By Dr. Mercola
Magnesium is a crucially vital mineral for optimum well being, performing a wide selection of organic features, together with enjoying an vital function in bone well being. The truth is, of the 25 grams of magnesium present in a median grownup, as much as 60 p.c of it’s present in your bones.1
A number of research have proven that greater magnesium consumption is related to the next bone mineral density in each women and men,2 and up to date analysis from Norway has even discovered an affiliation between magnesium in ingesting water and danger of hip fractures.
Magnesium Could Decrease Your Threat of Hip Fractures
Norway, just like the US, has a excessive fee of hip fractures, however the researchers famous that its incidence varies by area, with these residing in city areas extra more likely to have hip fractures than these in rural locales. They prompt this may very well be resulting from naturally various ranges of minerals like magnesium within the ingesting water, though this did not develop into the case.
What they did discover, nevertheless, was that whereas concentrations of magnesium (and calcium) in ingesting water had been typically low, there was an inverse affiliation between focus of magnesium and danger of hip fracture in each women and men.3 The researchers concluded:
“Magnesium in ingesting water might have a protecting function towards hip fractures.”
The discovering is important contemplating how debilitating a hip fracture could be, particularly among the many aged. A damaged hip carries a fantastic danger of problems and often requires extended specialised look after restoration. It is estimated that 25 p.c of aged folks struggling a hip fracture die as a direct end result.4
Magnesium Is Concerned in Bone Formation and Well being
It is estimated that 80 p.c of People are poor in magnesium, which may have a dramatic affect on bone well being. Magnesium influences actions of each osteoblasts (cells answerable for bone formation) and osteoclasts (the cells that break down your bone).
Magnesium is assumed to play a task in stopping and combating osteoporosis. In keeping with the Nationwide Workplace of Dietary Dietary supplements:5
“Magnesium additionally impacts the concentrations of each parathyroid hormone and the energetic type of vitamin D, that are main regulators of bone homeostasis…
Analysis has discovered that ladies with osteoporosis have decrease serum magnesium ranges than ladies with osteopenia and those that should not have osteoporosis or osteopenia. These and different findings point out that magnesium deficiency may be a danger issue for osteoporosis.”
The truth is, one research discovered that postmenopausal ladies with osteoporosis had been in a position to suppress bone turnover (which suggests bone loss decreased) simply by taking 290 mg/day of magnesium for 30 days.6
Your Calcium-Magnesium Ratio: Are You Taking Too A lot Calcium?
Over the previous 30 years, ladies have been instructed to take supplemental calcium to keep away from osteoporosis. Many meals have additionally been fortified with further calcium to forestall calcium deficiency among the many common inhabitants.
Regardless of such measures, osteoporosis has continued to climb, and this may very well be, partially, due to an imbalanced calcium-magnesium ratio. In keeping with Carolyn Dean, a medical and naturopathic physician:
“I’ve heard statistics like a 700 p.c rise in osteoporosis in a 10-year interval, even whereas taking all this calcium. The parable that is been created about calcium is that we’d like twice as a lot calcium as we do magnesium. A lot of the dietary supplements replicate this. We have a scenario the place persons are taking 1,200 to 1,500 milligrams of calcium and perhaps just a few hundred milligrams of magnesium.
The two:1 ratio—that was a mistake; a mistaken translation from French researcher Jean Durlach, who stated by no means ever transcend two elements calcium to at least one half magnesium in your meals, water, or complement consumption mixed.”
This was misinterpreted as that means a 2:1 ratio was an acceptable ratio, which it isn’t. A extra acceptable ratio of calcium to magnesium is 1:1. This will likely not solely pose a danger to your bones but additionally to your coronary heart. If in case you have an excessive amount of calcium and never sufficient magnesium, your muscle mass will have a tendency to enter spasm.
So extreme quantities of calcium with out the counterbalance of magnesium can result in a coronary heart assault and sudden demise. Fairly merely, with inadequate quantities of magnesium, your coronary heart merely can’t operate correctly.
For Optimum Bone and Coronary heart Well being, You have Acquired to Stability Magnesium with Nutritional vitamins K2 and D
When balancing calcium and magnesium additionally remember the fact that these have to be balanced with nutritional vitamins K2 and D. These 4 vitamins carry out an intricate dance collectively, with one supporting the opposite. Lack of stability between these vitamins is why calcium dietary supplements have grow to be related to elevated danger of coronary heart assaults and stroke, and why some folks expertise vitamin D toxicity.
A part of the reason for these hostile negative effects is that vitamin K2 retains calcium in its acceptable place. If you happen to’re K2 poor, added calcium could cause extra issues than it solves, by accumulating within the incorrect locations, like smooth tissue.
Equally, when you go for oral vitamin D, you have to additionally devour it in your meals or take supplemental vitamin K2 and extra magnesium. Taking mega doses of vitamin D dietary supplements with out enough quantities of K2 and magnesium can result in vitamin D toxicity and magnesium deficiency signs, which embody inappropriate calcification that will harm your coronary heart.
Magnesium and vitamin K2 complement one another, as magnesium helps decrease blood stress, which is a crucial part of coronary heart illness. So, all in all, anytime you take any of the next: magnesium, calcium, vitamin D3, or vitamin K2, you have to take all of the others into consideration as nicely, since these all work synergistically with each other.
What Else Is Magnesium Good For?
It might be deceptive to easily classify magnesium as a mineral on your bones or your coronary heart. Researchers have now detected 3,751 magnesium-binding websites on human proteins, indicating that its function in human well being and illness might have been vastly underestimated.7 Magnesium can also be discovered in additional than 300 totally different enzymes in your physique and performs a task in your physique’s detoxing processes, making it vital for serving to to forestall harm from environmental chemical substances, heavy metals, and different toxins. Even glutathione, your physique’s strongest antioxidant that has even been known as “the grasp antioxidant,” requires magnesium for its synthesis. Latest analysis additionally confirmed that greater intakes of dietary magnesium had been related to a decrease danger of colorectal tumors.8 Thus far greater than 100 well being advantages of magnesium have been recognized thus far, together with therapeutic advantages for:9
Fibromyalgia Atrial fibrillation Sort 2 diabetes Premenstrual syndrome Heart problems Migraine Getting older Mortality
Watching Out for Signs of Magnesium Deficiency
There isn’t any lab take a look at that gives you a very correct studying of the magnesium standing in your tissues. Just one p.c of the magnesium in your physique is distributed in your blood, making a easy pattern of magnesium from a blood take a look at extremely inaccurate. Some specialty labs do present an RBC magnesium take a look at, which is fairly correct, and different exams that your physician can use to guage your magnesium standing embody a 24-hour urine take a look at or a sublingual epithelial take a look at. Nonetheless, these can solely provide you with an estimation of your ranges, and docs usually want to guage them together with the signs you exhibit.
If you happen to suspect you are not getting sufficient magnesium, it is best to hold a watchful eye out for signs of deficiency. If you happen to eat a poor weight loss plan, together with one which’s largely processed meals, this might apply to you. Additional, if any of those circumstances under apply to you, it’s possible you’ll need to take further precautions to ensure you’re getting a enough quantity of magnesium in your weight loss plan, or, if wanted, from a magnesium complement, with a purpose to keep away from magnesium deficiency.>
An unhealthy digestive system, which impairs your physique’s skill to soak up magnesium (Crohn’s illness, leaky intestine, and so forth.) Alcoholism — as much as 60 p.c of alcoholics have low blood ranges of magnesium10 Unhealthy kidneys, which contribute to extreme lack of magnesium in urine Age — older adults usually tend to be magnesium poor as a result of absorption decreases with age and the aged are extra more likely to take drugs that may intervene with absorption Diabetes, particularly if it is poorly managed, might result in elevated magnesium loss in urine Sure drugs — diuretics, antibiotics, and drugs used to deal with most cancers can all lead to magnesium deficiency
In her ebook, The Magnesium Miracle, Dr. Dean lists 100 elements that may enable you to resolve whether or not or not you may be poor. Early indicators of magnesium deficiency to be careful for embody lack of urge for food, headache, nausea, fatigue, and weak spot. An ongoing magnesium deficiency can result in extra severe signs, together with:
Numbness and tingling Muscle contractions and cramps Seizures Character modifications Irregular coronary heart rhythms Coronary spasms
What Are the Finest Dietary Sources of Magnesium?
Many individuals are low in magnesium. So as to make sure you’re getting sufficient, you first must be positive you are consuming a assorted, whole-food weight loss plan just like the one described in my diet plan. Inexperienced leafy greens like spinach and Swiss chard are wonderful sources of magnesium, as are some beans, nuts, and seeds, like almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds. Avocados are additionally a superb supply. Juicing your greens is a superb possibility to make sure you’re getting sufficient of them in your weight loss plan.
One vital level to say, although, is that the degrees of magnesium in your meals are depending on the degrees of magnesium within the soil the place they’re grown. Natural meals might have extra magnesium, as most fertilizer used on typical farms depends closely on nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium as an alternative of magnesium. One other one of many main advantages of getting your vitamins from a assorted whole-food weight loss plan is that you just’re far much less more likely to find yourself with an excessive amount of of 1 nutrient on the expense of others. Meals basically include all of the cofactors and wanted co-nutrients within the correct quantities for optimum well being, which takes out the guesswork. If you’re utilizing dietary supplements, you have to grow to be a bit savvier about how vitamins affect and synergistically have an effect on one another.
In case you are , one other means to enhance your magnesium standing is to take common Epsom salt baths or foot baths. Epsom salt is a magnesium sulfate that may be absorbed into your physique straight via your pores and skin. Magnesium oil (from magnesium chloride) may also be used for topical utility and absorption.
The 8 Types of Magnesium Dietary supplements: What Sort Is Finest?
If you happen to go for a magnesium complement, bear in mind that there are a number of totally different types of magnesium. The explanation for the big variety of magnesium dietary supplements in the marketplace is as a result of the magnesium have to be sure to a different substance. There isn’t any such factor as a 100% magnesium compound complement (besides pico-ionic magnesium). The substance utilized in any given complement compound can have an effect on the absorption and bioavailability of the magnesium, and will present barely totally different, or focused, well being advantages. Following is a common information that can assist you type via the eight totally different formulation you are more likely to come throughout:
Magnesium glycinate is a chelated type of magnesium that tends to offer the best ranges of absorption and bioavailability and is often thought of ideally suited for these who’re making an attempt to appropriate a deficiency Magnesium threonate is a more moderen, rising kind of magnesium complement that seems promising, primarily resulting from its superior skill to penetrate the mitochondrial membrane Magnesium chloride / magnesium lactate include solely 12 p.c magnesium, however has higher absorption than others, corresponding to magnesium oxide, which incorporates 5 instances extra magnesium Magnesium sulfate / magnesium hydroxide (milk of magnesia) are usually used as a laxative. Be conscious that it is simple to overdose on these, so ONLY take as directed Magnesium carbonate, which has antacid properties, incorporates 45 p.c magnesium Magnesium taurate incorporates a mixture of magnesium and taurine, an amino acid. Collectively, they have a tendency to offer a relaxing impact in your physique and thoughts Magnesium citrate is magnesium with citric acid, which has laxative properties Magnesium oxide is a non-chelated kind of magnesium, sure to negatively charged oxygen (oxide). It incorporates 60 p.c magnesium and has stool-softening properties
