7 Amazing Benefits of Magnesium You (Probably) Didn't Know

Magnesium is one of the seven essential macrominerals, like calcium, phosphorous sodium… These macrominerals are crucial for a correct body function and people need to consume them in relatively large amounts (around 100mg/day). Microminerals such as iron and zinc are also important, but people need them in smaller amounts.

Magnesium is a mineral that plays an important role in over 300 enzyme reactions in the human body. It has many functions and getting enough of those minerals can help prevent or treat chronic diseases such as Alzheimer, migraine type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Today we are going to briefly explain, 7 magnesium benefits that we think you should know.

Magnesium May Strengthen Bones & Protect Against Osteoporosis.

We all know calcium is needed to build and maintain your bones. But did you know that an adult body contains about 25g of magnesium? And half of it is in your bones.

A number of studies have shown a relation between magnesium intake and bone mineral density, both in men and women. Is it known to reduce the rate that bones degrade and/or break down. Therefore, magnesium deficit can result in fragile bones or conditions such as osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis, “porous bones “, is a disease that causes bones to become brittle and very susceptible to fractures. These fractures typically occur in the hip, spine, and wrist. A fracture or broken bone can have a huge effect on your life, causing disability, pain, or loss of independence. Fractures can make it very difficult to do daily activities without help. And unfortunately, the International Osteoporosis Foundation currently estimates that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men over age 50 will suffer an osteoporotic fracture.

So, one of magnesium benefits is that it can indeed improve your bones in the best possible way.

Magnesium Might Help with Depression & Anxiety

Magnesium has been shown to have a mood-improving effect with benefits achieved both with and without the use of antidepressant medication.

Increased stress increases magnesium loss, and the environment may not replace it efficiently. This is partly due to activity in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which is a set of three glands that control a person’s reaction to stress. Since magnesium is such an important mineral to the brain as a part of almost every part of the stress response, recovery, and repair, it seems self-evident to study magnesium as how it relates to brain function and common stress-related ailments such as clinical depression.

Magnesium Lowers Blood Pressure

You might think that high blood pressure is caused by stress or lack of exercise or being overweight or too much salt. But these may just exacerbate the condition that is already lurking in your arteries, caused in part by a mineral deficiency.

Magnesium plays an important role in regulating your blood pressure.

All in all, It relaxes the cells in your veins and arteries, so they don’t constrict the flow of blood. Also, magnesium regulates other minerals vital to blood pressure; it maintains the delicate balance between sodium and potassium; it helps the body absorb calcium (and not be deposited in arteries). So, magnesium has direct and indirect impacts on high blood pressure risks.

Magnesium Alleviates Headaches & Migraines

Magnesium therapy may help prevent or relieve headaches. This is because a magnesium deficiency can affect neurotransmitters and restrict blood vessel constriction, which are factors doctors link to migraine.

People who experience migraines may have lower levels of magnesium in their blood and body tissues compared with others. Magnesium levels in a person’s brain may be low during a migraine.

Magnesium May Also Improve Your Sleep

Many of us don’t sleep well. In fact, nearly 50% of older adults have insomnia, with difficulty getting to sleep, early awakening, or not feeling refreshed when you wake because you didn’t sleep soundly.

Magnesium prepares your body for sleep by relaxing your muscles. Also, magnesium helps to “shut your mind off,” and calms your nerves by regulating two of your brain’s messengers called neurotransmitters that tend to keep you awake. Magnesium is also essential to maintain a healthy “biological clock” and sleep cycle. Getting enough of this mineral helps reduce and prevent sleep disorders.

Restless?

 Magnesium may also prevent restless leg syndrome that contributes to sleep loss in some people. All in all, magnesium is thought to do this not only by relaxing muscles but by lowering inflammation and helping to make your main sleep-enhancing chemicals called melatonin and glutathione. Magnesium and melatonin supplements make good partners.

May Alleviate Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS)

Some women with PMS may have low levels of magnesium. With this in mind, a 2010 study found that supplementing with a combination of magnesium and vitamin B-6 helped participant's ease their PMS symptoms, including depression, anxiety, insomnia, water retention, and breast tenderness.

Improves Digestion & Constipation Symptoms

Did you know that it’s impossible to digest food without magnesium? A deficiency contributes to your digestive trouble.

Without magnesium, your body can’t perform the “mechanics” of digestion, make hydrochloric acid (stomach acid), make digesting enzymes for carbs, proteins and fats, and repair and protect your digestive organs (esophagus, stomach, intestines, pancreas, colon).

As soon as you put food into your mouth, magnesium comes into play. It helps to make enzymes in your saliva that break food down into smaller parts, helping the entire digestive process. The hormones that tell your stomach to produce digestive acid need magnesium to be made; without it, you can’t digest food. After your stomach, food goes into your intestines, where more enzymes made by the pancreas break it down small enough to be absorbed as nutrients. The pancreas must have magnesium to make these vital enzymes. Magnesium also keeps the pancreas healthy, helping to prevent pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.

Conclusion

In conclusion, magnesium is a mineral that contributes beneficially to your whole-body function.

All in all, there are many types of magnesium, so here here's a small reference to know which type of magnesium might fit best those conditions:

• Magnesium Chloride: Heartburn and constipation
• Magnesium Lactate: stress, anxiety
• Magnesium Carbonate: Constipation, digestive problems, and migraines/headaches

The best thing about magnesium is that as a treatment option, is relatively affordable, fast-acting, and well-tolerated by most people.