8 Benefits of Magnesium

Your body requires several nutrients, including magnesium, to maintain proper health. Magnesium has various benefits. It is needed for more than 300 different bodily functions to promote good health, including blood pressure regulation, blood glucose control, enhanced immunity, and balanced mood.

Magnesium is one of the most abundant minerals in the body, found in bones, muscles, body fluids, and soft tissues. Although various foods contain magnesium, approximately 50 percent of Americans have a magnesium deficiency.

Magnesium helps to treat or prevent several chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, migraines, and cardiovascular disease. Below are some of the top benefits of magnesium and why you must ensure you are consuming ample amounts of magnesium-rich foods.

Benefits of Magnesium

Heart Health

The heart muscle uses magnesium and calcium to maintain a steady, regular heartbeat. Calcium stimulates the muscle fibers in the heart and causes them to contract. Then magnesium activates and blocks calcium’s effect on the heart, allowing the heart to relax.

If you have a magnesium deficiency, you are at an increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation and cardiovascular disease. Magnesium is also needed to produce the electrical impulses that impact heart rate. When your blood vessel linings no longer function properly, plaque can build up in your blood vessels. As plaque builds up, your arteries narrow, restricting blood flow through the body. This narrowing may also increase blood pressure readings.

Muscle Aches and Pain

Do you experience muscle cramps in your legs or feet? Do you have tight, achy muscles? If so, a magnesium deficiency may be to blame.

Magnesium plays a key role in healthy muscle function. This essential mineral is a natural muscle relaxant and helps prevent tight muscles, back pain, and cramps. Lactic acid occurs during exercise. If too much lactic acid remains in the muscle following exercise, muscle soreness can occur. The body uses magnesium to help flush lactic acid from the muscles, reducing the risk of muscle cramps and pain.

Anxiety Relief

Magnesium has numerous benefits, including helping to calm your mood and reduce stress. It is called Mother Nature’s version of Valium. Low magnesium levels can cause increased stress, fatigue, headaches and migraines, sleep disturbances, anxiety, and depression.

Magnesium helps reduce mild anxiety, postpartum anxiety, generalized anxiety, and anxiety experienced during premenstrual syndrome. It also improves brain function and is used by the body to create and regulate neurotransmitters, which deliver messages throughout the body and brain. Magnesium also helps regulate the release of stress hormones, including cortisol, adrenaline, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. These hormones elevate blood pressure, blood glucose, and heart rate to prepare the body for action.

Diabetes Protection

Have you been told you are pre-diabetic? Do you want to do everything you can to prevent a type 2 diagnosis? In addition to eating a healthy diet and getting daily exercise, ensuring you receive the recommended magnesium may help. Magnesium is essential to insulin sensitivity.

About half of all people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes have low magnesium levels. When the body does not have enough magnesium, it can be hard to keep glucose levels within the recommended range, resulting in a higher risk of developing diabetes. Getting enough magnesium can help regulate glucose levels and improve insulin resistance.

A magnesium-rich diet and supplementation can benefit people with type 2 diabetes. Getting enough magnesium improves blood sugar levels, reduces insulin resistance, and improves A1C levels.

Constipation and Digestive Health

If you experience acid reflux, bloating, gas, indigestion, or constipation, it may be because your foods are not digesting properly. Essential nutrients may not be absorbed when this occurs, leading to serious, long-term health problems.

Without magnesium, your body cannot digest foods. Magnesium is needed to create stomach acid, produce digestive enzymes that digest protein, fat, and carbohydrates, and protect and repair the organs in your digestive tract, including the esophagus, intestines, colon, stomach, and pancreas.

Constipation plagues everyone from time to time; however, chronic constipation, defined as having fewer than three bowel movements a week, can be caused by a magnesium deficiency. If you experience constipation often, increasing your magnesium-rich foods or taking a magnesium supplement can relieve and improve your digestion.

Improved Bone Health

Many people think calcium is the only mineral needed for strong bones; magnesium is also essential for healthy bones. The body uses magnesium to improve calcium absorption.

More than half of the magnesium in your body is in your bones. Magnesium strengthens your bones and prevents fractures. This potent mineral helps decrease the degradation rate of bones.

Consuming plenty of magnesium increases bone density, reducing the risk of fractures and osteoporosis. Additionally, magnesium helps regulate vitamin D and calcium stores, which the body uses for optimal bone health.

Insomnia Relief

Approximately 50 percent of older Americans have insomnia, which includes difficulty getting to sleep, not waking feeling refreshed, not sleeping soundly, or waking early. As you age, your circadian rhythms may change. In addition to this, you may experience nutritional deficiencies. One essential nutrient needed for a good night’s sleep is magnesium.

Magnesium relaxes muscles, regulates the neurotransmitters in the brain, and helps calm nerves. Increasing your magnesium levels helps reduce and prevent various sleep disorders, improves sleep times, reduces early awakenings, and enhances sleep efficiency. Finally, magnesium may help prevent or relieve restless leg syndrome by relaxing muscles, lowering inflammation, and aiding in melatonin production.

Migraine Prevention

Migraine headaches are debilitating. In addition to a headache, sufferers often experience light sensitivity, noise sensitivity, nausea, and vomiting. Oftentimes, a magnesium deficiency is the culprit behind frequent migraines.

Magnesium helps regulate blood glucose levels, reduce stress levels, decrease blood pressure readings, and relax tense muscles. It also helps regulate neurotransmitters, which may help block pain signals to the brain. Low magnesium levels may increase the risk of changes in vision (auras, flashing lights, etc.) during a migraine headache.

Enjoy Magnesium Rich Foods

Magnesium is essential for optimal health. You can enjoy the benefits of magnesium by consuming magnesium-rich foods or taking magnesium supplements. Below are some magnesium-rich foods that will help increase your magnesium levels naturally:

• Spinach
• Avocado
• Salmon
• Halibut
• Almonds
• Cashews
• Mackerel
• Quinoa
• Black beans
• Dark chocolate
• Pumpkin seeds

Holistic Approach To Health

Our holistic clinicians understand that nutrition is key to good health. Our team helps develop customized dietary and supplementation plans to relieve your medical symptoms, improve your health, and increase your longevity. Take control of your health and experience the difference.