Magnesium: Important as they all say?

 You may often hear people say how important it is to consume magnesium, and other minerals daily. You may often wonder why that is. Well, magnesium is involved in every cell in our body and every process needs it to function. Not consuming enough magnesium, may contribute to an environment that will lead to chronic disease, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, or even diabetes. Magnesium is the second most abundant cation. What is a cation you wonder? A cation is an ion with a positive charge which plays an important role in our daily lives. For example, sodium, magnesium, and potassium are all essential ions for blood pressure regulation and muscle contraction. Back to magnesium. 

Magnesium is found in the bones, muscle, within the cells, and extracellular fluid. It is found all throughout your body and is involved in hundreds of biochemical reactions in your body. Some of these reactions include energy creation, protein formation, gene maintenance, muscle movements, and nervous system regulation.  It is also involved in the regulation of other minerals as well. When magnesium levels are low, it is difficult to regulate normal potassium levels. Furthermore, Magnesium and calcium are intimately linked. If either one is deficient, there is a significant effect on the metabolism of the other. Magnesium plays a role in the absorption of calcium from the intestines and in calcium metabolism. A deficiency of magnesium will result in a drift of calcium out of the bones into the soft tissues, including the aorta and kidneys. 

What does a deficiency in magnesium look like? Deficiency of magnesium may arise in those suffering from malnutrition. These symptoms are weakness, irritability, anorexia, vomiting, muscle cramps, depression, and delirium. Serum magnesium levels may remain within normal ranges even when the total body stores are depleted up to 20 precent. Magnesium deficiency is also related to calcium and potassium deficiencies.  

What does elevated magnesium look like? Elevated magnesium may be due to excessive ingestion of magnesium containing antacids or laxatives. Absorption may be increased in patients with GI disorders, such as colitis and gastritis. Symptoms of elevated magnesium included lethargy, nausea, vomiting, flushing, weak or absent tendon refluxes, hypotension, drowsiness, and ECG abnormalities. Increased magnesium may interfere with blood clotting as well. 

In simple terms, overall, magnesium may help improve mood, sleep, exercise performance, blood sugar regulation, migraines, heart health, bone health, PMS symptoms, and more. 

If magnesium is so critical to our body’s function as well as our brain, then where can you get? Magnesium is found in a variety of foods. It is found in leafy green vegetables, nuts, seeds, and beans. Specifically pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, almonds, cashews, black beans, peanut butter, cooked salmon, cooked halibut, milk, yogurt, and avocado are all an excellent source of magnesium. There may be added magnesium in your water as well. Check the nutrition label on the bottle to see added magnesium levels. Some example magnesium meals include adding ¼ cup of pumpkin seeds to plain Greek yogurt or adding spinach to your salad. Another idea, is to choose chia seed puddings for dessert instead of ice cream. Fortified cereals  that contain whole grain oats as their first ingredient are another good food item to add to your meals. 

You may also receive magnesium in supplemental form. There are different powders you can add to your water or OTC magnesium pills you can buy. I always recommend checking in with your provider and choosing the right thing for you. That is, if you are in need of a magnesium supplementation. There are different forms of magnesium supplements including magnesium citrate, magnesium glycinate, magnesium
, and magnesium carbonate and you want to find what’s best for you with the help of your provider. 

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/magnesium-benefits#bottom-line

https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/healthy-tips/nutrition/Why-Magnesium-Matters