The finely tuned processes that keep us alive – and healthy - all depend on the balance of nutrients we ingest. Some of these make an appearance on multiple lists of the most hardworking vitamins and minerals.
One such vital nutritional component is magnesium, which is literally supporting us around the clock. That’s because one of the jobs magnesium does is to help us to think clearly, move around adroitly, sleep well and have a regularly beating heart! It also plays a part in our energy release and mood levels.
As magnesium is crucial to our physiology, and therefore our diet, we have created a guide that explores:
• The role of magnesium in preventing and managing chronic illness.
• Brain health and magnesium.
• How magnesium supports good mental health, energy levels and sleep.
• Magnesium’s ability to be an anti-inflammatory, and potentially a natural remedy for migraines.
• The potential for magnesium to tackle common issues such as PMS.
• The most bioavailable sources of magnesium.
What is magnesium and why does it matter?
First, let’s refresh our understanding of magnesium (Mg).
It’s believed that the first scientist to distinguish magnesium as a metallic element was Joseph Black in Edinburgh, in 1755. Its name is derived from a region of Greece – Magnesia – where the earliest examples investigated were sourced.
It is the eighth most abundant element on the planet and prolific within the Earth’s crust!
In fact, magnesium is widespread throughout nature, including in our oceans and rocks. It takes numerous forms, some of which are far better suited to industrial uses rather than to bioavailable food supplements (more on this later).
Understanding of magnesium’s importance is growing, but it is already believed to be involved in around 300 different enzyme processes (catalytic changes) that take place within the human body.
Around 50% of the magnesium within living organisms is stored in bones. The rest is held in various tissues, as one of its most important tasks is to be an electrical conductor, stimulating optimal muscle contraction and relaxation. That includes helping our hearts to beat at the correct pace.
Do we all get enough magnesium?
The recommended daily amount of magnesium is between 400–420 mg for men and 310–320 mg for women.
You can already see how serious it could be if you don't hit these targets, as it impacts heart, bone, muscle and nerve health. Symptoms include “poor mental health, muscle spasms, cramp and weakness, asthma and an irregular heartbeat” as mentioned in our overview of modern nutritional deficits.
Despite how readily available and crucial it is, there is a substantial proportion of the population – possibly as much as 20% - who are deficient. Some scientists have theorised that figure could be as high as 80% in older people. That’s because as we age, our body’s ability to access and use vital nutrients declines. So, even a well-balanced, healthy diet can leave you with shortfalls in vitamins and minerals, including being in need of magnesium supplements.
The krebs cycle and magnesium
One of the reasons we need enough magnesium is its connection to our body’s ‘fuel’.
Our ability to work, rest and play – and stay healthy - depends on the energy released throughout our body, in a measured and consistent way. It depends on a complex cellular process to store and then use the fuel we need.
This is known as the krebs cycle; though it’s also referred to as the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle or citric acid cycle. It involves chemical energy being used to ‘unlock’ the stores of glucose our bodies hold; glucose that we have already taken from carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
Magnesium is involved in both energy metabolism and protein synthesis (creation) at a cellular level. Too little magnesium means we can’t access the fuel our body needs, no matter how much energy-providing food we have eaten.
It stands to reason that making sure you get enough magnesium could potentially improve your energy levels.
Can you test for magnesium deficiency?
One of the most common ways to test if someone is deficient in a particular nutrient is to analyse a blood sample.
As mentioned elsewhere in this guide to magnesium, it is largely held in our bones and tissues. Only around 1% is in our bloodstream. When you do have a significant deficit, your body’s default system is to access any stored in your red blood cells, to transport around your body in your blood serum. So, a blood test would often show the presence of magnesium, even if you were lacking it in all the places it should be.
This illustrates the limited nature of blood tests for nutritional evaluations.
A far better way to identify low levels of magnesium is a naturopathic evaluation. This looks at your medical history and daily diet, to find potential links between what you eat and ill health.
The role of magnesium in illness prevention
As outlined in our article on “Could a Magnesium-Rich Diet Help to Reduce the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes, Heart Disease, and Strokes?” this mineral is essential to our most crucial physiological functions – including heart and circulatory health.
It keeps our hearts beating regularly – which is a big enough impetus to take this topic seriously on its own.
One of the reasons magnesium deficiencies can go undiagnosed is that the symptoms can be hard to differentiate from many other common medical conditions.
For example, magnesium is important to brain health and nerve-to-nerve communication, particularly the way we process memory, learning and cognitive function. Too little can manifest as a ‘foggy’ brain and lack of clarity. That can then be blamed on numerous other potential causes.
As it is so entwined with keeping our brains healthy and working well, magnesium supplementation is one area of research in the prevention and treatment of dementia.
What else does magnesium do?
One of this mineral’s roles is to relax as well as contract our muscles. It is easy to see why too little can be significant if we want to be able to sleep well at night. Including getting relief from restless legs in bed.
Magnesium supplements have also been shown to be effective in treating people with anxiety, and in regulating mood in general, as it is a natural relaxant.
Also, arterial walls need to relax and contract in a well-measured way, and for this, they too need magnesium as a ‘messenger’. So, having enough magnesium can help avoid the risk of stomach cramping – such as Pre-Menstrual Syndrome – and high blood pressure.
Studies have shown low magnesium may account for some migraines: “Supporting the use of magnesium in prevention and treatment of migraine.”
Its value as a natural anti-inflammatory is the subject of global research too.
Also, how many people seek help from the GP because they feel ‘weary’ or ‘depressed - or have pins and needles and muscle spasms - when the solution could lie in boosting their intake of magnesium?
Natural sources of magnesium
Here’s a way of boosting your magnesium levels that gets very little publicity – absorbing it through your skin, with a paddle or swimming in the sea! Which is one of the reasons that a day relaxing on the coast can leave you feeling calmer and better able to sleep.
If getting to the seaside is impractical (or the water is too cold) then putting Epsom Salts in your bath can help you to absorb more magnesium.
Foods high in magnesium include seeds (especially pumpkin and chia) and nuts. It can be found in significant amounts in bananas, spinach, beans (including soy), potato skins, wholegrains and brown rice. Non-plant sources of magnesium include fish and some meats.
However, there is an important caveat to that, as we have referenced in previous nutritional resources on this website. The key to getting enough magnesium in your diet is variety in what you eat, but also the quality of the ingredients used for meals.
There is still a significant number of people in the UK who rely heavily on processed foods, or a limited range of fruit and vegetables that may not have been grown or retailed in ideal conditions. For instance, even the best choices of plant-based foods have lower nutritional value when chemical fertilizers and pesticides have been used in their production.
Then there is the whole issue of how badly we are depleting the quality of the soil we use to grow foodstuffs.
Also, various medical conditions can interfere with our ability to absorb magnesium from food, especially issues connected to digestive health. Alcoholism and certain medications can also reduce your body’s ability to process nutrients like this one.
This all makes supplements with magnesium in them a wise purchase for the many people who fail to get enough from their diet, or who struggle to absorb it as they get older.
The best magnesium supplements
The most obvious ways to boost your magnesium levels may not be the BEST way to increase your access to magnesium.
That’s because – as we covered in our explanation of how to spot high-quality food supplements, it’s advantageous to find a supplier of organic mineral forms like magnesium citrate, chloride, or aspartate, although the citrate form fits most comfortably into our Kreb Cycle..
Magnesium citrate is a more bioavailable source of this crucial mineral, compared to buying magnesium as an oxide or in some of the chelated forms.
Various studies have supported the view that: “magnesium citrate is better suited to therapeutic and supplementary use”. Or as one study said, citrates are the best way to “optimise the dietary magnesium intake”. Partially due to the fact citrates are easier for our bodies to absorb and therefore use quickly.
Unfortunately, many supplements containing magnesium available on supermarket shelves or online contain a less efficient form of this mineral – but one that is cheaper to extract and use.
You need to find a magnesium supplement that provides it as a highly absorbable formula, that can swiftly penetrate the tissues and cells where magnesium is needed.
We have not covered all the advantages of magnesium in this guide. For example, it is also involved in natural detoxification processes.
This leads us to a final question about this mineral. Can you ingest too much magnesium? It is very rare to ‘overdose’ on this nutrient, as our kidneys are adept at dispelling unused magnesium in our urine. Toxicity from too much magnesium is only really likely if your kidneys are not functioning properly.
Additional sources: https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/12/magnesium
https://chemistrytalk.org/magnesium-element/#:~:text=Cool%20Facts%20About%20Magnesium,of%20all%20the%20metallic%20elements.
