Magnesium is an incredibly important mineral for our bodies. Yet, an estimated 85% of all Americans are deficient in magnesium.
Most of the magnesium in the body is intracellular, which means inside our cells. This is important to know, as it is commonly only tested as serum blood levels. It is possible to have normal serum magnesium levels, and still be deficient at the cellular level. It takes several weeks to replace magnesium with oral supplements because our intracellular stores are considerably large.
Magnesium is an important element for several enzymes that are required for over 300 metabolic reactions, It is involved in over 3000 binding sites in the body. In addition, It acts as an antioxidant and mitigates the effects of oxidative stress via the glutathione redox system. This enables your body to cope with stress more successfully.
Magnesium is a primary regulator of glycolysis and the Kreb’s cycle, which means that it plays a huge role in blood sugar and energy regulation. It is also a second messenger for growth factors in protein synthesis, thus it is part of how you make hormones, and is part of proper immune function as well.
Magnesium helps maintain cell membrane stability, which means it is crucial for proper cardiovascular function, muscle function, and nerve conduction. It helps with muscle aches and tightness, as well as dilate blood vessels, lower blood pressure, alleviate headaches, and prevent constipation.
Magnesium helps:
- With symptoms of anxiety and depression
- Sleep
- Detoxification
- Maintain healthy blood pressure and heart rhythm
- Maintain healthy blood sugar
- Muscle aches and pains
- Constipation
- Aids in calcium absorption
- Decreases the effects of stress on the body
- With immune system function
- With possible cancer prevention
- Headaches
- Asthma
- Improve memory
- Increase energy
Things that can lower magnesium:
- Kidney disease
- Diabetes/insulin resistance
- Excess alcohol
- Poor nutrition, especially high in processed foods and sugar
- Gut issues such as inflammatory bowel disease, and/or intestinal permeability
- Stress
- Inflammation
- Medications (especially proton pump inhibitors/acid blockers)
- Age (levels decrease linearly with age)
As previously mentioned, magnesium has been proven to help many conditions, and if you are suffering with any of the conditions listed in the “Magnesium Helps” section, magnesium supplementation may be for you. Ideally, you should have your doctor test your magnesium levels to verify that it is the cause of your symptoms. There may be other reasons for them. There are also conditions in which people with normal magnesium levels may use more magnesium, thus creating a functional deficiency.
When choosing a magnesium supplement, the first priority is to make sure you are getting your supplements from a good quality, third party tested company, so you can be assured what is in the bottle is actually in there. Next, you will want to make sure you are taking the correct form of magnesium for you, based on your symptoms, health conditions, and/or documented deficiency. Working with a qualified practitioner is the best to help you with this.
The least absorbable form of magnesium is magnesium oxide, which is commonly found in most brands you find on the shelves at drug stores and grocery stores. Below is a general guide to help you decide which form may be best for you. As always, if you are having significant symptoms of any kind, consider working with a functional medicine physician to help you find and treat all of your root causes.
If you need magnesium, focus on magnesium rich foods, as the more natural the source, the better! However, there is a lot of evidence pointing to decreased mineral content in the soil, which means less magnesium in your food. It is possible to eat a diet that would normally be rich in magnesium and still be magnesium deficient.
Anti-inflammatory foods with high magnesium content:
- Spinach
- Chard
- Pumpkin and squash seed kernels
- Brazil nuts
- Dark Chocolate
- Halibut
- Almonds
- Cashews
- Pine nuts
- Pollock
- Avocado
- Tuna
- Artichokes
- Figs
- Beet greens
- Okra
- Haddock
Guide to Magnesium Replacement:
Muscle Complaints: Magnesium malate is the best form, as it has even been studied to help fibromyalgia patients.
Brain: Magnesium L-threonate is the best for brain symptoms, including insomnia, anxiety, memory, and cognition issues.
General: Magnesium glycinate is a great general form of magnesium that absorbs well.
Constipation: Magnesium citrate, as it will actually cause diarrhea as a side effect if too much is taken.
Also, magnesium has co-factors that help it work better in the body, such as B vitamins, thus making sure your levels of those are adequate will help you get the most out of your magnesium supplementation. The dose needed will vary from person to person, and of course depend on the size of the person, and their individual requirements. As a general rule, you know you have taken too much magnesium if you get loose stools, then back down to the last dose that did not. There are also extended release forms of magnesium that can help with this as well.