soc683
New member
I changed my diet with a notable difference in level of anxiety.
not a complete cure but it sure helps.
http://www.ctds.info/5_13_magnesium.html#anxiety
Anxiety and Psychiatric Disorders
Magnesium deficiency causes increased levels of adrenaline, which can lead to a feeling of anxiety. Rats who become magnesium deficient have an increased level of urinary catecholamine excretion (a by-product of adrenaline).
People who have mitral valve prolapse have also been found to have an increased state of anxiety and have an increased level of urinary catecholamine excretion, the exact same condition found in rats who are Mg deficient.
It is not surprising then, to find that people with mitral valve prolapse are usually low in magnesium, and that magnesium supplementation alleviates the symptoms of mitral valve prolapse and reduces the level of urinary catecholamine excretion, i.e. it also reduces the anxiety symptoms.
Researchers in Spain found a correlation between anxiety disorders and hypermobility. In fact, they found that patients with anxiety disorder were over 16 times more likely than control subjects to have joint laxity. If you put the study results together, then there's a link between anxiety and hypermobility, a link between anxiety and mitral valve prolapse, and a link between mitral valve prolapse and hypermobility.
These studies tell us that anxiety disorders occur in many people who simply have mitral valve prolapse and/or joint hypermobility, meaning anxiety disorders are not specific to EDS or any particular connective tissue disorder. Marfans also have mitral valve prolapse and joint hypermobility which would lead one to conjecture that they, too, have anxiety related disorders. As it turns out, a connection between Marfans and anxiety related disorders has been noted.
A study in Bulgaria also found magnesium abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia and depression. The authors thought the schizophrenia and depression caused the magnesium deficiencies, but I disagree that that was necessarily the case. When you look at this study within the context of all the other studies mentioned in this section, it is more likely that the magnesium abnormalities caused the mental illness. (There are quite a few studies on magnesium and mental illness on Medline. I just included a few to highlight my points.)
In a study from England, there was a strong association for more disturbed and excitable patients to have abnormal (either high or low) Mg levels. The authors thought that the patients who seemed most disturbed may have some abnormality of magnesium metabolism.
To read up on the link between cholesterol levels and anxiety and depression, see my web page on low cholesterol levels.
For more on this topic, see my section on Anxiety and Depression - overlooked nutritional causes.
http://www.ctds.info/anxiety_depression.html
A recent study noted that people with optimistic outlooks were more likely to live longer, and that pessimists were more likely to die from heart disease. The results of the study are often interpreted as optimism helps people live longer. I think that the study results may not have necessarily been interpreted correctly. Association does not equal cause and effect. Just because optimism and better heart function statistically occur together does not prove that either one causes the other.
Magnesium deficiency is a known factor in heart disease as well as anxiety. Another possible reason people with more optimistic attitude live longer is that they may be happier and less worried because they have sufficient magnesium levels, which in turn may also have a protective effect on their hearts.
Man is what he eats.
Ludwig Feuerbach
Undoubtedly there are many factors involved in anxiety and depression, and a magnesium deficiency may be just one of many possible factors. However, studies do show that:
In the U.S. and many other industrialized countries, magnesium deficiencies are relatively common in the general population, especially in women.
Anxiety disorders are also highly prevalent among the general population, especially with women.
Multiple studies, readily available on PubMed, have confirmed that magnesium deficiencies can be a cause of anxiety and other nervous disorders.
Anxiety disorders are more common in people with conditions such as migraines, TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder), hypermobility, irritable bowel syndrome and especially mitral valve prolapse (MVP). Perhaps it is not a coincidence that these conditions have also commonly been linked, either directly or indirectly, to magnesium deficiencies.
A recent report from Britain linked poor diet to rising cases of depression, " Increasing rates of anxiety, depression and irritability could be due to a poor diet that lacks the essential chemicals to keep the brain healthy, according to a leading mental health charity."
If you put all of these known facts together, then it would seem highly logical to screen people suffering from nervous disorders, anxiety and depression for magnesium and other nutritional deficiencies before putting them on antidepressant drugs or treating them with counseling type therapy. This would be especially true for people manifesting other symptoms commonly associated with a magnesium (Mg) deficiency such as heart palpitations, mitral vale prolapse, migraines, fibromyalgia and TMJ.
My soul is dark with stormy riot,
Directly traceable to diet.
Samuel Hoffenstein
Unfortunately, medical treatments in the U.S. all too often do not seem to be based biochemical science, but rather the most expedient (drug therapy) or lucrative (psychiatric therapy) treatment from the viewpoint of mainstream health care providers.
In the U.S. the most common forms of treatment for anxiety seem to be counseling and/or drug therapy. Yet these treatments are illogical and may be counterproductive when nutritional deficiencies or other biochemical anomalies are the main cause of a person's anxiety and depression. One can spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars talking to a therapist, but it seems like a pointless attempt at a solution if a core reason for a person's mental health issues stem from a nutritional deficiency effecting his or her nervous system.
An acquaintance of mine suffered from severe depression and nervousness his whole life, even to the point of being institutionalized a couple of times. Yet, to my knowledge, no one ever checked his nutritional status or asked him about his diet, which was not very healthy. He ate a lot of processed meats, white bread, pickles, liver sausage and other highly processed food.
In his later years he was under frequent psychiatric care for depression. Yet the man stayed inside his house much of the the time, didn't get much sunshine or exercise, didn't have any friends excpet for relatives, and had a diet low in magnesium rich, whole foods such as fruits, nuts and vegetables. His nervousness and depression never really improved much under standard medical care. Looking back, I do wonder if someone had paid more attention to his diet, exercise habits and social connections if that might have been a more effective treatment for him.
not a complete cure but it sure helps.
http://www.ctds.info/5_13_magnesium.html#anxiety
Anxiety and Psychiatric Disorders
Magnesium deficiency causes increased levels of adrenaline, which can lead to a feeling of anxiety. Rats who become magnesium deficient have an increased level of urinary catecholamine excretion (a by-product of adrenaline).
People who have mitral valve prolapse have also been found to have an increased state of anxiety and have an increased level of urinary catecholamine excretion, the exact same condition found in rats who are Mg deficient.
It is not surprising then, to find that people with mitral valve prolapse are usually low in magnesium, and that magnesium supplementation alleviates the symptoms of mitral valve prolapse and reduces the level of urinary catecholamine excretion, i.e. it also reduces the anxiety symptoms.
Researchers in Spain found a correlation between anxiety disorders and hypermobility. In fact, they found that patients with anxiety disorder were over 16 times more likely than control subjects to have joint laxity. If you put the study results together, then there's a link between anxiety and hypermobility, a link between anxiety and mitral valve prolapse, and a link between mitral valve prolapse and hypermobility.
These studies tell us that anxiety disorders occur in many people who simply have mitral valve prolapse and/or joint hypermobility, meaning anxiety disorders are not specific to EDS or any particular connective tissue disorder. Marfans also have mitral valve prolapse and joint hypermobility which would lead one to conjecture that they, too, have anxiety related disorders. As it turns out, a connection between Marfans and anxiety related disorders has been noted.
A study in Bulgaria also found magnesium abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia and depression. The authors thought the schizophrenia and depression caused the magnesium deficiencies, but I disagree that that was necessarily the case. When you look at this study within the context of all the other studies mentioned in this section, it is more likely that the magnesium abnormalities caused the mental illness. (There are quite a few studies on magnesium and mental illness on Medline. I just included a few to highlight my points.)
In a study from England, there was a strong association for more disturbed and excitable patients to have abnormal (either high or low) Mg levels. The authors thought that the patients who seemed most disturbed may have some abnormality of magnesium metabolism.
To read up on the link between cholesterol levels and anxiety and depression, see my web page on low cholesterol levels.
For more on this topic, see my section on Anxiety and Depression - overlooked nutritional causes.
http://www.ctds.info/anxiety_depression.html
A recent study noted that people with optimistic outlooks were more likely to live longer, and that pessimists were more likely to die from heart disease. The results of the study are often interpreted as optimism helps people live longer. I think that the study results may not have necessarily been interpreted correctly. Association does not equal cause and effect. Just because optimism and better heart function statistically occur together does not prove that either one causes the other.
Magnesium deficiency is a known factor in heart disease as well as anxiety. Another possible reason people with more optimistic attitude live longer is that they may be happier and less worried because they have sufficient magnesium levels, which in turn may also have a protective effect on their hearts.
Man is what he eats.
Ludwig Feuerbach
Undoubtedly there are many factors involved in anxiety and depression, and a magnesium deficiency may be just one of many possible factors. However, studies do show that:
In the U.S. and many other industrialized countries, magnesium deficiencies are relatively common in the general population, especially in women.
Anxiety disorders are also highly prevalent among the general population, especially with women.
Multiple studies, readily available on PubMed, have confirmed that magnesium deficiencies can be a cause of anxiety and other nervous disorders.
Anxiety disorders are more common in people with conditions such as migraines, TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder), hypermobility, irritable bowel syndrome and especially mitral valve prolapse (MVP). Perhaps it is not a coincidence that these conditions have also commonly been linked, either directly or indirectly, to magnesium deficiencies.
A recent report from Britain linked poor diet to rising cases of depression, " Increasing rates of anxiety, depression and irritability could be due to a poor diet that lacks the essential chemicals to keep the brain healthy, according to a leading mental health charity."
If you put all of these known facts together, then it would seem highly logical to screen people suffering from nervous disorders, anxiety and depression for magnesium and other nutritional deficiencies before putting them on antidepressant drugs or treating them with counseling type therapy. This would be especially true for people manifesting other symptoms commonly associated with a magnesium (Mg) deficiency such as heart palpitations, mitral vale prolapse, migraines, fibromyalgia and TMJ.
My soul is dark with stormy riot,
Directly traceable to diet.
Samuel Hoffenstein
Unfortunately, medical treatments in the U.S. all too often do not seem to be based biochemical science, but rather the most expedient (drug therapy) or lucrative (psychiatric therapy) treatment from the viewpoint of mainstream health care providers.
In the U.S. the most common forms of treatment for anxiety seem to be counseling and/or drug therapy. Yet these treatments are illogical and may be counterproductive when nutritional deficiencies or other biochemical anomalies are the main cause of a person's anxiety and depression. One can spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars talking to a therapist, but it seems like a pointless attempt at a solution if a core reason for a person's mental health issues stem from a nutritional deficiency effecting his or her nervous system.
An acquaintance of mine suffered from severe depression and nervousness his whole life, even to the point of being institutionalized a couple of times. Yet, to my knowledge, no one ever checked his nutritional status or asked him about his diet, which was not very healthy. He ate a lot of processed meats, white bread, pickles, liver sausage and other highly processed food.
In his later years he was under frequent psychiatric care for depression. Yet the man stayed inside his house much of the the time, didn't get much sunshine or exercise, didn't have any friends excpet for relatives, and had a diet low in magnesium rich, whole foods such as fruits, nuts and vegetables. His nervousness and depression never really improved much under standard medical care. Looking back, I do wonder if someone had paid more attention to his diet, exercise habits and social connections if that might have been a more effective treatment for him.
