Magnesium Health Article

Description

Magnesium is an element (Mg) with an atomic weight of 24.312 and the atomic number 12. In its elemental form, magnesium is a light, silver-white metal. It is a cation, which means that its ion has a positive charge. Of the cations in the human body, magnesium is the fourth-most abundant. Ninety-nine percent of the body's magnesium is contained within its cells: about 60% in the bones, 20% in the muscles, 19%–20% in the soft tissue, and 1% circulates in the blood. Important to both nutrition and medicine, magnesium, like calcium and phosphorus, is considered a major mineral. Magnesium in its carbonate and sulfate forms has been used for centuries as a laxative. The name of the element comes from Magnesia, a city in Greece where large deposits of magnesium carbonate were discovered in ancient times.

Magnesium is an important element in the body because it activates or is involved in many basic processes or functions, including:

• cofactor for over 300 enzymes
• oxidation of fatty acids
• activation of amino acids
• synthesis and breakdown of DNA
• neurotransmission
• immune function
• interactions with other nutrients, including potassium, vitamin B₆, and boron

General use

Magnesium has a number of general uses, primarily in standard allopathic medicine, but also in some alternative therapies.