GENERAL INFORMATION
Manganese is a very important, alkaline-forming,?regulatory?mineral.??Healthful forms of manganese are found in many natural foods.??It is a very essential mineral, needed for dozens of enzyme reactions in the body.
Deficiencies.??Most people are deficient in vital manganese compounds because:
1) They are born low in manganese due to deficiencies in their mothers
2) They eat refined or chemicalized foods that contain little manganese
3) They eat too much raw food such as salads.??Human beings cannot extract enough manganese from these foods because we cannot break down the tough vegetable fibers.
Valence.??Manganese has a valence of??+2 or +3 (similar to iron and copper, to which it is related).
A female mineral.??Dr. Eck classified manganese as an older ?female? element in the body.??He called it the?maternal mineral?because animals fed diets low in manganese exhibit less maternal behavior toward their young, and may abandon them completely.
Toxic manganese.??A highly toxic form of manganese is found in gasoline.??This means that anyone living in a city, or living near a highway, is exposed every day to a toxic form of manganese that can replace the good forms of manganese in the body, to some degree.
Welders are often exposed to another toxic form of manganese, as well.??Toxic forms may have a valence of +4 or +6.??This may explain why welders sometimes exhibit bizarre and violent behavior.??A number of the school shooting rampages in the United States and other nations have been committed by welders.??This is explained later in this article.
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SOURCES OF HEALTHFUL, BIOAVAILABLE MANGANESE
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Vegetables?- corn, corn germ, parsley, legumes
Meats?- snails, egg yolk
Nuts/seeds?- sunflower, coconuts, peanuts, pecans, walnuts, chestnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, brazils
Fruits?- blueberries, olives, avocados
Grains?- wheat, wheat germ and bran, rice, barley, oats, buckwheat, rye
Miscellaneous?- kelp, cloves, tea.??Gasoline fumes contain manganese, as can some water supplies, especially in the Northeast USA.
ROLES IN THE BODY
FUNCTIONS OF MANGANESE
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Nervous system?- synthesis of neurotransmitters
Reproductive system?- fertility
Endocrine system?- required for normal adrenal and thyroid gland activity
Skeletal?- tendons, ligaments, connective tissue
Metabolic?- energy production, glucose tolerance, utilization of fats and carbohydrates
Detoxification?- involved in superoxide dismutase
ENZYMES THAT REQUIRE MANGANESE
MANGANESE DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS
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Allergies
hypoglycemia
diabetes
myasthenia gravis
dizziness
ringing in the ears
fatigue
weakness, muscular
fractures or osteoporosis
weak ligaments and tendons
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MANGANESE TOXICITY SYMPTOMS
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Anorexia
Anger
neurological symptoms
ataxia
schizophrenia (often unemotional behavior, however, unlike a copper-based schizophrenia)
Extreme criminal behavior (psychopathology)
Iron deficiency
Parkinson?s disease, or symptoms similar to it.??Manganese often accumulates in the pons and cerebellar region of the brain
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Manganese madness (seen in manganese miners)
Hearing loss.??Manganese can accumulate in the area of the ears.
Headaches
Mental dullness
(Toxic manganese has an affinity for the head and for the ears)
SYNERGETIC NUTRIENTS
zinc, choline, vitamin K
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ANTAGONISTIC NUTRIENTS
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????????????Absorption?- calcium, phosphorus, iron, soy protein, iron, many other minerals
????????????Metabolic?- copper, magnesium, iron, vanadium
HAIR ANALYSIS NOTES
Reasons for high hair tissue manganese:
Low hair tissue manganese:
REASONS FOR MANGANESE SUPPLEMENTATION
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Dr. Paul Eck often gave his patients a manganese supplement.
I do not find it necessary today to give additional manganese supplements.??This is most likely due to the diets today that are very high in cooked vegetables, and the use of sea salt and other mineral sources such as kelp.
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REMOVING EXCESS TOXIC MANGANESE FROM THE BODY
Removing the toxic, oxide form of manganese and some other toxic forms of manganese from the body is not too easy.??However, a properly designed nutritional balancing program will achieve this.
One may need to remain on a nutritional balancing program for ten years or more for manganese elimination to occur if the body is in a weakened state, as most of them are today.??Following a complete nutritional balancing program is definitely the fastest way I know of to eliminate excess and toxic manganese that I find almost everyone has, so some degree.
In particular, near infrared lamp sauna therapy is very helpful, and perhaps needed, at times, to remove toxic manganese from the body.??Perhaps this is because this therapy drastically increases circulation, or for other reasons.
References