By Dr. Mercola

Magnesium is a crucially vital mineral for optimum well being, performing a big selection of organic features, together with enjoying an vital position in bone well being. In actual fact, 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 larger magnesium consumption is related to a better bone mineral density in each women and men,² and up to date analysis from Norway has even discovered an affiliation between magnesium in consuming water and threat of hip fractures.

Magnesium Could Decrease Your Threat of Hip Fractures

Norway, just like the US, has a excessive charge of hip fractures, however the researchers famous that its incidence varies by area, with these residing in city areas extra prone to have hip fractures than these in rural locales. They urged this may very well be as a result of naturally various ranges of minerals like magnesium within the consuming water, though this did not turn into the case.

What they did discover, nevertheless, was that whereas concentrations of magnesium (and calcium) in consuming water have been usually low, there was an inverse affiliation between focus of magnesium and threat of hip fracture in each women and men.³ The researchers concluded:

“Magnesium in consuming water might have a protecting position in opposition to hip fractures.”

The discovering is critical contemplating how debilitating a hip fracture could be, particularly among the many aged. A damaged hip carries an important threat of issues and normally requires extended specialised take care of restoration. It is estimated that 25 p.c of aged individuals 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 accountable for bone formation) and osteoclasts (the cells that break down your bone).

Magnesium is assumed to play a job in stopping and preventing osteoporosis.  In line with the Nationwide Workplace of Dietary Dietary supplements:⁵

“Magnesium additionally impacts the concentrations of each parathyroid hormone and the lively type of vitamin D, that are main regulators of bone homeostasis…

Analysis has discovered that ladies with osteoporosis have decrease serum magnesium ranges than girls with osteopenia and those that would not have osteoporosis or osteopenia. These and different findings point out that magnesium deficiency is perhaps a threat issue for osteoporosis.”

In actual fact, one research discovered that postmenopausal girls with osteoporosis have been capable of 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, girls have been instructed to take supplemental calcium to keep away from osteoporosis. Many meals have additionally been fortified with additional calcium to stop calcium deficiency among the many basic inhabitants.

Regardless of such measures, osteoporosis has continued to climb, and this may very well be, partly, due to an imbalanced calcium-magnesium ratio. In line 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 want twice as a lot calcium as we do magnesium. A lot of the dietary supplements mirror this. We have a scenario the place individuals are taking 1,200 to 1,500 milligrams of calcium and possibly 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 1 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 is not. A extra acceptable ratio of calcium to magnesium is 1:1. This will likely not solely pose a threat to your bones but additionally to your coronary heart. You probably have an excessive amount of calcium and never sufficient magnesium, your muscle tissue 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 perform correctly.

For Optimum Bone and Coronary heart Well being, You’ve got Bought to Steadiness Magnesium with Nutritional vitamins K2 and D

When balancing calcium and magnesium additionally understand 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 turn into related to elevated threat of coronary heart assaults and stroke, and why some individuals expertise vitamin D toxicity.

A part of the reason for these adversarial uncomfortable side effects is that vitamin K2 retains calcium in its acceptable place. Should you’re K2 poor, added calcium may cause extra issues than it solves, by accumulating within the unsuitable locations, like smooth tissue.

Equally, in case you go for oral vitamin D, you should additionally eat it in your meals or take supplemental vitamin K2 and extra magnesium. Taking mega doses of vitamin D dietary supplements with out adequate quantities of K2 and magnesium can result in vitamin D toxicity and magnesium deficiency signs, which embrace inappropriate calcification that will harm your coronary heart.

Magnesium and vitamin K2 complement one another, as magnesium helps decrease blood strain, 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 should 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 in your bones or your coronary heart. Researchers have now detected 3,751 magnesium-binding websites on human proteins, indicating that its position in human well being and illness might have been vastly underestimated.⁷ Magnesium can be discovered in additional than 300 totally different enzymes in your physique and performs a job in your physique’s detoxing processes, making it vital for serving to to stop harm from environmental chemical compounds, 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. Current analysis additionally confirmed that larger intakes of dietary magnesium have been related to a decrease threat 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	Ageing	Mortality

Watching Out for Signs of Magnesium Deficiency

There is not any lab check that offers you a really 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 check extremely inaccurate. Some specialty labs do present an RBC magnesium check, which in all fairness correct, and different assessments that your physician can use to guage your magnesium standing embrace a 24-hour urine check or a sublingual epithelial check. Nonetheless, these can solely provide you with an estimation of your ranges, and medical doctors usually want to guage them along side the signs you exhibit.

Should you suspect you are not getting sufficient magnesium, you need to preserve a watchful eye out for signs of deficiency. Should you eat a poor food regimen, together with one which’s largely processed meals, this might apply to you. Additional, if any of those circumstances under apply to you, you might need to take additional precautions to be sure to’re getting a adequate quantity of magnesium in your food regimen, or, if wanted, from a magnesium complement, so as to keep away from magnesium deficiency.>

An unhealthy digestive system, which impairs your physique’s means to soak up magnesium (Crohn’s illness, leaky intestine, and many others.)	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 prone 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 end in magnesium deficiency

 

In her e book, The Magnesium Miracle, Dr. Dean lists 100 components that may make it easier to resolve whether or not or not you is perhaps poor. Early indicators of magnesium deficiency to be careful for embrace lack of urge for food, headache, nausea, fatigue, and weak point. An ongoing magnesium deficiency can result in extra critical signs, together with:

Numbness and tingling	Muscle contractions and cramps	Seizures
Persona modifications	Irregular coronary heart rhythms	Coronary spasms

What Are the Greatest Dietary Sources of Magnesium?

Many individuals are low in magnesium. With a view to make sure you’re getting sufficient, you first should be certain you are consuming a different, whole-food food regimen just like the one described in my vitamin plan. Inexperienced leafy greens like spinach and Swiss chard are glorious sources of magnesium, as are some beans, nuts, and seeds, like almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds. Avocados are additionally a very good supply. Juicing your greens is a wonderful choice to make sure you’re getting sufficient of them in your food regimen.

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 standard 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 different whole-food food regimen is that you simply’re far much less prone to find yourself with an excessive amount of of 1 nutrient on the expense of others. Meals on the whole 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 should turn into a bit savvier about how vitamins affect and synergistically have an effect on one another.

In case you are , one other manner 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 instantly by your pores and skin. Magnesium oil (from magnesium chloride) may also be used for topical software and absorption.

The 8 Types of Magnesium Dietary supplements: What Sort Is Greatest?

Should you go for a magnesium complement, bear in mind that there are a number of totally different types of magnesium. The rationale for the wide range of magnesium dietary supplements in the marketplace is as a result of the magnesium have to be certain to a different substance. There is not 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 should present barely totally different, or focused, well being advantages. Following is a basic information that will help you kind by the eight totally different formulation you are prone 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 perfect 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 as a result of its superior means to penetrate the mitochondrial membrane
Magnesium chloride / magnesium lactate include solely 12 p.c magnesium, however has higher absorption than others, resembling 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 mix of magnesium and taurine, an amino acid. Collectively, they have an inclination 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, certain to negatively charged oxygen (oxide). It incorporates 60 p.c magnesium and has stool-softening properties