A young friend of mine last year had a trauma in a
foreign country. She was treated with
magnesium (not a sedative, anxiety or muscle relaxant prescription – standard
of care in the US) to help calm her shaken self and bring her emotional state
back to homeostasis. Using magnesium for
this purpose is not standard of care in this country--- maybe it should be.
Physiology: The effect on the body and mind
Magnesium helps maintains nerve and muscle function (including
the heart), maintains endocrine function (immune health) and keeps our bones
strong. It also aids in regulating our
blood glucose levels and the subsequent production of energy. 99% of our magnesium is located in bone,
muscles and soft tissue. It is a Cofactor
for over 300 enzymes, oxidizes fatty acids, activates amino acids, synthesizes and breakdowns DNA. In the brain it is
key in neurotransmission. Magnesium is
essential for other minerals to be effective, such as calcium, potassium, phosphorous and vitamin B.
Magnesium deficiencies are related to anxiety and
depression. Deficits in magnesium increase
physiological stress and stress reduces magnesium; a lose-lose cycle. Magnesium impacts each
biological action related to depression, which is linked to systemic
inflammation. Magnesium repletion can be
instrumental in reversing irritability, depression, headaches and moodiness.
An insufficient Magnesium level effects other
mineral levels in the body. Without magnesium, calcium
cannot be properly used or absorbed by the body. (Read more about how calcium
and magnesium work together.)
Magnesium
Requirements
• 14 - 18 years old
(boys): 410 mg
• 14 - 18 years old
(girls): 360 mg
Adult females: 310 - 320 mg
• Pregnancy: 350 - 400
mg
• Breastfeeding women:
310 - 360 mg
Adult males: 400 - 420 mg*
Magnesium’s action
Magnesium acts on the hormonal axis and aids in regulating
the stress response in the central nervous system. It can suppress the release of cortisol and
ACTH. It also acts on the blood brain
barrier, preventing stress hormones into the brain. Hence, it has been called “the original chill
pill.”
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| photo credit: Lalu Danzker |
Food/Supplement
Resources
Most dietary magnesium comes from vegetables, such as dark
green, leafy vegetables. Other foods that are good sources of magnesium:
• Fruits or vegetables
(bananas, dried apricots, and avocados)
• Nuts (almonds and
cashews)
• Peas and beans
(legumes), seeds
• Soy products (soy
flour and tofu)
Whole grains (brown rice
and millet)**
Foods grown under industrialized farming conditions are typically
grown in depleted or chemical-fertilized soil, further decreasing micronutrients,
vitamins and minerals in the foods we ingest.
It’s imperative to have ideal agricultural conditions when trying to get
your vitamins from food: organic whenever possible.
Soaking in an Epsom salt bath is another way of absorbing
magnesium. When taking supplements, enteric-coated magnesium
supplements are not as effective as non-enteric coated pills; they absorb 67%
less effectively. I use drops. Two squirts in 3 oz of cranberry or sour
cherry juice (low sugar, vitamin rich) makes the mineral taste bearable going
down.
How do we deplete
Magnesium further from the foods we eat?
•
Dry roasting nuts
removes the highly nutritious oils, which contain magnesium.
•
Milling flour from
grains strips magnesium from the grain.
•
Sugar in anything
uses up magnesium.
•
Fluoridated,
softened, and distilled water depletes magnesium.
•
Carbonated
beverages and some processed foods, like lunchmeat, contain phosphates that
bind to magnesium molecules and flush it out of the body.
•
Alcohol blocks
magnesium, especially if you have three or more drinks a day.
•
Coffee works like a
diuretic to flush magnesium from of the body.
•
Some foods—like raw
or roasted nuts and seeds, soybeans, spinach, and chard—contain compounds
called phytic acid and oxalic acid, which can cause magnesium to be eliminated
from the body.
According
to the Physician’s Desk Reference, these common drugs can create a magnesium
deficiency:
•
Common diuretics and cardiac drugs
•
Birth control pills
•
Insulin
•
Digitalis
•
Antibiotics
•
Cortisone
•
Antacids***
In these winter months, when we all are more susceptible to
lower immunity and may be struggling with altered moods, consider upping your
magnesium intake, “the original chill pill.”
60% of us lack this important component in our diets. For optimal physiology function and well
being, increasing our leafy vegetable intake and taking a supplement gives us
the best chance of getting the Magnesium our bodies require.
