Despite the development of many “breakthrough” drugs designed to combat its effects, heart disease remains the number-one killer of Americans. Is there a simpler solution? The answer is yes. For many years, scientists and medical researchers have known about a common mineral that can effectively prevent or remedy many cardiovascular conditions. And unlike the pharmaceuticals usually prescribed, this supplement has no dangerous side effects. In this book, world-renowned cardiologist Dr. Dennis Goodman shines a spotlight on magnesium, the mineral that can maximize your heart health.

The author first establishes a firm foundation for understanding heart disease, detailing its many forms and providing a brief overview of its fundamental mechanisms. Next, he examines the important role magnesium plays in many life processes and explores how a deficiency of this substance can lead to many of our nation's most common health conditions, including cardiovascular disease. The author then details magnesium’s astounding benefits, not only for heart disease, but for other health problems, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders, osteoporosis, and insomnia. Finally, this knowledge is put to work, as Dr. Goodman offers clear guidelines on how to select and use magnesium supplements to greatest effect.

Many drugs are designed to relieve the symptoms of heart disease, but none of them eliminates the root cause of the problem. In Magnificent Magnesium, you will discover how a simple all-natural mineral can improve the function of your heart and help you regain control of your health.

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1.What’s Our Problem?
2. Magnificent Magnesium and Why You Aren’t Getting Enough
3. Meet Your Heart
4. The Missing Link—Magnesium Deficiency & Heart Disease
5. Magnesium’s Other Health Benefits
6. How to Take Magnesium
Conclusion
Resources
References
About the Author
Index

“Magnificent Magnesium by Dennis Goodman, MD should be read by everyone who is concerned about the issues of health.  That would include both the lay public and healthcare professionals. There are several ways I use to determine if a writer, of healthcare information, has done a good job with the material being presented: first, has the writer been able to translate difficult medical and scientific constructs so that it digestible?  This means can one understand, on a basic level, what’s being said; can a reader who may not have an advanced education learn from what is written?  Second, is the material scientifically sound and presents up to date knowledge that is confirmed in the literature?  Third, and probably the most important, can the reader use the information to improve the quality of their lives, and hopefully, at cost and permanently?  Fourth, is there something that, I as a physician, can extract as new and usable information?  After reading Dr. Goodman’s book the answer to all the above questions is a resounding, yes!

The book is easy reading and will educate you as you go through it.  It addresses many issues that healthcare providers who practice the new medicine called Functional Medicine believe and do.  Functional Medicine is medicine that looks for the root causation of illness and does not just treat the manifestations of a disease but addresses why the disease/condition is there in the first place.  It also attempts to reduce the use of pharmaceuticals/medications as much as possible.  Exchanging medications for what the body is natural lacking or requiring that allows it to function better physiologically. 

After I read the book my wife started reading it.  She asked me, are we taking magnesium?  I said no.  We both looked at each other and said we’ll start today.  Good work Dr. Goodman and thanks."

—Richard W. Walker Jr., MD

All too often, the public is besieged by reports that a particular supplement holds the secret to a longer, healthier life. Exciting new information is released, spurring a surge of interest and, of course, a rise in supplement sales. As claims about the nutrient circulate, people are exposed to some truth, some hype, and, often, a good deal of wishful thinking. The pity is that while the media focuses on a short-lived trend, some very important nutrients are often overlooked—to the detriment of everyone’s health.

Consider the following: Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States today. Each year, we spend billions of dollars on medical tests, operations, hospital stays, rehab centers, equipment, and drugs—all to help prevent or remedy heart disease—yet with very little to show for our investments. Heart disease accounts for direct and indirect costs of more than $190.3 billion each year, and the American Heart Association forecasts that these costs will increase by a minimum of 200 percent over the next twenty years.

Billions more go to the satellite industries that have developed to cater to our health epidemics—producing everything from bestselling diet books to weight loss centers to lines of “heart-healthy” foods—and making promises that they can prevent or reverse these conditions. The media is flooded with ads and television shows that tell us that if we don’t do something, we are bound to become statistics—the victims of our own inaction. Yet there is something we can do to offset the outrageous expenditures and unnecessary procedures; in fact, there’s something we can take even now in order to help prevent these life-threatening health conditions from developing in the first place. The answer is simple, inexpensive, and effective—magnesium.

As a heart specialist, I feel that the treasures held within magnesium have yet to be embraced by the medical community. The more studies I read confirming the vital roles magnesium plays in the body, the more clearly I realized that too few people know how critical magnesium is to good health.

Magnesium is the eighth most abundant element on Earth and the eleventh most common element in the human body. It has been studied by medical researchers for over a hundred years, and while it has always been considered a reasonably important mineral, it is, in fact, essential to the proper functioning of the body. This master mineral is a necessary ingredient for approximately three hundred and fifty enzyme systems, thus playing a role in the majority of your body’s metabolic processes. Surprisingly, however, upwards of 80 percent of Americans are deficient in this nutrient.

Why is magnesium deficiency worth our attention? First and foremost, without the proper levels of magnesium in the body, we are subject to heart attacks—the number one killer of Americans—as well as a variety of other heart-related disorders. Second, many other serious health problems are associated with magnesium deficiency, including type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, osteoporosis, muscle cramps, fatigue, depression, migraines, and insomnia.

At this point, you may be wondering, “If magnesium is this important, why haven’t I heard about it before?” While there are many reasons as to why magnesium has been overlooked for so long, I strongly believe that magnesium’s time is now. Once you have read this book, you will understand the difference magnesium can make in your life. The goal of Magnificent Magnesium is to contribute to wider public knowledge about the value of this mineral—knowledge that you will be able to apply the moment you turn the book’s last page.

This book is designed to present an understanding of magnesium with a sharp focus on its role in heart health and several other aspects of physical well-being. Chapter 1 takes an unflinching look at the heart disease epidemic that claimed nearly 800,000 American lives in 2010, with stroke killing over 129,000 people that same year. It examines the most common forms of heart disease and details their causes, risk factors, symptoms, diagnoses, and typical treatment methods, so that you will be able to recognize and potentially prevent these devastating conditions.

In Chapter 2, you will be introduced to magnesium and its many roles in supporting and maintaining your body’s vital functions. You will also learn the reason that magnesium deficiency is so common in the United States today: stress. Stress comes in many forms—psychological, physical, and environmental. The important thing to understand is that all of these forms of stress contribute to the extensive depletion of magnesium from our bodies and food sources.

Chapter 3 sets the foundation for understanding heart disease, providing an overview of the cardiovascular system. By learning how your heart and blood vessels work under normal circumstances, you will be able to understand what happens when something goes wrong—as with the heart conditions discussed in Chapter 1.This knowledge base also allows you to see how magnesium can help your body, from the cellular level on up.

In Chapter 4, you will take a closer look at the way the medical community currently views and treats heart disease. The chapter also introduces an emerging model for understanding heart disease—and preventing it. The starved heart model of heart disease asserts that without an optimal supply of magnesium, the heart begins to break down at every level, leading to energy starvation, dysfunction, and eventually cardiovascular disease. Accordingly, to reverse or protect against cardiovascular disease, it is essential to maintain good magnesium levels and excellent magnesium stores.

Chapter 5 demonstrates that the benefits of magnesium extend far beyond their applications for cardiovascular disease. Many of the United States’ other major health conditions are caused or exacerbated by magnesium deficiency. This chapter lays out the research, showing that you can help improve, protect against, and even prevent these diseases by simply increasing your intake of magnesium.

Finally, in Chapter 6, all this information is put to work, providing you with a practical guide to integrating magnesium into your life. You will be shown how to determine the amount of magnesium you need to obtain and maintain optimal wellness, taking into account your current magnesium status and the amount you burn through on a day-to-day basis. You will also be provided with information on the best sources for getting this vital nutrient, so that you will never be without.

By the time you finish reading Magnificent Magnesium, you will be equipped with the knowledge you need to understand the origins of heart disease—and, potentially, to prevent it from ever developing. But while reading this book is a significant first step, it is far more important that you actually use the tools contained within to take charge of your health. Be proactive; only you can change your life!