the chemistry that made his fortune from magnesium and triggered family tragedy

Biochemistry Ana Maria Lajusticiapioneer in the introduction of magnesium as a dietary supplement, He died at the age of 100 in Barcelona. Born in Bilbao In 1924 Ana Maria Lajusticia and to their 43 years oldexperienced perhaps the first great “drama” of his life. He was diagnosed with type II diabetes. I had a problem. “His diet – as he explains on his website – was very poor. He lacked protein and vitamin C.” She had worn an orthopedic corset for 20 years with joint pain typical of osteoarthritis. He had cramps, boils, infections, back problems, arrhythmias, extrasystoles, the need to breathe because he was short of air… He was also exceeding his carbohydrate intake and the vegetables he ate were low in magnesium. But it was at this precise moment that he found the solution. He studied what a change in diet and magnesium intake could mean in his life. It worked.

At 52, she stopped wearing a corset. It was beyond him. It will be more difficult to do the same now. your daughter Conxita, at 60, tired and ruined, single and without children, preferred to end everything rather than being kicked out by her brother Manualowner of the farm where he had grown up and lived until that fateful day – and over which he had a dispute with him. “You now have one more house and one less sister,” he wrote on the walls before he died. The reason? She had been raised to succeed in life, be a millionaire and transcend yourself. After all, it was their family tradition, the right way to go. But he does not succeed and, before accepting his fall, he decides to put an end to it.

Conxita died free of the fame that her mother cultivated. Ana María Lajusticia was the mirror in which her six children looked at themselves: in fact, her business, which sells supplements (like collagen and magnesium), reached 11 million euros in 2015. It doesn’t matter that her childhood was not was not the most idyllic. She, daughter of Jesus And Dolphinsuffered the consequences of the Civil war. Her father died in 1937 and she began to suffer from nocturnal tachycardia linked to “the need to be a good student” to get good grades. I wanted to contribute, in whatever way possible, to the family economy as early as possible. This is why, at the age of 15, he moved with his family to Madrid. He finished high school and decided to pursue biochemistry.

It was his grandmother’s fault that he made that decision. “If you study science, you can only be a teacher; “If you study chemistry you can become a teacher, but you can also work in industry” admitted in an interview with Journal Sud own Ana Maria Lajusticia. No sooner said than done. He entered the University. There were hardly any women, but she didn’t hesitate. Since she was little, she cultivated a taste for science. Her father taught her mathematics when she was very young. She internalized it and successfully graduated.

His life couldn’t be better. A year after graduating, he moved to Girona work on the Osor Mines. He also married Catalonia. More precisely, in Englishwith Manuel Feliu de Cendrafarm owner – although he will separate later. With him, she had six children: four girls and two boys. Years later, he was diagnosed with diabetes and everything changed. She suddenly became the “magnesium queen” with her company.

“There was a group of doctors who realized that the wounded of the First World War who recuperated in spas with magnesium waters “They were better than those who were in ordinary hospitals (…) But it was over,” explained Ana María Lajusticia in an interview with The mail.

To improve her health, she started eating foods rich in magnesium and researching its benefits for the body. He discovered that the majority were deficient in the compound and began purchasing it from pharmacies. At three years old, she was able to remove the corset. It was the start of his million-dollar business. He ordered him magnesium pills to a local pharmacist and inaugurated his reign. It currently markets 30 products sold in Europe and an increasing number in Europe. Latin America.

Since then, it has been called “undocumented, irresponsible and witchy. » It doesn’t matter. In the 50s it was already known and in the 60s magnesium became fashionable. Little by little, the empire grew. In 1992, His income reached 498,486 pesetas. But above all, its second great impulse arrived recently. In 2014, with the running fever, the brand reached 12 million euros. In 2015, the last known figure, it fell somewhat – to 11 – but it continued to exert its influence.

Ana Maria Lajusticia It no longer only sells supplements (magnesium and collagen) for health, but also for athletes. Actually, 37 years after writing his first book, a “bestseller” (Magnesium, the key to health), public Magnesium in sport. Quite a declaration of intentions. He expanded his business (with the same name and his face as a logo) while increasing its longevity with a diet that he recommends in each of his interviews: egg, ham and orange juice, wholemeal bread and milk (or tea) for breakfast; a few nuts mid-morning; stewed beef or green peppers or fried mushrooms to eat; and fish (frozen or canned) for dinner.

This is your ABCs. Which, during this period, made her the “queen of magnesium” and, also, a multimillionaire. This is precisely what her daughter failed to realize, leading her to commit suicide before being expelled and showing that in reality she could not live up to expectations. Moreover, not even good relations with his brother.