Foreword

“Clearly there is more to life than magnesium” is one of the remarks from Dr. Dean’s remarkable, almost encyclopedic, but very readable book. Her book is long overdue, for it gives the lay reader a chance to discover for him- or herself the many needs for this mineral in a healthy diet, and the reasons why this has not been emphasized in the everyday literature.

The requirement for magnesium in our diet is indeed a much-neglected topic, and this book by Dr. Dean brings the message home by her carefully written repetitive emphasis on the subject. That does not mean that there are not many other nutrients necessary in our daily food intake, as stated above, but the point she so clearly makes is that the public in general has not been notified to look for the proper amount of this mineral in the daily diet and the many reasons magnesium is needed in our bodies.

After a cursory overview of the material, the book should be read as one would read an encyclopedia, that is, pick out the parts one is particularly interested in, and then go back and try to read it all. This way the reader will get the gist of how important magnesium really is and how little he or she has been informed, be it from newspapers, magazines, or the rest of the news media. As the old adage says, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” and so it is with balanced nutrition, which includes this all-important mineral in adequate amounts. (As to the other interesting parts of the book, our qualifications allow us to comment only on the material pertaining to the scientific basis for the need of magnesium.)

DR. BELLA T. ALTURA

Research Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology

SUNY Downstate Medical Center

Brooklyn, New York

DR. BURTON M. ALTURA

Professor of Physiology, Pharmacology, and Medicine

SUNY Downstate Medical Center

Brooklyn, New York