This figure shows normal mitochondria and toxic mitochondria.
March 6, 2005
RE: What is really causing lethal heart attacks - the magnesium deficiency / calcium excess catastrophe
An open letter to the Congress of the United States of America
Dear Senator / Congressman:
Please find enclosed two books, support materials and a DVD presentation. These year 2003 books are "The Magnesium Factor" by Mildred S. Seelig MD, MPH and Andrea Rosanoff PhD, and "The Miracle of Magnesium" by Carolyn Dean MD, ND. Taken together, I believe these writers have pinpointed serious, expensive, sometimes fatal flaws in American nutrition and medicine, that being dietary magnesium deficiency / calcium excess. If these errors were corrected, I believe millions of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars in cardiac health-care costs would be saved.
Figure 1.4 on page 17 of "The Magnesium Factor" (also on page 3) shows that over 25 years ago citizens of nations with low magnesium/high calcium diets (United States of America, Finland, Netherlands) died from heart attacks nearly 20 times more frequently than those of nations like Japan with culturally high magnesium and low calcium diets. Since then, a shift to an Americanized diet low in magnesium in Japan has resulted in a great increase in cardiovascular disease. Further, Dr. Dean shows the astonishingly wide breadth of health issues resulting from low magnesium in our diets, which alone would demand that magnesium intake be greatly increased to improve our health, increase our life spans and safeguard our budget.
These physicians also call attention to the paradox that diuretics and drugs that improve strength of heart beats and correct abnormal rhythm, those drugs that are commonly used to treat cardiovascular disease and its complications, not only do not provide an essential nutrient (magnesium) that is needed for heart and blood vessel health, but actually cause its loss. Inadequacy of magnesium, either from dietary inadequacy or depletion by drugs, appears to have become a major cause of America's number one killer: cardiovascular disease. They report that magnesium deficiency and the accompanying cardiovascular disease epidemic that plagues us today was not a problem 100 years ago in America. Then, there were healthy amounts of magnesium in our simpler foods, which included whole grains, nuts, maple syrup, molasses, dark green leafy vegetables and fresh ocean fish.
Preparing white flour by refining wheat (a principal source of dietary magnesium) depletes magnesium and other vital nutrients in whole grain wheat (see page 3). This is a process that we invented around 100 years ago, and as we have learned how to better "refine" grains, less and less minerals and other nutrients remain, which I believe has greatly impaired our health.
Today, we use refined wheat to make bread, sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs, cakes and cookies, doughnuts, waffles, pancakes and other processed foods, resulting in foods that are inherently deficient in magnesium and other nutrients. Molasses and maple syrups (high in magnesium) were replaced in our diet by refined sugar, corn syrup and artificial sweeteners, which are essentially devoid of valuable minerals. People tend to avoid nuts (the best source of magnesium) due to their oil content and concern about gaining weight. Few people eat enough dark green, leafy vegetables or fresh fish. Water softening replaces healthy minerals, such as magnesium, with an unhealthy mineral (sodium). You will be amazed by watching the DVD presentation, which shows in the introduction to Dr. Altura - a famed magnesium researcher, the vanishing amounts of magnesium in our foods strongly suggesting a possible cause of obesity. You will clearly see that it is really getting difficult to get our 400 mg RDA of magnesium!
By the early 1960s, as osteoporosis became a growing problem, supplementation with calcium became widespread to "harden" bones. Instead of a 2 to 1 calcium to magnesium dietary ratio (the previous common ratio), the calcium to magnesium ratio doubled to close to 4 to 1. The authors believe that this imbalance is causing much cardiovascular death. Consequently, we now suffer what appears to be a culturally-induced magnesium deficiency that adversely affects all of our lives and unnecessarily costs America about 10% of its gross domestic product in health care costs. Interestingly, the medical literature shows that magnesium deficiency is much more likely to be causing osteoporosis in America than calcium deficiency, which is clearly contrary to popular opinion.
Magnesium is removed by about 86 percent by refining wheat. Other heart critical nutrients like potassium, zinc, copper (see page 3) are also removed by refining wheat. As result of this broad nutritional deficit, America is seen as having one of the worst death by heart attack records (see page 3). Consequently, I believe that the Congress should consider the need for much better nutrition to cure America's most pressing health issue of today (even more pressing than smoking), culturally-induced magnesium deficiency. I believe that much of our nutritional depletion problem is being caused by the long-standing policy of the United States of America to allow the manufacture, sale and use of depleted grain products posing as "refined" grain.
If this problem is not addressed, it seems to me that even worse public health can be expected with increasingly more lethal cardiac events and vast increases in other illnesses. Some of these other diseases are shown in a brief article by the Liebschers in the enclosed package. That article is important, because it shows some of the many symptoms of magnesium deficiency. Therefore, I made a photograph of their main conclusions for your use as a wall hanging, a ready reminder of what is really causing those symptoms. Also, Dr. Dean's book shows many more diseases that are, in actuality, magnesium deficiencies. The photomicrographs on page 3 clearly show grave injury to cardiac mitochondria from no magnesium. The other enclosed articles and references were provided by Dr. Seelig before her recent death, and some medical experience may be necessary to read them. However, they all testify to the urgency of a policy shift to greatly increase magnesium in our food and drinking water supply.
After you have had time to consider the health benefits of magnesium, perhaps you can answer some questions for me. First, why should removal of magnesium (and other nutrients) from our food continue to be allowed? Which is the better public policy, to deplete nutrients from our foods or fortify nutrients in our food? Please look at labels of many packaged foods in local grocery stores and provide me with a list of foods that list magnesium. The only food listing magnesium that I found was Planters Peanuts. Apparently, magnesium is missing from the American meal. Also, why is it illegal to sell nutrients to prevent diseases? To whom does this policy benefit? To whom does this policy injure? Could an army march on nutritionally depleted wheat?
An added benefit to increasing magnesium (and other nutrients) in our foods would be lowered reliance on prescription drugs, medical care and hospitalization. Although many magnesium deficiency disorders occur in older people (often on Medicare), the young, including athletes (sudden cardiac death), are also affected. This effort to convince the Congress that better nutrition is good for our health, longevity and budget is also supported by the "Live Longer Educational Foundation"
George A. Eby
P.S. I have no financial interest in magnesium. I have had no compensation or promise of compensation from others for preparing this communication. I have not been paid by anyone or any organization mentioned in this communication. This letter is for educational purposes only. I have no intent to influence specific legislation. My only interest is the health and longevity of the American people, and to lower our national health costs.
Enclosures:
This figure shows normal mitochondria and toxic mitochondria.