Magnesium types for better health

24 Feb Magnesium types for better health

50% males and 39% of females do not receive the recommended daily intake of magnesium through diet. Why?

Firstly, we may not be receiving enough through diet, as even if you do manage to get 2-3 cups of leafy greens, the soils in which our vegetables are grown in Australia are low in magnesium.

On top of that our lifestyle can increase our daily need for magnesium; if we don’t get enough magnesium, we are more vulnerable to stress and anxiety, and more stress causes us to excrete magnesium from the body resulting in lower levels. We actively push it out of our bodies as a way to rev up our nervous system and cope with daily life. As well as high consumption of tea, coffee, alcohol and exercise increase your daily needs. And, for those of us on medications there are many that actually deplete our stores including commonly used hormones such as the oral contraceptive pill.

Magnesium is required by more than 300 biochemical reactions that occur in the human body, playing a vital role in brain health, including stress and anxiety stimulating calming restful neurotransmitters and receptors.

Magnesium Deficiency Symptoms

• Poor sleep
• Feelings of Irritability
• Feelings of Anxiety
• High blood pressure
• Sugar and chocolate cravings
• Fatigue
• Poor Memory
• Muscle weakness
• Muscle cramps
• Headaches
• Period cramps
• PMS symptoms
• Tremors, and twitches
• Vertigo
• Heart palpitations, Irregular or rapid heartbeat

Clinical Conditions that may benefit for supplementation of Magnesium

• Depression
• Dementia
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• ADHD
• PMDD
• Chest pain (angina)
• Asthma
• Colon Cancer
• Epilepsy
• Parkinson’s disease
• Cardiac arrhythmia
• Coronary artery disease
• Type II diabetes
• Sleep disorders
• Fibromyalgia
• Migraine headaches
• Osteoporosis
• Atherosclerosis
• Hypertension

Actions of magnesium within the body

1. Regulates cortisol – It calms your nervous system and prevents excessive cortisol. Your stress hormonal system—also called your hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis—is your central hormonal system. When it functions well, then your other hormones (thyroid and reproductive hormones) will function well too.
2. Reduces blood sugar and normalizes insulin – It’s so effective at improving insulin sensitivity that I refer to magnesium as “natural metformin.” Healthy insulin sensitivity means fewer sugar cravings and is effective treatment for weight loss and PCOS.
3. Supports thyroid – Magnesium is essential for the production of thyroid hormone. It is also anti-inflammatory, which helps to quiet the autoimmune inflammation that underlies most thyroid disease. Other ways to address thyroid autoimmunity include gluten-elimination and a selenium supplement.
4. Aids sleep – Magnesium is the great sleep-promoter, and sleep is crucial for hormone production. Sleep is when we should enjoy a beneficial surge of anabolic hormones such as DHEA and growth hormone.
5. Fuels cellular energy – It’s so intricately involved with mitochondria and energy production, that we can safely say: “Without magnesium, there is no cellular energy”. Hormonal tissue has a high metabolic rate, and so requires even more cellular energy and more magnesium than other tissue.
6. Makes hormones – It aids in the manufacture of steroid hormones including progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone. That may be why magnesium has been shown to reduce hot flashes by 50 percent.
7. Activates vitamin D – Without enough magnesium, vitamin D cannot do its job. Conversely, too much vitamin D supplementation causes magnesium deficiency.
8. Slows aging – It prevents telomere shortening, reduces oxidative stress, and enhances the production of glutathione

Taking Magnesium

Supplementing magnesium can be beneficial. However, there are 14 different magnesium types and all have a slightly different benefit. Here are some of the main types you will find available in supplement form;

• Magnesium Glycinate – Good for sleep, calming, aids in feelings of anxiety, stress and depression. No laxative effect.
• Magnesium Citrate – Moves bowels in cases of constipation
• Magnesium Orotate – Good for muscle recovery, may enhance athletic performance, and improves muscle endurance. Supportive of heart health. Not as laxative as others
• Magnesium Malate – Muscle soreness or fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue
• Magnesium Chloride – Good topically for sore muscles and spasms. Also reduces heartburn
• Magnesium L-Threonine – Most absorbable for cognitive performance (crosses the blood / brain barrier), depression and enhances learning ability.
• Magnesium Taurine – Supports blood sugar, improves insulin resistance, supports healthy blood pressure, and helps heart relaxation.