relaxation and rest.
We'll be working with six specific channels:
On the arms: Heart, Pericardium, and Lung channels
On the legs: Pancreas (Spleen), Liver, and Kidney channels
By massaging along them with magnesium, you're achieving multiple benefits simultaneously: mineral absorption over a large surface area, stimulation of the channels' regulatory effects, activation of specific calming points, and the grounding ritual of self-care.
The routine is very simple and can be made as long or short as you like. It’s perfect in the evening as part of your wind-down routine before bed.
Step-By-Step Routine
Arm Yin ChannelStart by applying your magnesium cream to your hands and the inside of your forearms. Then looking at your forearm with your palm facing you, you’ll work along three paths between your elbow and wrist (see arm yin channels image). Pass through these channels as many times as you like, spending more time on any areas that feel particularly tight or sore. Only use as much pressure as is comfortable for you, this is not a “no pain no gain” situation. We’re trying to cultivate a feeling of relaxation.
Once you’ve worked through the forearm on one side, move into the palm of your hand. Pay close attention to the thumb pad, the centre of the palm and the area of the palm below the space between the 4th and 5th fingers (see arm yin channels image). Repeat this on both sides.
Leg Yin ChannelsAgain begin by applying the magnesium cream to the inside of your legs below your knees and into the feet. Massage along three paths between the knee and ankle. The first just next to the inner shin bone, the next two roughly a finger width apart each (see the leg yin channels image). If you come across any particularly sore or tight areas, spend more time there to help open up the channel more.
Move onto the foot, paying particular attention to the sole, the inside of the big toe and the area below the space between the big toe and second toe (see the leg yin channels image). Be sure to repeat on both sides.
Making It Part of Your Daily Routine
For best results, practice this routine daily. I recommend doing this in the hour before bed to support more restful sleep. Your nervous system thrives on consistency and ritual—over time, just beginning the routine will signal to your body that it's time to wind down.
Consider pairing this routine with magnesium foot soaks 2-3 times per week for an even deeper effect. Simply dissolve 1-2 tablespoons of Elektra’s magnesium flakes in warm water and soak your feet (submerged to just above ankles for best effect) for 15-20 minutes. The soak will act to stimulate and open up the channels around the feet and ankles.
Anxiety can also be a symptom of dehydration, so make sure to drink enough spring water containing magnesium (or filtered water with added magnesium) for enhanced hydration to support the electrical conductivity along the Yin (river and waterway) channels.
Give this daily practice 2-4 weeks of consistent use before evaluating its effectiveness. Pay attention to if you notice things like better, deeper sleep, less anxiety, reduced muscle tension throughout the day, improved resilience to stress (things that would normally trigger you don't hit as hard), and a calmer baseline emotional state.
Wrapping Up
Anxiety isn’t something to be managed purely in your mind. By working with your body, your nervous system, your circulation, your muscles, you’re creating a more ideal environment for your mind to settle for improved mental health.
The beauty of this approach is that it puts powerful tools directly in your hands. You don't need special equipment or expertise. You just need a few minutes, some magnesium cream, and a willingness to slow down and care for yourself.
I encourage you to incorporate Elektra Magnesium's range of products into your daily self-care practice. Their products are specifically designed for topical use and absorb beautifully. Their magnesium flakes are also perfect for those deeper, more restorative foot soaks.
It's important to note that while self-care practices like this can be genuinely powerful, persistent or severe anxiety deserves professional assessment and treatment. Everyone's anxiety has unique root causes—it might stem from inflammation, gut imbalances, unprocessed trauma, hormonal issues, or a combination of factors.
If you'd like a personalised holistic approach tailored to YOUR specific anxiety pattern, I invite you to consider acupuncture for anxiety. In my practice at Acupuncture Grove in Bondi Junction, I take the time to understand the underlying imbalances contributing to your anxiety and create a treatment plan that addresses your whole system, not just symptoms.
I hope you found some value from what I’ve shared in this article. Remember, it’s the small daily rituals that create the most profound change over time. Start taking care of yourself today.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Gavin Martin-Rentz is a registered acupuncturist and Chinese medicine practitioner at Acupuncture Grove in Bondi Junction, Sydney, where he focuses on helping those with complex health conditions and chronic pain to regain their lives and start feeling like themselves again.
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A change in diet to reduce carbohydrates, increase alkalinity, and increase magnesium-rich foods is an essential natural strategy to counterbalance the metabolic-acidic issues that promote thrombosis and other cardiovascular issues. Magnesium protects cells against oxidative stress.
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One of the most important minerals (if not the most important) for brain health is magnesium. It is a vital macromineral that the body uses in over 600 enzymatic reactions from the making of proteins (including DNA, hormones, collagen and neurotransmitters), as well as immune regulation, control of calcium channels, electrolyte balance and mitochondrial metabolism. It is integral in the operation of the electrical nervous system, and therefore brain function.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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’.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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. We need magnesium to help get a restful deep sleep so melatonin can be produced, and melatonin is a hormone which the body makes using magnesium.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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..
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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."
1 comments
this is not a peer reviewed submission. It is a sales pitch based on unsupported claims, not science. Just like wakefield’s “study” or anything spouted by RFK