Extinguish the burn of arthritis pain by addressing this common deficiency

If you regularly suffer aching and burning arthritis flare-ups, it’s likely that you’re deficient in one of nature’s most essential inflammation-curbing nutrients.

The nutrient I’m referring to is magnesium, a key player in hundreds of functions throughout your body. And one of those functions happens to involve regulating a cellular process that triggers inflammation.

And as I’ve noted here many times, inflammation is the root of chronic pain. So of course, getting rid of it is a surefire way (pardon the pun) to gaining more control and movement.

Unfortunately, most of us don’t get enough magnesium in our diets (I’ll explain why and what you should do in a moment), so when levels of this mineral are brought up to adequate levels, many arthritis patients enjoy the relief they’ve been longing for.

A proven inflammation-tamer

Nearly a decade ago, a team of researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), collected nutrition and general health data on more than 3,700 postmenopausal women.

The researchers evaluated the relation of magnesium intake to three biomarkers linked to inflammation:

  • C-reactive protein
  • Interleukin 6
  • Tumor necrosis factor alpha

Their analysis revealed the power of magnesium: When levels of the mineral were high, all of the inflammation biomarkers were low.

Another more recent study from 2015 shows specifically what high magnesium and low inflammation can do for arthritis patients…

When researchers assessed dietary magnesium intake in more than 1,600 participants over age 40, they found that the highest intake was linked to the lowest risk of osteoarthritis and joint space narrowing (an indication of cartilage deterioration).

Slashing arthritis risk in half

In Dr. Marc Micozzi’s Arthritis Relief and Reversal Protocol, he notes that of all the minerals the human body requires, calcium easily gets the most attention, even though (in his view) magnesium is equally important—especially for arthritis prevention!

To illustrate, he details a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study in which researchers analyzed 10 years of data from more than 2,000 people over age 44: “When they focused on the level of magnesium in the diet, they found that those with the lowest intake had a 52 percent greater risk of developing OA.

“In other words, getting enough magnesium cuts your risk of developing arthritis in half. Not a bad day’s work for one mineral.”

But getting enough magnesium from diet alone isn’t so simple…

Dr. Micozzi explains that over the past 100 years, modern commercial agricultural practices have severely depleted mineral levels in the soil. And that includes magnesium, of course.

“In fact,” he adds, “every decade that the USDA performs nutritional analyses of agricultural foods, they find nutrient levels declining. As a result, many magnesium-rich foods—like green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains—just aren’t as nutritious as they were 60 years ago.”

And while you can still get a good helping of magnesium in dairy, eggs, and meats, Dr. Micozzi notes that your body only absorbs about 30 to 40 percent of the magnesium you consume in your diet.

Bring on the supplements!

Unfortunately, scientists have not yet devised a way to measure magnesium to determine deficiency, so Dr. Micozzi advises to keep a diligent watch for any clustering of these general symptoms:

  • Angina
  • Anxiety
  • Asthma
  • Depression
  • Fatigue
  • Gastrointestinal (or GI) problems
  • Numbness of hands or feet
  • Poor concentration

In addition to reducing arthritis risk, magnesium is also essential for heart and artery health, as well as moderating blood sugar levels.

So even if you consume plenty of the foods I mentioned a moment ago that are traditionally high in magnesium, Dr. Micozzi also recommends a daily supplement that contains 200 mg of magnesium citrate—a highly absorbable form of the mineral.

“And speaking of minerals,” Dr. Micozzi adds, “don’t forget about boron, which is crucially important for allowing magnesium and other bone-protecting minerals to do their work—but which doctors typically overlook.

“In a study in the Journal of Experimental and Integrative Medicine, researchers compared people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to people without the disease—and found those with RA had a ‘significantly lower boron level.’”

You’ll get good amounts of boron in leafy vegetables, fruits, nuts, and legumes—and even a little bit in coffee, wine, and beer! If your multivitamin doesn’t contain boron, Dr. Micozzi recommends a 5 mg daily dose of this “important but neglected trace mineral” that ensures your magnesium works as effectively as possible.

For many more insights into arthritis prevention and pain relief, click here to explore an overview of Dr. Micozzi’s Arthritis Relief and Reversal Protocol, or to get started today in  soothing all of your joint and arthritis pain.

SOURCES

“Relations of Dietary Magnesium Intake to Biomarkers of Inflammation and Endothelial Dysfunction in an Ethnically Diverse Cohort of Postmenopausal Women” Diabetes Care 2010; 33(2): 304-310. doi.org/10.2337/dc09-1402

“Association between Dietary Magnesium Intake and Radiographic Knee Osteoarthritis” PLoS One 2015; 10(5): e0127666. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0127666