inflammatory processes run amok.
The downstream effects of magnesium deficiency may
be the perfect example of such reprioritization. This is
because magnesium is a mineral required by more than
three hundred enzymatic reactions in the body with duties
ranging from energy creation to DNA repair. If it is
constantly shuttled into short-term needs, DNA repair takes
a back seat. This effect is almost certainly magnified when
we consider that nearly 50 percent of the population doesn’t
consume adequate amounts of magnesium, second in
deficiency rates only to vitamin D, and yet it is easily found
at the center of chlorophyll, the energy-generating molecule
that gives dark leafy greens their color.^6
Research has validated that inflammation wrought by
nutrient scarcity is strongly linked with accelerated brain
aging and impaired cognitive function.^7 Robert Sapolsky,
author of Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, may have said it
best when describing the similar reshuffling of priorities that
occurs during stress: the body holds off on long-term
projects until it knows that there will be a long term. After
all, the major consequences of damaged DNA—a tumor, for
example, or dementia—won’t get in your way for years,
decades even . . . but we need energy today.
Sugar and Carbs 101
One could argue that the principle shift from prehistory to
modernity was to promote concentrated sources of
carbohydrates from cameo appearances in our diets to