Most of us really don’t know what our body is composed of and take for granted that we get enough nutritional materials from what we eat. Truth is that rarely do we even meet the RDI (Recommended Daily Intake) of vitamins and minerals. Truth be told, these limits are outdated and on the low side given our fast paced, pollutant laden, and soil depleted sad state of affairs in North America and most parts of the industrial world. Even if the best organic diet provided the right amounts of healthy ingredients, there are digestive and environmental factors that can interfere with its absorption and efficacy.
Magnesium (Mg) is an elemental alkalizing marvel and is the 4th most abundant mineral in the body, comprising 50% of bone mass. It is responsible for some 300 biochemical reactions and is imperative for healthy nerve and muscular function. Think of it as the “relaxing” mineral both for your muscles and your mind. Rich sources are green leafy vegetables (chlorophyll), fruits, beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds. If you are an athlete, you may think you get enough from sports drinks which do help but are often just enough to replenish often low to begin with amounts after exercise and are laced with simple sugars, dyes, artificial colours and flavours.
Since Magnesium is absorbed primarily through the small intestines, having proper digestion is imperative. IBS or Crohn’s disease, for example, will affect the absorption level of all nutrients and magnesium is no exception through improper biochemical reactions and the “flushing out” that occurs with diarrhea associated with the digestive disorders.
How do you know if you are getting enough from your diet and if you should supplement? Listen to your body. At the root of holistic nutrition and most non-Westernized practitioners lies a set of symptomoligical symptoms that serve as warning signs that not all is right within and dig down to address the “root cause” of impaired function. Headaches, anxiety, insomnia, constipation, allergies, and even ADD, fibromyalgia, arrhythmia, allergies, hypoglycemia, diabetes, cardiovascular disease can be specific indicators of magnesium deficiency (they also can be indicative of other deficiency). These signs are vital in assessing low levels of all nutrients. Blood work may need to be done in extreme cases, especially if kidney function is an issue.
This is the cool stuff – research! What you should know is that research shows varying results but it is accepted that adequate levels of Mg have:
- anti-thrombotic (anti-clotting) effect in the blood
- increase exercise tolerance in already fit individuals up to 20% (through increased vaso dilation of arteries and capillaries – improved cardio function!)
- improve calcium metabolism and hormone regulation (helping to dissolve calcium deposits over time) and decrease risk of osteoporosis and osteomalacia
- assist in carbohydrate metabolism by influencing the release and activity of insulin (with hypoglycemia or uncontrolled diabetes mellitus where Mg is excreted through kidneys faster with high blood sugar) This also supports a low to mid Glycemic Diet to ensure proper Mg levels stay in body!
- Over 2 alcoholic drinks (6 oz.) or cups of coffee (12 oz.) and pharmaceutical drugs such as diuretics and antibiotics will leach Mg (and other minerals) from bone, and bloodstream
- Help with sound sleep, muscle recovery/release (think epsom salt bath – magnesium sulfate!), nervousness, constipation, restless leg syndrome, heart palpitations, leg cramps, and “RELAXING”…
So, what to do? On average you should be consuming about 300-400 mg a day and again that is next to impossible to get exclusively from your food coupled with lifestyle and environmental factors that can further deplete stores.
Food always first so load up on halibut, salmon, raw almonds, cashews, raw chocolate nibs, spinach, kale, broccoli, edamame (soy beans), black eyed peas, and kefir. Try natural coconut water for 3 times the levels of the average sports drink of all electrolytes.
Also, taking supplements such as Natural Calm Magnesium (www.calmnatural.com) which is calcium citrate, a bioavailable powder form that can used in tea before bed, convenient Magnesium Gel by Natural Calm can be rubbed topically (just not near the heart!) or magnesium glycinate (amino acid chelate for good absorption) in pill form.
The golden rule would be not to exceed 500 mg. unless you have underdone a sweat fest over many hours like an ironman, or hot yoga marathon perhaps (but you likely will have been supplementing electrolytes throughout activity). Your body will tell you when it is enough – in excess you could experience diarrhea, or abdominal cramping but only if you really overdo it and its water soluable anyway so the body passes it very quickly.
Now take some and RELAX…
