Lyme disease and magnesium deficiency

Long ago, a friend suggested that I may have been exposed to Lyme disease, and maybe that was why I had the symptoms I have. Well, I went to a specialist and filled out their screening tests information, and they did not find any suggestion of Lyme disease in my responses. But, there is a bit of evidence to support a link between Lyme disease and magnesium deficiency. I Googled “Lyme disease magnesium” and came up with this site among many others.

http://www.lymebook.com/lyme-disease-diet-and-supplements-vitamin-a-b-c-magnesium

From the site related to magnesium and Lyme disease:

” Magnesium: Both Lyme and Bartonella significantly deplete the body’s supply of magnesium. Magnesium is one of the most important mineral nutrients necessary for good health, and also one of the minerals that Americans in general are most commonly deficient in. The recommended daily intake of magnesium for healthy people is 400 mg per day, but the sad reality is that the average American gets about half that amount per day. The best nutritional sources include green foods, especially collards and chard (magnesium is to chlorophyll what iron is to hemoglobin), orange-colored foods, nuts, chocolate, figs, apricots, coconut, bran, oats, beans, and legumes.

Most widely known for its ability to support the health of the bones, heart, skeletal muscles, and teeth, magnesium also plays essential roles in the maintenance and repair of all body cells, energy production, hormone regulation, nerve transmission, and the metabolism of proteins and nucleic acids. It also helps to reverse muscular tension and is involved in the functioning of literally hundreds of the body’s enzymatic reactions. A lack of magnesium can also contribute to immune system dysfunction, depression, fatigue, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, gastrointestinal problems, irregular heartbeat, memory problems, mood swings, muscle spasms and twitching, and motor skill problems.

Many chronic symptoms of Lyme/TBDs are related to magnesium deficiency, and the correction of that deficiency can be very effective in relieving those symptoms. For that reason, I routinely test nearly all patients with chronic Lyme symptoms for magnesium deficiency. The problem with blood testing is that the magnesium blood test should be done on the red bloods cells and not the serum. This is because magnesium exists primarily inside of cells (intracellular, as in red blood cells), and deficiency will not be detected in fluid outside of the cells (extracellular, as in serum or plasma) until a very profound deficiency exists. If you can afford it, the best, and also most expensive, test is the blood “ionized” magnesium (performed by most large commercial labs). “