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        New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2003 >> Missing Research - CH and Triglycerides
        
(Message started by: floridian on Nov 6^th, 2003, 8:43am)

Title: Missing Research - CH and Triglycerides
Post by floridian on Nov 6^th, 2003, 8:43am

Just got off medline and was surprised that there was very little on cholesterol and CH, and nothing about triglycerides/CH on medline.

Just got my my first blood lipid profile back - total cholesterol good, LDL good, HDL on the edge of being acceptable, but triglycerides at 266 (150 or below considered good). Doc set me up to meet with a nutritionist, but that won't be for a few weeks. So I did some reflecting and digging. My diet could use some improvement, but is moderately low in fat, and includes a fair amount of fruits, veggies, and fiber.

Didn't take long looking through the literature to see that elevated triglyceride is a classic symptom of magnesium deficiency. Magnesium deficiency can also elevate cholesterol levels, but the effect is not as pronounced as with triglycerides.

Can't say that low mag is the cause in my case, but there is ample reason to suspect it might be. I was taking a magnesium supplement (100% of RDA) over the summer, but quit at the end of August when my cycle ended. I also started taking a calcium supplement about a month before the blood test for an unrelated reason, and calcium and magnesium are antagonistic to each other.

The standard test for magnesium is for free plasma levels. This will show a severe deficiency, but does not do a good job of assessing Magnesium in the body. The body has many mechanisms to keep the blood nutrients at constant levels, even if it means pulling those nutrients out of cells. One abstract found that adding MgCl to water improved triglycerides, but "Magnesium-chloride fortification of drinking water did not result in higher plasma Mg concentrations." (!!) Either it helps by changing nothing, or it was improving Mag levels in the cells, while the blood stayed constant.

Plenty has been written here about magnesium and clusters. Worth reviewing, especially if your triglycerides are high. There is evidence that an elevated triglyceride level is more of a risk for heart problems than high cholesterol.