Energy. Who needs it? Everybody! Fatigue is one of the top ten reasons people visit a doctor. Pain is another. Do you know one of the most important nutrients you need for both? Magnesium...

A National Deficiency

More than 75% of the American population is deficient in magnesium (Mg). According to a conversation with a leader in vitamin and mineral testing, the real figure may be higher. If you have fibromyalgia (FM) and/or systemic endurance intolerance disease (SEID, also known as ME/Chronic Fatigue syndrome), research already tells us that you’re probably magnesium deficient.

Ask yourself these questions. Do you sleep well? Or are you tired no matter how much you sleep? Do you have energy, especially after exercising? Are your muscles soft and flexible? Or do they feel tight and painful for no apparent reason? Do you have any degenerative disorders like diabetes, thyroid, arthritis? Are you carbohydrate intolerant? If you’re a woman, are you struggling with hormone imbalance either PMS, pre- or perimenopause?

Magnesium can answer all these questions by helping these conditions but only if you have optimal levels. The easiest way to have optimal levels is by taking the right magnesium formula like Fibro-Care™ which contains Albion® magnesium with the required cofactors that make it bioavailable to your body.

A Relationship to Pain

If you suffer from any chronic pain condition, research studies reveal that magnesium levels are often low. In fact, your ability to deal with pain (pain threshold) is directly affected by how much magnesium your body has stored. Restoring your intracellular magnesium levels to normal or optimal will help you reduce your pain levels and lessen your muscle fatigue. An optimal level is at least 5.5 mg/dL.

The Bare Facts

You have roughly 21-28 grams of magnesium; 99% found in bones, teeth and soft tissue, and 1% in the bloodstream. Magnesium is found both in circulating blood plasma and within the cells (intracellular). It’s the intracellular magnesium that is important as it regulates or is involved in more than 600 enzyme reactions, especially in the production of energy from foods.

The Energy Equation

Energy is supplied through a series of complicated biochemical reactions known as the Krebs Energy Cycle or Citric Acid Cycle, which few of us would be able to explain. What you do need to know is several reactions in the cycle are magnesium dependent. Energy does not happen without magnesium. “It activates every enzyme that produces energy, new protein, almost all the energy in every single cell in the body,” says Mildred Seelig M.D., author of The Magnesium Factor. Seelig is considered a magnesium expert, having made a career out of studying this mineral for the past 40 plus years. Magnesium is involved in every energy dependent reaction by its role in the metabolism of glucose, fatty acids and amino acids. It also plays a part in the manufacture and use of a compound found in all cells: adenosine triphosphate (ATP). When ATP is broken down, it produces energy required for muscles and organs to function.

Another magnesium expert is Thomas Levy, M.D. who says, “There is no single molecule more critical for sustaining life and promoting health than magnesium”. Dr. Levy also states magnesium has a role in delaying muscle fatigue because it boosts glutathione levels, the master antioxidant in the body.

Get the Test

So how do you find out if you’re magnesium deficient? A Magnesium Red Blood Cell (Mg RBC) test is the most efficient way to determine intracellular magnesium levels. A blood plasma (serum) level measures non-cellular magnesium only. It is not easy to find out your magnesium levels as many health care professionals will not order the Mg RBC test. But if you have symptoms of pain and/or fatigue, it is worth the effort to find a health care professional who will order the right test.

Supplement

It’s difficult to get the optimal 500 mg of magnesium daily from food intake alone. So how could you possibly hope to meet the higher therapeutic amount for FM and SEID (300-900 mg) and other conditions? A 1994 government study found that 61% of Americans didn’t consume the RDA (285 mg for females and 350 mg for men). The RDA is slightly higher today but it is obvious that supplementation is necessary for the majority of Americans, especially those with chronic pain, fatigue and many other chronic conditions.

Figure out how to get your optimal dose. It’s important! Read the label as the serving size is two capsules or tablets twice a day. One Fibro-Care™ is not enough! Use this formula: multiple your body weight by 2.5-4.5 mg. The result equals your magnesium daily dose. Start low (90 mg) with a meal and slowly increase every 3-4 days to let your body adjust gradually.

Choose the best form to get the “right” magnesium There are many forms of magnesium. Fibro-Care™ contains Albion’s magnesium glycinate and malate, true chelate forms, guaranteed by Albion’s organic mineral technology to be absorbed 2-3 times better than any other form.

No Mineral Acts Alone

When we first learned of the magnesium deficiency in FM and SEID, we wanted TyH to make a magnesium product to help as many people as possible. That’s why we chose Albion magnesium bisglycinate and malate which are 2-3 times more absorbable than other forms. Albion Minerals have 150 patents, 200 scientific studies and 70 human trials.

Besides choosing the most absorbable magnesium (bisglycinate and malate), we also looked at the rest of the chemistry involved with the help of biochemist friend.

Most nutrients need the interaction of other nutrients, called cofactors, in order to do their jobs more efficiently. Cofactors could be other minerals or vitamins. B1, B6 and manganese help magnesium do its energy job. B1 (thiamin) supports glucose metabolism in conjunction with malic acid. Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) is necessary for the metabolism of amino acids. Of note, research suggests that B6 deficiency may occur with magnesium deficiency. Manganese is synergistic with thiamin plus activates many enzymes in cell metabolism. It also stimulates thyroxin, a hormone that influences the body’s metabolic rate.

At the biochemist’s advice, we also added vitamin C as he explained that C increases the amount of sugar stored as glycogen in the muscles and tissues, thus helping to maintain the energy supply. Additionally, vitamin C enhances the action of other nutrients. We chose a buffered form that won’t cause stomach irritation, Fibro-C™. Before we completed the formula, we added one more important nutrient: malic acid.

Malic Acid

Malic acid or malate is the primer that jump starts the Krebs cycle and the energy ball can’t even start rolling without it. Along with magnesium, it’s a critical player in the energy equation. A helpful daily amount for FM and SEID is 900 to 1200 mg of malic acid. Given its role for in both energy and historically for pain relief, it made sense to add malic acid to the Fibro-Care™ formula. There’s 300 mg in each capsule or tablet.

The Research

Fibro-Care™ was part of a 1994 double-blind, placebo-controlled published study in the successful treatment of FM and SEID. As no accepted explanation of cause or cure for FM and SEID exists and the magnesium deficiency still needs to be addressed, magnesium replacement should be the treatment of choice. Fibro-Care™ addresses the essential magnesium need.

Expect Results

FM and SEID experts believe that without supplementing, it would be impossible to see any improvement in energy or other symptoms caused by a magnesium deficiency. How long you supplement before you see results is difficult to answer and depends on your current magnesium status. Some notice a difference within days, others in weeks. Be patient! It can take up to eight months to feel better. The wait is worth it. Magnesium supplementation reduces muscle pain and fatigue (TyH customers taking Fibro-Care™ confirm this). Dr. Mark Pellegrino -- author of Fibromyalgia: Up Close and Personal and a physician with fibromyalgia who’s seen more than 32,000 patients in his practice -- put Fibro-Care™ to the test. “I was using another magnesium and malic acid product for several years, thinking they were all the same. When I tried Fibro-Care™ on some of my patients as a test, they felt better! I now give Fibro-Care™ to all my patients with great results,” he said. What do patients think? Based on a national survey done by the Fibromyalgia Network, a newsletter with a 25-year publishing history, readers cited Fibro-Care™ as the number one nutritional product that helped their fibromyalgia and SEID.

Mark Twain has a quote that fits TyH’s mission regarding Fibro-Care™.

“Always do things right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.”

Summery

Fibro-Care™ is so important to FM/SEID that we developed a program around it -- TyH’s Get with the Program™. Over the last three decades, Fibro-Care™ has become the #1 supplement for FM/SEID and nothing has helped David and thousands of TyH customers like him. Once you know what a difference the unique combination of magnesium, malic acid and the supporting nutrients in Fibro-Care™ make, you will choose to make it part of your FM and SEID energy and pain equation, too. Expect results!

Caution: Those with kidney disease or cardiac AV block should seek professional medical advice before supplementing with any magnesium.

©TyH Publications (M. Squires). For informational purposes only. Not intended to diagnose, cure or treat any disorder, nor substitute for professional medical advice