Magnesium is a key mineral that performs a key position in regulating the whole lot from sleep high quality and nervousness ranges to coronary heart well being and testosterone ranges.
Regardless of its significance, many individuals don’t get sufficient magnesium naturally of their weight loss program.
If the standard of your weight loss program isn’t fairly what it ought to be, you may be poor in magnesium, particularly in case you are over 50.
Boosting your magnesium consumption, whether or not with nutrient-dense meals wealthy in magnesium or with a complement, is a superb technique if you wish to enhance each your bodily and psychological wellness.
Desire a run-down on the most important advantages of magnesium? Our analysis workforce has dug into the dietary analysis to spotlight crucial methods magnesium contributes to well being and wellbeing. Learn on for extra.
Magnesium advantages
1. Magnesium helps you produce vitality, sustain testosterone manufacturing, and sleep nicely
When your physique doesn’t get sufficient magnesium, you may need muscle cramps or weak spot, fatigue, insomnia, and common malaise. These signs of magnesium deficiency are very diffuse and generic, partly as a result of magnesium contributes to so many various organic features.
2. Inadequate magnesium consumption is quite common
Virtually half the inhabitants doesn’t get sufficient magnesium (1). That’s no shock, provided that the meals which are excessive in magnesium usually are not in excessive provide within the typical particular person’s weight loss program: entire grains, leafy greens, legumes, and almonds usually are not massive elements of the everyday Western weight loss program.
3. Older males are significantly susceptible to magnesium deficiency
As you become old, your skill to soak up vitamins out of your weight loss program decreases, and alongside this lower there’s a concomitant enhance in magnesium deficiency with age.
In males, testosterone declines with age too, and scientific analysis means that one motive may be decreased blood magnesium ranges (2).
4. Taking magnesium can elevate testosterone in athletes
Analysis on martial artists discovered {that a} magnesium complement can enhance testosterone ranges after your exercises, making it a worthwhile addition to your post-workout stack (3). This analysis provides additional proof to magnesium’s position in androgen manufacturing.
5. Magnesium might assist enhance sleep high quality
A high-dose magnesium complement (500 mg) taken earlier than mattress can enhance emotions of insomnia and make it easier to go to sleep faster, in accordance with one examine (4).
6. Magnesium would possibly assist deal with stressed leg syndrome
A examine by German researchers confirmed magnesium taken earlier than mattress can minimize stressed leg syndrome by over 50% (5).
7. Magnesium can calm emotions of tension
A latest evaluate examine cites the potential of magnesium supplementation to scale back emotions of tension and nervousness amongst people who find themselves susceptible to nervousness issues (6).
Magnesium negative effects
Magnesium is protected at low to reasonable dosages. As a water-soluble nutrient that’s ubiquitous in lots of sorts of meals, the human physique is well-equipped to tolerate a variety of magnesium intakes.
Some abdomen discomfort can happen should you take a variety of magnesium on an empty abdomen. You’ll be able to keep away from cramping and nausea by taking magnesium with meals (7,8), and the Mayo Clinic cautions that solely individuals with wholesome kidney perform ought to take a magnesium complement (9).
Insoluble types of magnesium oxide can upset your abdomen. Cheaper magnesium dietary supplements that depend on magnesium oxide can neutralize abdomen acid and trigger an upset abdomen.
Luckily, high-quality dietary supplements solely use soluble types of magnesium so that you gained’t have to fret about this facet impact should you select a very good product.
When you’ve got kidney issues, you shouldn’t complement with magnesium. Individuals with kidney issues can’t eradicate magnesium from their system as simply, so they need to speak with a physician earlier than taking a magnesium complement.
Magnesium dosage
Scientific research counsel you must goal for 300 to 500 mg of magnesium per day. A lot of the research cited above use day by day magnesium dosages inside this vary.
Magnesium works greatest break up up into smaller doses taken just a few hours aside. One examine experiences that magnesium’s bioavailability is shortly saturated, so taking 100 to 200 mg at a time will maximize absorption all through the day (10).
Magnesium advantages FAQ
Q: How does magnesium assist sleep?
A: Low magnesium ranges are related to poor sleep high quality and the event of sleep disturbances together with stressed leg syndrome.
The explanation may be persistent irritation, in accordance with one examine (11). Individuals with low magnesium consumption have excessive ranges of biomarkers for persistent irritation, together with C-reactive protein.
Magnesium additionally interacts with neurotransmitters like GABA which additionally contributes to its position in selling restful sleep (12).
Q: Are you able to overdose on magnesium?
A: Sure, it’s doable to overdose on magnesium, however solely with extraordinarily excessive dosages. In keeping with the Workplace of Dietary Dietary supplements on the Nationwide Institutes of Well being, supplemental consumption of magnesium is protected at ranges of at the very least 350 mg of magnesium per day (13).
Circumstances of magnesium overdose have been reported after acute ingestion of round 5000 mg, which is a lot magnesium that it overwhelms your physique’s skill to eradicate extra magnesium.
Q: What causes low magnesium?
A: The foundation trigger for many instances of magnesium deficiency is inadequate dietary consumption.
A low high quality weight loss program that’s missing in nuts, seeds, fruits, and greens is more likely to trigger magnesium deficiency.
Sure well being situations, like weight problems, might also trigger low ranges of magnesium via persistent irritation.
Q: Can magnesium dietary supplements assist with migraines?
A: Some experimental proof suggests a connection between decreases in magnesium ranges and migraines (14).
Nonetheless, two research on utilizing magnesium dietary supplements to deal with migraines discovered no profit (15,16).
Associated: Our greatest magnesium picks
Abstract
Magnesium’s position in such a broad vary of features in your physique imply that it contributes to the whole lot from testosterone ranges, sleep high quality, and nervousness ranges.
Due to the boundaries in your physique’s skill to soak up magnesium, it’s best to take smaller doses of magnesium all through the day, versus a single bigger dose as soon as per day.
In case your weight loss program doesn’t embody a lot in the best way of magnesium-rich meals, or in case you are older and are apprehensive that your magnesium ranges may be dropping, you would possibly take into account taking a magnesium complement.
