One mineral that doesn’t get as much attention as it should is magnesium.

While magnesium is an abundant mineral on our planet, it’s also essential for our everyday bodily functions. In fact, your body needs magnesium to run over 600 cellular and chemical reactions, things like: 

  • Creating muscle movements
  • Forming proteins
  • Maintaining a normal heart rhythm
  • Metabolizing food

Here’s the thing: while magnesium is vital to your day-to-day health, your body isn’t able to create it itself, classifying magnesium as an “essential nutrient.” This means to have a healthy amount, you need to ingest it. The recommended daily amount of magnesium for adults is 300-400mg. Unfortunately, 50% of people get far less than the recommended daily amount.

Why should you care? What are the benefits of getting the recommended amount of magnesium every day? Keep reading to learn the top 10 benefits of magnesium.

1. Magnesium May Help to Balance Your Blood Sugar Levels

Type 2 diabetics often have low magnesium levels because insulin and glucose regulate magnesium metabolism and how much magnesium is available for your body to use. So, oral magnesium supplements can be used as part of the treatment plan for type 2 diabetics to improve their fasting blood glucose and insulin levels.

 

2. Magnesium May Have Antidepressant Qualities

A study in elderly patients found that those given a 450mg magnesium chloride supplement experienced improved moods just as effectively as an antidepressant drug. This may be because magnesium is an essential mineral for regulating our moods and brain function. If you’re suffering from depression, or even just feeling a little more down than usual, consider asking your doctor about adding a magnesium supplement to your daily routine. 

If you have consistently low magnesium levels or a sudden drop, you may experience intense side effects such as anxiety, confusion, hallucinations, or agitation. This is why it’s crucial to get ahead of this problem now, especially if you have a mental health condition. You can do this by increasing your magnesium levels through foods and/or a supplement.

 

3. Magnesium Can Help With Stress-Relief and Anxiety

Are you constantly feeling stressed out? Is your to-do list getting longer and longer? I can relate! And this pandemic hasn’t been helping.

If you’re looking for relief from stress and anxiety, magnesium works great by calming down your nervous system. In fact, a comprehensive scientific report detailed that 18 studies examined and found evidence that magnesium helps alleviate anxiety. Also, low dietary magnesium can cause changes to your gut microbiome which leads to anxiety-like behavior. 

Since magnesium can help with stress relief, it can become depleted if you’re under a lot of stress. So, be sure to restore your magnesium reserves through food and supplementation.

 

4. Magnesium May Reduce Your Frequency of Migraines

Have you ever experienced a migraine? They can be excruciatingly painful and are the seventh cause of disability in the world. 

Your body uses magnesium for biochemical processes, and if you’re deficient this could trigger a migraine. While more research needs to be done to provide enough evidence that oral magnesium supplements can prevent migraines, 16 studies found that people who increased their intake of dietary magnesium experienced fewer migraines.

 

5. Magnesium Can Help Reduce Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) Symptoms

Is that time of the month coming up? 

Common PMS symptoms include mood swings, insomnia, acne, and cramping. If you have severe menstrual cramps, magnesium can help by lowering prostaglandins. 

What are prostaglandins?

They’re hormone-like substances that lead to cramping. The higher your prostaglandin levels are, the more painful your menstrual cramps will be.

Magnesium can also increase serotonin levels: the hormone in your brain that regulates happiness. So this can help alleviate mood swings and all the other icky feelings PMS brings.

 

6. Magnesium Removes Brain Fog and Improves Memory

You should know by now that magnesium plays a really important role in proper brain function. So if you’re experiencing brain fog or having a hard time concentrating while trying to get your work done, magnesium may help!

Magnesium-L-threonate was shown to improve learning abilities as well as short and long-term memory in rats. So this supplement may help humans enhance their learning and memory abilities too.

 

7. Magnesium Improves Sleep Quality

Low magnesium levels can contribute to insomnia. This isn’t good, especially if you’re already suffering from poor sleep from conditions like PMS. 

However, adults who suffered from insomnia experienced an improvement in their sleep efficiency and sleep time when they supplemented with magnesium. So if you’re having trouble catching enough zzz’s, magnesium may help.

 

8. Magnesium Can Lower Blood Pressure

Magnesium regulates blood pressure and is needed to help blood vessels relax. In fact, adults who took magnesium for only three months were able to lower their blood pressure. So, talk to your doctor about adding magnesium to your high blood pressure care plan.

 

9. Magnesium Relieves Constipation and Aids in Digestion

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know just how important a daily bowel movement is for your overall health! But what if you’re dealing with trouble going to the toilet every day? You could be experiencing constipation.

Magnesium plays a critical role in muscular function, so it can help in the digestion process since your intestines are lined with smooth muscles. Magnesium citrate is commonly used due to its laxative effects. Only take magnesium citrate if you are experiencing constipation as in other cases it causes diarrhea.

 

10. Magnesium Supports Bone Health

Did you know that 50-60% of your body’s magnesium is stored in your bones? Magnesium is essential for healthy bones and overall bone health. 

Magnesium may also reduce your chances of osteoporosis and bone fractures. You can take care of your bone health by eating high magnesium-containing foods or incorporating a magnesium supplement into your daily routine.

 

Convinced That Magnesium Is Important?

I hope you are! Some of my favorite magnesium-containing foods include:

  • Spinach
  • Broccoli
  • Seeds: Chia, hemp, sesame, pumpkin, sunflower, and flax seeds
  • Almonds
  • Cashews
  • Banana
  • Avocado
  • Atlantic Salmon
  • Edamame

If you’re having trouble incorporating enough of these magnesium-rich foods into your diet, consider adding a magnesium supplement. But be careful though, because not all supplements are created equal.

My favorite brand for magnesium supplements is Designs for Health. Here’s the thing – Designs for Health’s magnesium supplement contains Magnesium Bisglycinate (aka Magnesium Chelate) as the active ingredient. Other supplements contain Magnesium Citrate. I know it seems like a tiny difference and a lot of the words are hard to pronounce, but this is a big deal.

The difference in the active ingredients means that the magnesium supplements for Designs for Health are easier for your body to absorb, and unlike the other options out there, they don’t cause diarrhea. They do the most good, that’s why I recommend them.

To purchase Designs for Health magnesium supplements, see the links below.

If you’re located in Canada, click here to purchase.

If you’re located in the United States, click here to purchase. **Note: If you’re in the US, you need to create an account prior to ordering.

Interested to see if you have low magnesium levels? Are you currently eating high-containing magnesium foods AND taking a supplement but not seeing results? I can help you!

To set up an appointment with me (Breanne), contact [email protected] or call/text 519-400-4520 to set up a virtual appointment. 

I’m rooting for you!

Breanne Kallonen