The WOMED model of benign thyroid disease: Acquired magnesium deficiency due to physical and psychological stressors relates to dysfunction of oxidative phosphorylation
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 7414000282
As Tex, during one of his many "aha" moments, wrote in his "Speaking of Crying at the Drop of a Pin" post about realizing that many (or most) of the emotional/psychological symptoms which have been attributed to MC are likely actually the result of magnesium deficiency ... so this article gives scientific proof that the same is true for many (or most) of the emotional/psychological symptoms such as anxiety, depression, panic attacks, insomnia, fatigue and generalized fear (often called "the overwhelming sense of impending doom") - which have all been attributed to thyroid disorder - are also the result of magnesium deficiency!!
~ Here's a quote from the article that, for me, is quite insightful. The treatment that they are referring to is described thoroughly in the article; briefly, the medical team addressed the following with their patients: physical and psychological stressors; treated them with significant amounts of magnesium and selenium; and acupuncture was sometimes used to correct postural and other muscular-skeletal conditions.
~ Here's another quote:"An important issue for patients has also been addressed by our work: there was a clinical improvement in the well-being in the majority of cases after correcting the changes and deficits these patients presented. The patients reported feeling fitter, having more energy, showing less fatigue, constipation had disappeared, and they also reported a better sleep quality. Single patients described less anxiety and less panic attacks. We have continued to observe these positive effects in patients that now consult us directly because of remaining symptoms of thyroid disease in spite of being adequately treated, medically speaking. This leads us to conclude that the clinical symptoms in benign thyroid disease are not exclusively associated with thyroid hormone levels but rather with magnesium deficiency [18]. Magnesium supplementation showed a beneficial effect on thyroid economy leading to a normalization of TSH levels. These dualities in pathogenesis have not been described before in thyroid practice and add a new insight into thyroid physiology."
Gabes and other will appreciate the importance this study gives to parental stress factors, maternal stress (and magnesium levels) while developing fetus is in the womb, and very early childhood events and stressors."Elaborating on the experimental data mentioned in the discussion we propose the hypothesis that thyroid function is related to magnesium availability. Lack of magnesium will affect iodine transport which depends on energy delivered by magnesium-ATP resulting in hypothyroidism."
~ In the Conclusions area there is a concise flowchart which I wish I could have figured out how to copy and paste (Fig. 13). The text below it is:
~ Regarding the variables, reliability and how studies are viewed in general, they provide this great notation:"Fig. 13.
The basic elements iodine, selenium and magnesium are provided by an adequate nutrition and a healthy functioning GI tract. Magnesium is directly related to magnesium–ATP in Complex V of the ATP-some in the mitochondria. With sufficient magnesium supply the mitochondria supply enough ATP and energy-dependent processes such as iodine uptake are maintained. Selenium and selenoproteins play an important role in antioxidant functions in the body. Through the influence of physical and psychological stressors the balance of magnesium availability can be compromised leading to diminished ATP production. Physical stress augments according to the intensity of physical activity. Thyroid hormones stimulate mitochondrial biogenesis as well as muscle repair. The final clinical settings are: 1) Hypothyroidism: low magnesium levels with low iodine uptake and low need of muscle repair. 2) Hyperthyroidism: low magnesium with inefficient OXPHOS, increased need of muscle repair due to musculoskeletal changes (lateral tension, IMT) which leads to increased production of thyroid hormones triiodothyronine (preferentially) and thyroxine."
To everyone who has had, will have, or knows loved ones who do have thyroid issues ... may this article be helpful. It makes me even more determined to put reversing my chronic magnesium deficiency right at the top of my priorities, along with eliminating as many food and other triggers to my immune system as I can. And it gives me, as you all have also done, HOPE and FAITH that we CAN take back our health to a greater extent than perhaps we even dreamed."Study design and interpretation is an issue of lively debate. We would like to add the following quote from Albert Szent-Györgyi which we believe reflects the essence and value of observational studies: “Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought”.2"
~ Holly