Stress and magnesium deficiency are widespread problems in the general population. It’s a vicious cycle that increases the risk of fatigue, headaches, constipation, nervousness, insomnia, infections, depression, metabolic syndrome, and a number of physical and mental diseases. In a review article that is published in Nutrients, the authors look closer at magnesium’s key role in the body’s physiological stress response. They also address the fact that stress increases the need for magnesium. Moreover, nutrient-depleted soil, unhealthy diets, too much coffee, alcohol, and calcium plus certain types of medicine, intensive sport, menopause, and ageing increase the need for magnesium even more.
The Nobel Prize and help for insomnia
Three American researchers were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology for their discovery of the molecular mechanisms that control our 24-hour rhythm and the ticking of the cellular clocks. Lack of sleep can lead to overweight, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer, which is why it is vital to get to bed at a proper time. If you have difficulty with falling asleep or cannot sleep through the night, supplements of melatonin serves as a natural sleeping pill that comes in handy.
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There is absolutely no reason not to consume eggs, meat, butter and other cholesterol-filled foods with a good conscience. American dietary guidelines have finally exonerated cholesterol, which happens to be an essential compound. Many scientists actually claim that atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease are both a result of inflammation and lack of specific micronutrients. It is important to pay attention to factors that are known to promote inflammation in the body and take the necessary steps by looking after your circulatory system, making healthy lifestyle choices, and possibly even using supplements.
It is essential that your heart is able to pump optimally throughout life. A study from Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, the United States, has just shown that a diet with low levels of vitamin K1 from dark, leafy greens increases your risk of an unhealthy enlargement of the heart’s left ventricle that pumps the oxygenated blood to the aorta (the body’s largest artery). The scientists even observed this enlargement in teenagers. Vitamin K1 is primarily known for its role in the blood coagulation process, but it is also converted to vitamin K2 in our gut flora. In fact, it is vitamin K2 that is important for the heart and cardiovascular system.
More and more studies show how important our digestion and gut flora are for our health and mood. A new study published in Scientific Reports reveals that omega-3 fatty acids are able to influence positively the diversity of our gut flora.
If you consume too much red meat it may increase your risk of colon cancer, but is there meat with the opposite effect? According to a new and groundbreaking study, eating salmon or other good sources of omega-3 fatty acids appears to help prevent this rather common cancer form and possibly even other cancers, as well. Just make sure not to get too much omega-6, especially from margarine and other plant oils, as it is vital to have the correct balance between the two types of fatty acids.
“Taking capsules with co-enzyme Q10 has freed me of the severe side effects of my cholesterol lowering medicine,” Mrs Franken explains.