01 Regulates Ion Channels: Magnesium is a direct regulator of ion channels, most notably via the other key electrolytes potassium, calcium and sodium. Magnesium is intimately involved in potassium transport. Magnesium depletion and potassium depletion cause similar damaging effects on the heart.

Furthermore, it is impossible to overcome potassium deficiency without replacing magnesium. That’s why hospitals have difficulty finding the right electrolyte balance of sodium, potassium, calcium, and chloride, because they ignore magnesium and do not routinely measure it in their electrolyte panels. When they do test for it, they use the inadequate Serum Magnesium test.

Magnesium is intimately involved in calcium channels. Magnesium guard the ion channels that allow calcium to enter and leave the cell, orchestrating the exact amount of calcium that’s required to cause a muscle or nerve cell to contract and then flushing that extra calcium out to prevent excessive contraction. Thus, magnesium is a natural calcium channel blocker. But instead of using magnesium to modify the effect of calcium on body physiology, allopathic medicine insists on using calcium-channel-blocking drugs that have many side effects, including magnesium deficiency.

02 Intracellular Signaling: Magnesium is an important intracellular signaling molecule. Without intercellular communication the cells of the body would not be able to function at all.

03 Oxidative Phosphorylation: Magnesium is a modulator of oxidative phosphorylation, during which electrons are transferred from electron donors to electron acceptors (such as oxygen in redox reactions), using magnesium as a cofactor. These redox reactions, called electron transport chains, form a series of protein complexes within the cell’s mitochondria that release energy or ATP.

04 Nerve Conduction: Magnesium is intimately involved in efficient nerve conduction. Although calcium is vital for proper nervous system function, too much calcium is dangerous. Excess calcium is proinflammatory and can excite nerves to the point of cell death.

05 Muscle Function: Magnesium is intimately involved in efficient muscle function. The mechanisms are varied and include oxygen uptake, electrolyte balance, and energy production. Magnesium makes muscles work properly, allowing calcium to cause muscle contraction and then pushing calcium out of the muscle cells to allow the relaxation phase. In the same way that nerve cells can be “excited to death,” muscle cells stimulated by too much calcium can go into uncontrollable spasm, resulting in tissue damage such as occurs in a heart attack.