Sunday, January 30, 2011

Evian & Pellegrino contains more Magnesium than Sydney tap water


Dietary Magnesium is a vital mineral nutrient like Calcium, Iron & Zinc. Magnesium deficiency affects up to 300 body processes and has critical impact on mental and physical health often manifesting as chronic and mysterious symptoms that often eludes the scrutiny of GP doctors uneducated about Magnesium. Magnesium is available in certain foods, but in mineral water form, magnesium is most easily absorbed by the stomach.

Supplement pills, powders, vegetables, beans and nuts are other good sources off magnesium, but many people have trouble digesting / absorbing Magnesium in pill, veggie or nut form. If you are one of them, you may like to try bottled mineral water. The average man & woman needs 400 mg & 320 mg of magnesium, respectively, a day. A 1.5 litre Evian bottle or 750 ml Pellegrino bottle provides only 40 mg ie. roughly 10% of daily needs! But that may suffice if you are using it as a supplement, not replacement !

 ( click to enlarge )
Sydney tap water composition
( click  to enlarge )

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Many say bottled water is a waste of money and Sydney tap water is :
1. safe   ( true )
2. clean ( true )
3. contains as much minerals as any bottled water ( study the evidence here, and you decide ! )

Evidence presented below disputes one of these claims.

Compare Magnesium content :
  • Pellegrino ...... : 53.5 mg per litre 
  • Evian ............ .: 24    mg 
  • Hepburn          : 75    mg, available at some retail outlets including Harris Farms
  • Unique water . : 125  mg   > website here - home delivery
  • Evalife water   : 125  mg  > website here <  
  • Alkalife              :  12  mg--but has high alkalinity pH=8.17 > website here < - home delivery
  • Sydney water . : 1.5 - 7.3 mg  
  • Badoit             : 85 mg / litre, contains above average uranium levels  << CAREFUL  

>> Pellegrino contains 7 times, Evian 3.5 times more Magnesium than tap water. Shocked ?
Do you still believe tap water is the same as ALL bottle water ? Tap water is deliberately 'softened' ie. demineralised to minimise  water pipes clogging up. It would otherwise cost billions to replace these pipes. Softened tap water therefore lacks calcium and magnesium your body needs for normal functioning.


Do you experience these chronic symptoms ? 

. If you experience 3 or more of the following symptoms, there's a good chance you have Magnesium deficiency. Please consult a Naturopath, Nutritionist or a Doctor (enlightened about Magnesium )  for confirmation.
  • Depression, mood swings, anxiety attacks or panic attacks, inability to handle emotional stress well, irritability, including post natal depression
       > > > >  Rapid recovery from major depression using magnesium treatment. >> here
  • Cramps, stiff neck, stiff back/ spasms or general muscular tightness / stiffness sometimes RSI
  • Back or neck pain that refuses to heal despite months of physiotherapy or chiropractic therapy
          Gary Barlow from Take That, may find magnesium rich    
         water extremely effective for his back pain spasms if acupuncture, chiropractic or   
          physiotherapy did not brought any long term relief 
  • In a nutshell, non trauma injury type back pain  (pinched nerve or slipped disc) may be alleviated when surrounding muscles are relaxed sufficiently  ie. no more spasm ( when enough magnesium is present in muscles) allowing the said nerve to 'unpinch' and the disc to return to it's normal position. Such self-adjustments are unremarkable and commonly occur in young children and athletes who put significant strains on their back regularly yet suffer no chronic back pain ........why ? - they have enough magnesium in their diet. A magnesium powder supplement powder for back pain is even available >  click here
  • Sleep disorders: difficulty falling asleep or waking up frequently a night --insomnia
  • Fibromyalgia ( muscle body aches unrelated to injury)
  • CFS: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
  • Feeling tired and lacking energy despite sufficient sleep not doing exhaustive exercise
  • Sensation of a lump in throat, comes and goes
  • Bruxism - teeth grinding during asleep ( jaw feels stiff or painful in the morning)
    .
  • Bladder related issue- frequent urination
  • Excitable, irritable, nervous,  jumpy, easily startled by noise ( Magnesium calms the Sympathetic Nervous system, and inhibits the body's Fight or Flight response )
  • Foggy mind, poor memory
  • Restless leg syndrome - feels better when  shaking legs whilst sitting at rest
  • Hand tremors ( shakes ) - thanks to Phil Kewley for noticing this one!
  • Eyelid twitches ( ticks )
  • Arrhythmia or Palpitations that are unrelated to any known heart condition . .(get physician's confirmation first) ....these may be early indication of more serious and avoidable heart problems like this ( Healthy young athletes without known heart disease, dropping dead mid field  due to excessive magnesium loss via sweating)
    A cramp of the heart = Heart Attack ! If you already suffer leg cramps, that maybe an early indicator you  may be short of Magnesium, Potassium etc!
  • Hypertension  ( high blood pressure )
  • MVP  - Mitral Valve Prolapse - another heart condition
    .
** Deficiency in Vitamin B complex, Potassium or Zinc or low blood sugar ( Hypoglycemia) may also present symptoms similar to Magnesium deficiency.  >>  Read more about it here <<

If you are suffering these symptoms, please consult a health practitioner such as a Nutritionist or Naturopath or a physician who knows about Magnesium. Ask if it is safe for you to take Magnesium supplements via pills or mineral water. DO NOT ask if you need to take Magnesium supplements, but ask if it is safe for you to take them. Many doctors are simply not up to date with the latest scientific discoveries  the effects of Magnesium on mental and physical health.
Magnesium is also helpful in reducing excess Yang fire Qi energy in the TCM model of illnesses


Factors that cause Magnesium deficiency

  • Diet: Most vegetables are grown in Magnesium depleted soil due to absence of traditional  replenishment with Magnesium rich fertilizer such as blood and bone or animal dung, a common & healthy practice in 3rd world countries.
    Green leafy veggies (Choy Sum, Bok Choy, cooked Spinach, Silver Beet etc) are Magnesium rich, avoiding these lead to Mg deficiency - don't toss out the cooking water, most of the magnesium is in it !
    Whole grains, beans and lentils and nuts are also good sources.
  • Sweat:
    If you regularly engage in sporting activities such as endurance swimming and running, you lose heaps of Mg by excessive sweating. This explains why many Cyclists and Marathon runners suffer cramps at the end of the race.     Long hot showers / baths also cause excessive sweating
  • Soft drinks:
    ...contains Phosphoric acids causing Magnesium to be excreted from the body, and may explain why many teens who regularly drink fizzy drinks suffer teenage adolescent youth depression 
  • Alcohol:
    .. flushes Magnesium, Zinc from the liver. This may explain why long term alcoholics or regular drinkers of wine suffer depression and sleep disorders
  • Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)
    A deficiency in Vit B6 may prevent any Magnesium in food or supplements from best absorption. Take a Vitamin B complex pill daily with your Magnesium supplementation, if you find Magnesium itself makes no difference
  • Chronic stress & tension:
    ..( including prolonged excitement during long sessions of Computer Games ) stimulates the nervous system causing it to excrete Magnesium. Stress causes your body to lose more Magnesium and making it more difficult to handle stress and starts a downward spiral
  • Noise
    Constant exposure to loud sounds causes the body to excrete Magnesium. This is relevant to people working in noisy environments such as train drivers, heavy machinery operators and listening to loud music all day long! T    innitus (ringing in ear) maybe due to Magnesium deficiency ( see above)
  • Tannin in tea:
      ... and phytates in Soy bind magnesium making it bio unavailable and must not be consumed within 1 hour of magnesium intake
  • Absorption problems: Some people have digestive/ absorption issues making it hard for their stomach/ intestines to absorb dietary Magnesium,  even pill supplementation may not appear to have any effect. If you suspect this is true for you, try Magnesium powder or Magnesium rich mineral water such as Evian, San Pellegrino or Unique Water which is better absorbed.
    If you burp or fart on a regular basis, have regular stomach /gut aches, regular diarhhea...this is often a strong sign of digestion and therefore absorption problems.  This also means  that though you may eat enough Magnesium in your food, much of it does not  get absorbed in the gut and into the body. Your healthy diet is therefore handicapped ! Consult your doctor about what you need to do about it, to see if you have gastric ulcers, stomach/ colon cancer or leaky gut etc etc. When he has ruled out these serious problems etc etc you may need to improve digestion problems by considering digestive enzymes, eliminating lactose, gluten or check if you have a food sensitivity and if the FODMAP diet helps. Click here for more info.
  •  ... more ways  your body loses Magnesium

Getting enough Magnesium into your body

  • On average a man needs 400mg ( 320mg  for woman ) of elemental Magnesium a day. But this is only an estimate, and depending on your body size, you may need more or less.
  • One 750ml bottle of San Pelligrino mineral water will only give you 40mg of Magnesium, but that small amount itself makes no difference to your symptoms, you may like to consider taking Magnesium powder supplements ( Powder is much better absorbed than Pill magnesium, and tends to disturb the acid/alkaline level of your gut less)
  • If Magnesium rich water may not be enough for your deficiency, do consider Magnesium powder supplements. Powder may cost more and be less convenient but is far far superior to pill in terms of absorption
  • Magnesium supplements are sold without a doctor's prescription, but to be sure, ask a doctor if it's safe to take Magnesium. You may not have to ask if you need it. Watch out for evasive answers, they may hide a lack of knowledge about Magnesium benefits... Many doctors rely on drugs not food to treat problems. For more information, I encourage you to consult qualified Naturopaths, Nutritionists or Nutrition minded doctors.
  • Besides Magnesium powder or Magnesium rich mineral water such as Evian, San Pellegrino or Unique Water,  a 3rd less common method of getting enough Magnesium is trans-dermal absorption through skin - examples are Magnesium Oil (Ancient Minerals brand is one example) or a daily bath of Epsom Salt ( also know as Magnesium Sulphate). 
  • The 4th and last resort and expensive one is IV or injection of Magnesium, and this must be done with the supervision of a doctor.


If you have any kidney disease or heart problems, any magnesium supplementation must be done with a medical doctor's supervision. 


 References:

People who avoid drinking tap water often opt for other home tap water purification devices such as :
    1. Activated carbon filtered water - minerals & fluoride retained except for heavy metals
    2. Reverse osmosis - all heavy metals and good minerals and fluoride are removed
    3. Distilled water - all heavy metals* and good minerals and  fluoride are removed
    4. Fluoridation removes magnesium found naturally in drinking water ( mountains, streams, rivers, artisan  etc ) 
    5. Water softening devices removes ALL minerals, good and bad ones...so be careful about the lies you are told that water softeners are good for health
    * Heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury




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