Magnesium Carbonate is a white powdery compound that occurs naturally as dolomite and magnesite. It’s active ingredient is magnesium, a mineral that your body requires to function efficiently.
The body typically contains 25 g of magnesium, half of which is found in bone. Magnesium Carbonate has a wide array of medicinal properties above and beyond its role in the treatment of magnesium deficiency.
Every organ in the body needs magnesium to function properly. It is particularly critical to effective heart, kidney and muscle function. Magnesium also plays a significant role in boned and teeth. However, the mineral’s most important function are the activation of enzymes that are critical to human function, the regulation of levels of other minerals in the body and its contribution to energy production.
Magnesium deficiencies are relatively rare but can occur if your diet does not contain enough foods high in magnesium or because of certain medical condition, most notably gastrointestinal ailments that flush vital nutrients from your body.
If you are suffering from a magnesium deficiency, supplementation with magnesium carbonate will help return our body’s levels of the mineral to normal levels.
If migraines are the bane of your existence, supplementation with magnesium carbonate may help you prevent the onset of these painful headaches. Researchers at the New York Headache Center looked at foods that seem to trigger migraines as well as supplements that are effective in staving off migraine attacks. They reported that magnesium tops their list of all the supplements used on preventing migraines.
Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate disease, also known as CPPD and Pyrophosphate arthropathy, is a painful rheumatological condition in which crystals of calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate accumulate in connective tissue, most notably joints. A dose of 10 ml of magnesium carbonate daily has been reported to significantly relieve the symptoms of this condition.
Controls Phosphate Levels in Dialysis Patients
An unfortunate side effect of hemodialysis is an unhealthy buildup of phosphate levels in kidney patients undergoing the procedure. Magnesium carbonate can act as a phosphate binder in dialysis patients and significantly lower their phosphate levels. This is an inexpensive and effective way to control blood phosphate levels in hemodialysis patients.
Calcium Carbonate, Magnesium Carbonate, Potassium Carbonate and Zinc Carbonate are all salts of carbonic acid. All of these ingredients are white powders. These carbonate salts are commonly used in bath products, makeup products, personal cleanliness products, shaving products, oral care products and skin and hair care products.
(calcium carbonate -chalk built up over a long period of time)
Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body and the seventh most abundant element in the Earth’s crust.
In aesthetics, a variety of magnesium compounds are used. Magnesium aids in protein synthesis, energy and regulation at the cellular level. It also softens, tones, activates enzymes, and facilitates detoxification.
Many of us are familiar with magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt), as it has been long used to soothe aches and reduce inflammation. It earned its name from the town Epsom in Surrey, England, which incidentally was known as a “spa town” for the springs from which the salts were distilled. .
It is important to ensure the use of the proper form of Magnesium for your desires and needs!
Skin lightening products have experienced a global boom and their rapid growth is showing no signs of slowing.
MAP is one of the most frequently used compounds and one of the most powerful. The water-soluble vitamin C derivative stimulates collagen production inhibits melanin production. It is equally as effective as L-ascorbic acid in regulating collagen biosynthesis, and has the ability to suppress melanin formation by inhibiting tyrosinase. MAP may be commonly found in nourishing vitamin and antioxidant complexes and serums, such as the C Peptide Complex, since it is a form of vitamin C. It is also commonly used for UV protection and repair, as well as in skin lightening and brightening formulas for its melanin inhibiting properties.
It is also used to treat large areas of skin such as the face and hands or more localised areas of hyperpigmentation that occur when an excess of melanin forms deposits on the skin, usually caused by sun damage, acne scars or other skin injuries. Solar lentigines, commonly called age or liver spots, found on the hands and face and other areas frequently exposed to the sun are believed to be a common form of hyperpigmentation.
Melasma or chloasma spots are similar in appearance to age spots but are larger areas of darkened skin that appear most often as a result of hormonal changes. Pregnancy, for example, can trigger overproduction of melanin that causes areas of discolouration on the face and abdomen. Birth Control Pills may also have similar effect as could corticosteroids.
How Melanin is believed to form
Through a series of oxidative reactions involving the amino acid tyrosine in the presence of the enzyme tyrosinase.
The remainder of the reaction sequences can proceed spontaneously at physiological pH. Thus, tyrosinase converts tyrosine to dihydroxy-
phenylalanine (DOPA) and then
to dopaquinone. Subsequently, dopaquinone is converted to dopachrome, through autoxidation, and finally to dihydroxyindole or
dihydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid (DHICA) to form eumelanin, a brown-black pigment. The later reaction occurs in the presence of dopachrome tautomerase and DHICA oxidase. In the presence of cysteine or glutathione, dopaquinone is converted to cysteinyl DOPA or glutathione DOPA to form the yellow-red pigment, pheomelanin. The colour of the skin and its intensity depends on the rate of formation of the melanin, its degree of polymerisation, the speed of exfoliation and the thickness of the horny layer, which contains the most pigment.
Inhibiting melanin production does not result in a noticeable reduction in pigmentation for the first few weeks but because the skin naturally renews itself every 28 days or so pigmented cells are gradually sloughed off and keratinocytes with less melanin are eventually brought to the surface, giving the skin a lighter, more even-toned complexion.
There are many natural materials and derivatives with claims to lighten skin including mulberry, lemon, orange, liquorice, cucumber, cinnamon and rosemary, and many patents describe different ways of enhancing their efficacy.
The same patent mentions many other materials that are generally thought to improve skin lightening products including chelating compounds to chemically bind copper between pH 3.0 and 7.0, thus isolating the tyrosinase which contains copper in its structure.
An interesting means of lightening areas of skin is to decrease the ratio of dark eumelanin to the paler pheomelanin. USP 50226827 describes a means of doing this using methyl sulphonyl methane (MSM), a naturally occurring sulphur compound which may be safely administered topically or orally. The patent claims topical preparations that contain between 1% and 20% by weight MSM and
oral preparations containing approximately 200mg to 5000mg MSM per dose. MSM causes dopaquinone to be diverted towards the production of pheomelanin, rather than eumelanin, by increasing intracellular sulphur levels. Under a high intracellular sulphur concentration, melanogenesis automatically leads to an increased synthesis of sulphydryl-DOPA conjugates, resulting in the synthesis of the lighter coloured pheomelanin instead of the darker eumelanin.
Chronic stress can overpower and use up your magnesium stores—basically, it eats magnesium like candy. (Yet another big factor depleting everyone’s magnesium.) When your magnesium stores run low, your blood vessels tighten and blood pressure goes up, which magnifies the effects of the stress, which makes the blood pressure worse.
Magnesium Carbonate helps activate a skin-vital nutrient: Vitamin D.
Magnesium Carbonate is an absorbent drying agent. It works as an astringent, providing toning, smoothing and skin softening properties
Magnesium Carbonate also prevents inflammation by inhibiting e-selectin, which is a molecule responsible for inflammation in the skin. Basically, when your skin is damaged, e-selectin directs inflammation to the site to help the healing process. When the skin is chronically damaged (owing to ongoing poor lifestyle choices such as smoking, poor diet, stress, etc.) then the e-selectin never shuts off. Red, swollen, painful acne lesions are the result.
Some magnesium rich foods are:
- Green, dark, leafy vegetables (the darker the better): Spinach, kale, swiss chard, collard greens, etc.
- Fish: sardines, mackerel, tuna
- Seaweed, spirulina, and kelp
- Dried fruit: figs, prunes, apricots, raisins
- Dark chocolate
- Nuts and seeds
- Mineral Water
Adding magnesium supplements can result in:
- WAY more consistent energy. No afternoon slumps, just a steady feeling of alertness all day long.
- Less coffee craving.
- Less salt craving. Could your body actually be begging for magnesium when you are giving it sodium?
- Less worry/anxiety, and improved mood in general (that serotonin is magic stuff).
- Better concentration. Instead of being distracted every few minutes, You may find yourself able to focus on a task for longer.
- Better and more consistent bowel movements.
- Better and more solid sleep.
- Improved skin.
Applying Magnesium Carbonate Oil to your skin, mainly to a highly absorbable place like the ribcage or inner arms works on your skin cells.
Magnesium Carbonate facial powder is a ultra light powder has a mild astringent effect when used as a face mask ingredient. It helps to smooth and soften the skin. Recommended for use on normal to dry skin.
Magnesium carbonate is used in loose dusting powders and solid deodorant bars as an anti-caking agent and a perfume carrier. It is also used in dry shampoo.
Magnesium carbonate is typically used as clay in masks because of its smoothing and skin-softening properties. Sodium magnesium silicate, an opacifying agent, may be found in bronzing topicals to give skin a sun-kissed glow.
While magnesium is an important part of maintaining healthy skin, like anything, it requires a healthy balance, knowledge of the ingredient and how it affects the skin. Some magnesium compounds, particularly magnesium chloride, can irritate certain skin types and sensitive areas should be avoided. When used properly, and in the right formulas, magnesium will support healthy, radiant, youthful looking skin.
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