If there was something that close to 70-80% (Dean) of the population was low in a particular mineral, shouldn’t there be more conversations about said mineral?
What if the issues associated with being low in this mineral included brain fog, sore muscles, high blood pressure, low appetite, fatigue, and other pretty common symptoms?
Well, there is one such mineral and that is Magnesium. Stay tuned to learn all about this amazing nutrient and why you most likely need more of it in your diet.
First things first, why as a society do we tend to be magnesium deficient? Most Western diets contain processed foods, high refined cards, and changes in our farming practices and soil quality means that foods have lower amounts of Magnesium, and our bodies are being negatively impacted by that change.
Systems Positively Impacted By Magnesium
You will often hear that Magnesium is a super supplement as it positively impacts so many various systems in our bodies. Magnesium supports over 600 chemical reactions(de Baaij), including but not exclusively the following:
Magnesium helps covert the food that we consume into useable energy
Formation of proteins from amino acids
Improves the contraction and relaxation of muscles
Helps regulate the nervous system (de Baaij)
With a mineral that impacts such large portions of bodies, it makes sense that there would be a huge amount of disorders and symptoms that are caused by being low in magnesium.
Conditions Associated with Magnesium Deficiency
In the Magnesium Miracle, the author describes 65 conditions related to magnesium deficiency. I will pause for a second and repeat that, sixty-five difference conditions linked to being deficient in one mineral.
These range from acid reflux, adrenal fatigue, anxiety attacks, asthma, blood clots, teeth grinding, depression, fatigue, headaches, infertility, inflammation, migraines, and many more!
While the above symptoms are significant, in isolation they can be explained away or you can be given a pill that could mask the symptoms enough so that they do not impact your daily life. Although, masking the symptoms does not mean the issue is fixed.
According the National Institute of Health, average daily recommended amounts is as follows:
Men: 400-420 mg
Women: 310-320 mg
Pregnant women: 350-360 mg
Breastfeeding women: 310-320 mg (NIH, 2020)
And for reference, the following foods are rich in magnesium:
Dark Chocolate: 64 mg in 1 ounce serving (brb, going to get more chocolate, don’t tempt me with a good time).
Avocados: 1 avocado contains about 58 mg of magnesium
Cashews: 1 ounce service contains about 82 mg of magnesium
Black Beans: 1 cup serving contains 120 mg of magnesium
Tofu: 3.5 ounce service has about 53 mg of magnesium
Pumpkin Seeds: 1 ounce serving contains 150 mg of magnesium (and they are also great for menstrual health and seed cycling!)
Whole Grains: Buckwheat has 65 mg of magnesium in a 1 ounce serving
Salmon: Half a fillet has 54 mg of magnesium
Bananas: One large banana contains 37 mg of magnesium
Leafy Greens, specifically spinach: 1 cup of cooked spinach contains 157 mg of magnesium! Almost 40% of your daily intake! (Spritzler, 2018)
As you can see, with most women needing at least 310 mg of magnesium, it can be hard to get enough magnesium strictly from food unless you are very diligent about what you eat every single day. This is when supplementing magnesium comes in, but there are some concerns to be aware of.
Previously and still used as a laxative, magnesium supplements are something that can be tricky with proper dosing, because it still does provider a laxative effect. Figuring out the proper dosing and type of supplementation is something that should be done between you and your provider. For some people, when they have too much magnesium, they develop loose stools. However, for some people, any magnesium supplementation can create loose stools, so the old adage of take it until diarrhea hits is not recommend. And lastly, there are certain medications, vitamins, and conditions that you may that could impact not only your magnesium intake needs, but also you magnesium absorption.
Ways to Incorporate Magnesium Into Your Routine
Incorporating magnesium can be challenging, but with paying attention to not only what you are consuming, but also what you put on your body can help with making sure that you are getting the proper amount of magnesium.
Prenatal vitamins contains 100-200 mg of magnesium
Eating unprocessed, quality foods rich in magnesium
Taking nightly Epson salt baths
Supplementing your nightly tea with magnesium powder
Taking a magnesium supplement (consult your favorite dietitian for how much is appropriate for you)
We hope this gave you a good starting point to have the conversation with your provider to see if your magnesium is in the normal range, or if you are one of the 80% of adults who is low magnesium.
Note: This blog is not intended to be considered medical advice and is purely informational
Sources:
de Baaij JH, Hoenderop JG, Bindels RJ. Magnesium in man: implications for health and disease. Physiol Rev. 2015 Jan;95(1):1-46. doi: 10.1152/physrev.00012.2014. PMID: 25540137.
Dean, Carolyn. Magnesium Miracle. Second ed., Ballantine, 2017.
“Office of Dietary Supplements - Magnesium.” NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-Consumer/.
Spritzler, Franziska. “10 Magnesium-Rich Foods That Are Super Healthy.” Heathline, 18 Aug. 2018, www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-foods-high-in-magnesium.
