Manganese

Manganese

Jake Ames, MD, HMD

I have used manganese for many years to treat a variety of ailments.  It is an essential mineral and is naturally found in the soil and in some groundwater to a certain extent.

Before supplementing with manganese, have your physician test your blood by doing a red blood cell (RBC) manganese level, not a serum level.  Also, have your physician check manganese levels on a hair analysis.  I use Doctors Data hair analysis located in Chicago, Illinois. (www.doctorsdata.com).  I have used this lab since 1994, and I consider them one of the best hair analysis labs in the world.  A deviated to the right (elevated) manganese level on the hair analysis, oftentimes represents a total body deficiency.  This is why you always do an RBC manganese test first, then the hair analysis.  A white blood cell (WBC) manganese level is also an excellent test to do.

You should never take additional manganese without testing your levels since toxic levels of manganese can be dangerous.  I will talk about manganese toxicity later.

Manganese has many industrial uses.  It is used as an octane-enhancing agent for gasoline. It is used to make steel alloys. It is used in fireworks, making glass, batteries, fertilizers, varnishes, the oxidizing agent in cleaners, and a supplement for livestock.

The human body contains approximately 10-20 mg of manganese.  It is mainly concentrated in the bones, liver, kidneys, and pancreas.  Manganese is an essential nutrient, and I usually see people with food and environmental allergies low on this mineral, and when my patients supplement with manganese their allergies improve slightly.

I use it to prevent and treat osteoporosis along with boron, strontium, vitamin C, Bio Sil, vitamins K2, D, and collagen.  I rarely have my patients take supplemental calcium, since most supplemental calcium will end up in the cells, tissues and arteries instead of the bones.

I have treated four world champion power lifters, and I have noticed that if they are low on manganese and/or copper, they will get ruptured tendons and ligaments.

Manganese contributes to healthy bones and bone metabolism and helps to create essential enzymes for building bones.  It is involved in forming connective tissue and collagen.

It is involved in the proper functioning of the thyroid gland and in making sex hormones. It helps regulate glucose levels along with the minerals chromium and vanadium. It may also help prevent some forms of epilepsy.

Manganese makes a very powerful antioxidant called superoxide dismutase enzyme (SOD), the type found in the mitochondria.  Zinc and copper make the SOD found in the cytoplasm.  The mitochondria are the fuel source for our bodies, so manganese is needed to give us energy.

Manganese is involved in fat and carbohydrate metabolism.

I had one patient that it normalized his cholesterol to HDL cholesterol ratio.  Nothing else I tried would do it.

Sometimes my patients need manganese supplementation in addition to magnesium and potassium supplementation to correct their muscle cramps.  This can also apply to heart arrhythmia.

I have seen it help some women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS).

Manganese is needed for wound healing.  It increases collagen production.

Sometimes it helps one’s body with digestion so they can absorb their vitamins and minerals more efficiently.

I usually prescribe no more than 45 mg a day of manganese picolinate.  Ninety-eight percent of my patients, if they are low on their manganese blood tests take 15 mg a day of manganese picolinate.  I have never had a patient have any toxic side effects taking 15 mg a day of manganese picolinate.  I have found manganese picolinate to be assimilated really well in my patients.  Be aware of brands advertising chelated manganese.  What are they chelated to?  Still, do blood tests to make sure that you need it.

Sources of manganese depend on how rich the soils that the plants are grown in.  It is found in most fruits and vegetables.  From years of experience, I can tell you that I see many patients with low or low optimal manganese on their blood tests and hair analysis.

Manganese Toxicity

Welders, steelworkers, and miners if exposed to toxic levels can have symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease.  A baby’s brain is more susceptible to lead, manganese and other heavy metals than an adult’s brain and some infant formulas such as soy may have higher levels than mother’s milk, which could be toxic.  Humans should not be consuming soy anyway.  Too much manganese has been shown to lower a child’s IQ.

It is essential if you want to have optimal health to check all of the minerals known for human health, which includes manganese, magnesium, zinc, copper, selenium, lithium, calcium, rubidium, potassium, sodium, chloride, phosphorus, boron, cobalt, and strontium.

There are ultra-trace minerals and monoatomic minerals which are also essential for optimal health, but that is an entire topic for another time.

I recommend that you find a physician who has been doing red blood cell (RBC) mineral testing with the hair analysis for over 20 years.  All of us are deficient in many minerals.

© 2017 Jake Ames, MD, HMD  All Rights Reserved