Magnesium Benefits - What is Magnesium Good For and What Are Magnesium Deficiency Symptoms?

Magnesium Benefits Simplified

You’ve probably heard that magnesium is something we all need more of.

When I hear a health claim, I am careful to not take it at face value. I do my own research and make the decision for myself.

It’s true, my education taught me that, yes, magnesium is very important for our bodies.

But why? What are the benefits of magnesium? How do we know if we’re getting enough? If we take ‘enough’ magnesium, is the quality of the source we’re ingesting actually usable by our bodies?

I’ve compiled my research right here for you to peruse and make the decision for yourself.

Much of my information comes from Dr. Alan Gaby’s book. Nutritional Medicine (Gaby, A. (2017). Nutritional Medicine; Second Edition. Fritz Perlberg Publishing. )

References are provided throughout the article when additional information has been sourced.

What Is Magnesium?

Magnesium benefits are better understood when we also look at what magnesium is, and where it comes from.

MAGNESIUM BENEFITS AND FACTS:

• Magnesium is an essential mineral, meaning our body cannot create it, and it is essential to biochemical functions. It needs to be consumed from foods, supplements, and topical agents.

• Magnesium is an electrolyte mineral, meaning it carries an electrical charge important to nutrient transfer across cellular walls, hydration of cells, and nerve conduction.

• Magnesium is involved in over 600 (2) enzyme and biochemical reactions in the body, affecting muscle tissue, heart, and bone tissue.

• Magnesium is essential for energy production in cells, known as Adenosine Triphosphate, or ATP(2).

• Magnesium is necessary for regulating neuronal activity (messenger cells), heart contractions, and electrical properties of cell walls.

• Magnesium improves blood flow by dilating blood vessels and preventing platelet aggregation.

• Magnesium is necessary for the breakdown of fats and carbohydrates and for the production of glutathione, an important nutrient for liver function and energy production.

• 60% of magnesium in your body is found in bones, and 38-39% in cells (1)

• Magnesium is anti-spasmodic, meaning it calms excited tissues in your heart, muscles, and intestines

• Magnesium is essential for potassium uptake into cells

Sources of Magnesium

Because magnesium is an essential mineral, we need to be intentional about consuming it in order to see magnesium benefits.

But as with most things in nutrition, the quality of magnesium makes a great impact on whether or not your body will be able to use this important nutrient.

FOODS HIGH IN MAGNESIUM

• green, leafy vegetables (spinach, kale, chard, collard greens)

• kelp/seaweed

• nuts + seeds (especially pumpkin seeds, or pepitas)

• whole, sprouted grains (more on sprouting further in the article)

• sprouted legumes

• dairy products (learn why dairy quality matters)

WHY SPROUTED?

Sprouting grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds ensures you get the most magnesium benefits that you possibly can out of your food.

In fact, more than 80% of magnesium is lost in refined grains (wheat and rice), and 50-75% is lost when vegetables are boiled (1). Those numbers are astronomical!

In their whole food forms, nuts, seeds, legumes, and grains, all contain vast amounts of magnesium. However, in these foods, magnesium is bound to something called phytate. In order for magnesium to be absorbed by your body, it must detach from phytate, and re-bind (or chelate) with a nutrient that enables it to be absorbed.

Human bodies do not produce the type of enzyme required for this detachment to occur. Therefore, phytate is known as an anti-nutrient.

And what is the point in consuming all that magnesium if you can’t use it?

Sprouting (and fermenting, as in sourdough) is a natural process that detaches phytate from magnesium (and other important minerals), enabling magnesium to be absorbed by your body (YAY!). 👉Here is my favorite resource for sprouting.

But refined grains are not the only thing preventing you from getting magnesium benefits.

Magnesium Inhibitors

Our modern world has brought us some truly great innovations. But there are also many unintended consequences that have occured.

The widespread need for mass-producing foods affordably, and shipping them to far-off places is one of the biggest setbacks in maintaining nutrient density in our foods. But also medications that are taken too liberally, or without much (if any) patient education.

THINGS THAT PREVENT MAGNESIUM ABSORPTION

• the use of heartburn medications - PPIs, or Proton Pump Inhibitors, drastically interfere with magnesium absorption (not to mention, indicate your digestive health is suffering)(1)

• the use of anti-histamines (1)

• imbalance of dietary or supplemental calcium and phosphorus (3) - these minerals are known to compete with magnesium, and thus need to be consumed in balance of one another

• poor digestion

• the presence of phytate or phytic acid

Magnesium Deficiency Symptoms

The numbers vary depending on what source you use, but according to Dr. Gaby, the recommended daily intake of magnesium is 400-420mg for adult males, and the recommended daily intake of magnesium for adult females is 310-320mg (1).

Remember, that’s assuming your body is able to absorb the magnesium you’re ingesting.

Symptoms of magnesium deficiency can include:

• anxiety/depression (5,6,7)

• fatigue

• insomnia

• panic attacks

• muscle cramps

• chest tightness/hyperventilation

• memory loss

• trouble concentrating

• headaches

• digestive issues

• heart palpitations

More severe magnesium deficiency can cause symptoms such as:

• abnormal gait (walking abnormally)

• vertigo

• muscle weakness

• electrolyte disturbances (you might feel dehydrated)

• muscle twitches

• stupor

• coma

You can see by this list how important it is to get good quality magnesium in your daily routine.

Do you have any of these symptoms? Has anyone ever told you to try magnesium? Share your experience in the comments. I am curious to hear how it worked out for you!

Magnesium absorption

The research is fairly similar across the board in regards to the absorbability of magnesium (4).

We discussed earlier things that can prevent magnesium absorption (un-sprouted foods, heartburn medications, allergy medications, etc.).

But what is the best magnesium for absorption?

One thing to keep in mind is that topical supplementation of magnesium is going to be better absorbed, because it gets absorbed directly into the the blood stream without having to be digested.

However, if your digestion works well, and you are consuming highly bioavailable sources of magnesium (as discussed above), you may be enjoying magnesium benefits through diet alone.

👉👉 READ MORE ON IMPROVING DIGESTIVE HEALTH

Below is a list of the most common types of magnesium supplements you will find, and is certainly not an exhaustive list.

RUNDOWN ON MAGNESIUM SUPPLEMENTS (1)

• Magnesium Oxide: Cheapest to to produce, not well absorbed.

• Magnesium Aspartate: More completely absorbed in the gut. Aspartate increases cellular uptake of Magnesium and Potassium.

• Magnesium Citrate: More completely absorbed in the gut. Tends to cause loose stools.

• Magnesium Sulfate: Better absorbed through the skin. Sulfate inhibits reabsorption by the kidneys.

• Magnesium Chloride: Less absorbable in the gut, but is known to cause skin irritations when applied topically.

• Magnesium Glycinate/BisGlycinate: Absorbed well in the gut. Does not commonly cause loose stools.

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What’s your experience with magnesium? Have your health care providers ever educated you on the importance of quality and balance when it comes to supplementing?

Tell me about your experience in the comments.

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BLOG REFERENCES:

1. Gaby, A. (2017). Nutritional Medicine; Second Edition. Fritz Perlberg Publishing

2. Jaeger, G. (2020, May 20). The health benefits of magnesium supplements. Nordic Naturals. https://www.nordic.com/healthy-science/benefits-of-magnesium/

3. Medeiros, D. M., & Wildman, R. E. C. (2019). Advanced Human Nutrition (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

4. Blancquaert, L., Vervaet, C., & Derave, W. (2019, July 20). Predicting and testing bioavailability of magnesium supplements. Nutrients. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6683096/

5. E;, S. A. A. (n.d.). Magnesium and depression. Magnesium research. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27910808/

6. Tarleton, E. K., Littenburg, B., Maclean, C. D., Kennedy, A. G., & Daley, C. (2017, June 27). Role of magnesium supplementation in the treatment of depression: A randomized clinical trial. PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28654669/

7. Derom, M.-L., Sayón-Orea, C., Martínez-Ortega, J. M., & Martínez-González, M. A. (2013, September 16). Magnesium and depression: A systematic review. Nutritional neuroscience. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23321048/