Bedtime Rituals

Happy Wednesday!

What is your bedtime routine? Do you take any supplements before bed? Magnesium is such a super nutrient, I thought I would chat about it! One of my favorite topics! Magnesium is one of my favorite supplements! Do you take magnesium? Let's chat magnesium.

I am so into the use and knowledge of magnesium. I struggle with anxiety often and have to ask myself when it is flared up- Am I hydrated? Am I magnesium deficient? Am I rested? etc etc. I will even take a bag of epsom salt and put it in the tub and soak for 45 minutes! I love my epsom salt baths! (Which is magnesium!) As a supplement, the quality of supplements matter. I take Opti-Mag by Xymogen.

Here is some additional information the Wellness Mama has said about magnesium: "Magnesium is responsible for over 300 biochemical reactions in the body and impacts blood pressure, metabolism, immune function, and many other aspects of health. There are many reasons that deficiency is so widespread in modern times (even though it wasn’t in the past).

Depleted soil conditions mean that plants (and meat from animals that feed on these plants) are lower in magnesium. Use of chemicals like fluoride and chlorine in the water supply make magnesium less available in water since these chemicals can bind to magnesium.

Common substances that many of us consume daily, like caffeine and sugar, also deplete the body’s magnesium levels, so does stress.

In other words, a small percentage of the population that lives near the ocean (a good source of magnesium) and eats foods grown in magnesium-rich soil, drinks magnesium-rich water, and doesn’t suffer from stress or consume sugar or caffeine might be ok, but the rest of us might need some additional magnesium.

What are the signs of magnesium deficiencies? Risk factors for low magnesium vary, but here are some clues that you might need more magnesium:

1. You’re a sugar addict.

2. You take calcium supplements.

3. You drink soda and other sugary drinks.

4. You suspect or have been diagnosed with celiac disease or other digestive disorders like Crohn’s disease.

5. You consume a lot of processed foods and conventional dairy.

6. You have a water softener or city water.

7. You have Type 2 diabetes.

8. You avoid green vegetables, leafy greens, and other magnesium-containing foods.

9. You are an older adult, and/or take certain prescription medications.

10. You eat food grown in depleted soils. (Uh, pretty much everyone!)

1. Calcification of the Arteries

Though this is not (hopefully) the first symptom of magnesium deficiency, it can be one of the most dangerous. Calcification of arteries from low magnesium levels can lead to coronary problems like heart attack, heart failure, and heart disease. Magnesium’s ability to prevent over-calcification is one reason why the Framingham Health Study found that consuming enough magnesium correlated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease.

In fact, half of all heart attack patients receive injections of magnesium chloride to help stop the blood clotting and calcification.

2. Muscle Spasms and Cramps

This is a most noticeable symptom of magnesium deficiency. Just as calcification causes stiffening of the arteries, it can cause stiffening of muscle tissue as well, leading to cramps and spasms. Interestingly, muscle weakness caused by low potassium levels is linked to low magnesium (as explained in this American Family Physicians report) and adequate levels of one helps the other.

3. Anxiety & Depression

There is a lot of research showing that magnesium deficiency can have a tremendous impact on mental health. Psychology Today explains one possible reason:

Magnesium hangs out in the synapse between two neurons along with calcium and glutamate. If you recall, calcium and glutamate are excitatory, and in excess, toxic (link is external). They activate the NMDA receptor. Magnesium can sit on the NMDA receptor without activating it, like a guard at the gate. Therefore, if we are deficient in magnesium, there’s no guard. Calcium and glutamate can activate the receptor like there is no tomorrow. In the long term, this damages the neurons, eventually leading to cell death. In the brain, that is not an easy situation to reverse or remedy.

4. High Blood Pressure/Hypertension

This is perhaps one of the most well-studied areas of magnesium deficiency. A Harvard study of over 70,000 people found that those with the highest magnesium intake had the healthiest blood pressure numbers. A follow-up meta-analysis of available studies showed a dose-dependent reduction of blood pressure with magnesium supplementation.

A University of Minnesota study showed that the risk for hypertension was 70% lower in women with adequate/high magnesium levels.

5. Hormone Problems

The higher the estrogen or progesterone levels in a woman’s body, the lower the magnesium. This is also part of the reason why pregnant women experience more leg cramps and women notice more of these muscular type complaints and PMS in the second half of their cycles when progesterone/estrogen are tanking and magnesium is depleted.

Muscle cramps related to the menstrual cycle can also be related to magnesium levels. Dr. Carolyn Dean, author of the book The Magnesium Miracle, often recommends that women with bad PMS and cramps take magnesium early in their cycles before the symptoms begin.

6. Pregnancy Complaints

Related to the hormone problems above, magnesium levels can drastically affect pregnancy health and mood. Magnesium is also often used to help with pregnancy-related hypertension and muscle cramps, to help ward off preterm labor and to alleviate headaches.

7. Sleep Problems

With all of the above symptoms of deficiency, it makes sense that magnesium would have a drastic impact on sleep, but the impact is often immediately noticeable when a person starts taking magnesium. Dr. Mark Hyman calls it the ultimate relaxation mineral. Magnesium helps relax the body and the mind, which both contribute to restful sleep.

Additionally, magnesium is needed for proper function of the GABA receptors in the brain, and GABA is the neurotransmitter that allows the brain to transition to a restful state.

8. Low Energy

Magnesium is required in the reactions that create ATP energy in the cells.

Let’s flashback to freshman biology for a minute. ATP or adenosine triphosphate is the main source of energy in the cells and it must bind to a magnesium ion in order to be active.

In other words, without magnesium, you literally won’t have energy on a cellular level. This shows up as fatigue, low energy, lack of drive, and other problems.

9. Bone Health

Calcium is always considered the most important mineral for bone health, but it turns out that magnesium is just as important (or even more so!)

In cases of magnesium deficiency, the bones suffer in multiple ways:

• Vitamin D Absorption: Magnesium is needed for vitamin D to turn on calcium absorption. This is why it is also important to get enough magnesium when taking vitamin D (or magnesium levels can become even more depleted.)

• Proper Calcium Use: Magnesium is needed to stimulate the hormone calcitonin which draws calcium out of the muscles and soft tissues and into the bones. This helps explain why magnesium helps lower the risk of heart attack, osteoporosis, arthritis, and kidney stones.

10. Other Mineral Deficiencies

Many vitamins and minerals work synergistically and magnesium is a workhorse on this list. It is needed for proper utilization of calcium, potassium, vitamin K, vitamin D, and many other nutrients.

By using magnesium externally, or transdermally (meaning “across the skin”) the body can absorb what is needed without absorbing to much. It is similar to soaking in an Epsom salt bath or in the ocean.

Magnesium Deficiency: The Solution

Though the symptoms seem ominous, magnesium deficiency is actually a relatively simple deficiency for the body to resolve with the right form of magnesium.

Many of the magnesium supplements on the market are pills or solutions taken internally. These can be effective, but can also cause digestive disturbances or stress the kidneys.

Also, experts estimate that magnesium absorption in the digestive system ranges from 20-55%, depending on the source, meaning that half or more of the magnesium leaves the body as waste.

Current research shows that a combination of oral magnesium (if the right form) and topical magnesium is best for boosting low levels.

Dietary Sources of Magnesium

Other real-food dietary sources of magnesium include:

• dark chocolate (this is one reason we women often crave it)

• nuts and seeds, especially pumpkin seeds and almonds (soak first if possible)

• avocados

• bananas

• leafy greens such as spinach and chard

Topical Magnesium Oil

A solution of magnesium can be sprayed on the skin and the body can absorb what is needed at a much faster rate. The magnesium moves directly into the blood and tissues, replenishing the body’s needed magnesium stores more quickly and bypassing the kidneys.

Sources

1. Aarhus University. (2013, October 4). Research reveals the mechanism of the sodium-potassium pump. ScienceDaily.

2. Shea MK, Holden RM. Vitamin K status and vascular calcification: evidence from observational and clinical studies. Adv Nutr. 2012;3(2):158-65.

3. Hruby A et al., Magnesium intake is inversely associated with coronary artery calcification: the Framingham Heart Study. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging. 2014;7(1):59-69.

4. Sun Ha Jee, et al., The effect of magnesium supplementation on blood pressure: a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. American Journal of Hypertension 2012;15(8):691–696.

5. Zofková I, Kancheva RL. The relationship between magnesium and calciotropic hormones. Magnes Res. 1995;8(1):77-84.

6. Rude RK, Olerich M. Magnesium deficiency: possible role in osteoporosis associated with gluten-sensitive enteropathy. Osteoporos Int. 1996;6(6):453-61."