Magnesium is one of the most essential elements for our bodies, after oxygen, water, and food. Yet, over 50% of us are deficient in this vital mineral. Magnesium has many benefits.
This essential mineral is involved in more than 1,300 biochemical reactions.
Magnesium, not calcium, is the most essential mineral for building strong bones and preventing loss of bone.
Why are so many people magnesium deficient when this mineral is vital for our bodies? How can we increase our magnesium intake to boost our vitality? Let’s begin with the basics.
What is Magnesium?
Like calcium and potassium, this mineral is a macromineral that the body needs in large quantities. This mineral is the second-most abundant element in human cells. It also serves hundreds of functions.
This mineral is capable of supporting several functions.
- Enzyme activity
- The body uses energy to contract muscle fibers
- Protein synthesis
- Cell Reproduction
- Protecting DNA
It is essential for the breakdown of glucose and fat, as well as for DNA and RNA creation and cholesterol production regulation. It is the leader of mineral balance, essential to maintaining cell life.
The bottom line is that magnesium plays a vital role in almost every bodily function.
We would not be able to produce energy without it, our muscles would be permanently contracted, and we wouldn’t have the ability to regulate ourselves.
Magnesium Benefits
This is a list of some of magnesium’s main benefits, with an explanation of each use and studies to support it.
- Headaches and migraines: How to prevent them
- Reduce Anxiety
- Lower blood pressure
- Fight depression
- Anti-inflammatory
- Reduce PMS symptoms
- Sleep better with improved sleep
Magnesium prevents heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and depression. It can help with PMS, anxiety, sleep issues, asthma, and migraines.
In one study, supplementing magnesium with 1 gram provided faster and more effective relief than common medications.
A second study also found that this mineral does not affect those with normal blood pressure levels.
Do You Get Enough Magnesium?
According to the National Institute of Health, women should consume 310mg daily and men 400mg daily. If you are taking a magnesium supplement daily, it is recommended that you do not go over 350mg.
We must ensure enough magnesium in our diet because the body does not produce it. Exercising requires up to 20 percent more magnesium than at rest.
Take Magnesium to Get the Benefits: Here are three ways to ensure you get enough.
Our favorite three ways to increase your magnesium intake.
Food
Eat more black or white beans. Quinoa, spinach. Halibut. Oat bran.
Take a teaspoon of molasses every day for magnesium and other minerals.
Refined oils, sugars, and grains are responsible for removing most of the magnesium from foods that could otherwise be rich in this mineral. Even the soil where the magnesium-rich food is grown impacts the outcome. This has reduced magnesium content over the past century.
Supplements
Magnesium is a mineral that can be found in food, but it may also be needed in supplement form.
The best form of magnesium supplementation would be the one chelated with an amino acid or a Krebs-cycle intermediate.
Look for them in the aisle of vitamins.
- magnesium glycinate
- Magnesium taurate
- magnesium malate
- magnesium citrate
- or magnesium fumarate
Also, you can find supplements in the form of powder. You can add these to drinks or smoothies. They are available in both flavored as well as unflavored varieties.
Transdermal
This mineral can be absorbed through the skin via creams, oils, and mineral baths.
These oils, creams, and salts are available in most stores. You can also find recipes online for making them yourself.
Last Important Information About Magnesium
Magnesium is rarely overdosed because the kidneys can eliminate excess. If you suffer from kidney disease, heart disease, or gastrointestinal problems, it is essential that you are aware of this and ask your doctor if there are any questions.
Magnesium is vital in maintaining heart and bone health and mental and physical function. Magnesium relaxes your muscles and helps you sleep better when you consume enough.
This mineral can treat migraines, anxiety, depression, and PMS. You have to take it yourself because your body does not make it.
