Many common ailments can be regulated or avoided completely with proper magnesium intake. Unfortunately, many people get less than their recommended daily amount of magnesium! Here are nine reasons why you should be doing everything in your power to hit your recommended daily amount of magnesium every day.
1. Your Body Needs Magnesium to Function
Did you know that your body is currently full of magnesium? Around 60% of the magnesium in your body is found in bone, while the rest is in muscles, soft tissues, and fluids. Every cell in your body contains it and needs it to function.
It is involved in more than 600 different reactions within your body including gene maintenance, muscle movements, and nervous system regulation. Even though magnesium is a critical part of our everyday wellbeing, about 50% of people in the US get less than the recommended daily amount of magnesium.
2. Magnesium Can Help with Exercise Performance
Even many of those who are big into fitness are unaware of the role magnesium plays in exercise performance. During exercise, your body needs 10-20% more magnesium than it does when it’s resting. This is because magnesium helps move blood sugar into your muscles and dispose of lactate, which can build up during exercise and cause fatigue.
Research has shown that supplementing with it can boost exercise performance. Some athletes even report a reduction in insulin and stress hormone levels after a workout.
3. It Can Help Fight Depression
Magnesium plays a big role in our brain function and mood. In fact, low levels are often linked to an increased risk of depression. One study found that people under the age of 65 with the lowest magnesium intake had a 22% greater risk of depression.
It is still undetermined why lower magnesium levels may have a direct correlation with depression. Many experts believe that the low magnesium content of modern food may cause many cases of depression and mental illness. Supplementing with it can reduce symptoms of depression in some people.
4. Can Help Fight Type 2 Diabetes
Research has found that about 48% of people with type 2 diabetes have low levels of magnesium in their blood. This can hinder insulin’s ability to keep blood sugar levels under control. On top of that, those with low magnesium intake have a higher risk of developing diabetes.
A balanced diet that features magnesium can show significant improvements in blood sugar and hemoglobin A1c levels. Supplements have been shown to lower blood sugar in some people. You can help better deal with the effects of diabetes or prevent it altogether by increasing your magnesium intake.
5. Magnesium Can Lower Blood Pressure
For those with high blood pressure, magnesium can help. One study found that people who take 450 mg per day experienced a significant decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. However, it’s important to note that research points to the fact that magnesium can help lower blood pressure in those with elevated levels, but it does not have the same effect on those with normal levels.
6. Anti-Inflammatory Benefits
Inflammation can be incredibly painful, making even the most mundane tasks difficult. Low magnesium intake is linked to chronic inflammation. This is one of the drivers of aging, obesity, and chronic disease.
Supplements can reduce the levels of the inflammatory marker CRP. High-magnesium foods – such as fatty fish and dark chocolate – can reduce inflammation.
7. Relieves Insomnia
Nearly 50% of older adults suffer from insomnia, difficulty getting to sleep, early awakening, or not feeling refreshed upon waking up. This is largely due to changes in your circadian rhythms, but it can also be from decreased nutrients. Magnesium is a key nutrient for sleep that must enter the body either through food or supplements to get a good night’s sleep.
It relaxes your muscles, which helps your body prepare for sleep. It also regulates your brain’s neurotransmitters, calming your nerves and helping you shut your mind off. Research has found that getting enough magnesium can help reduce and even prevent sleep disorders.
8. Keeps Your Heart Healthy
Low magnesium levels are often linked with higher risks of heart disease. Magnesium fuels the heart protects your heart’s pump, prevents heart attacks, and provides elasticity for heart and blood vessels. Your heart works hard every second of every day to ensure blood is being pumped throughout your body, so it’s important that you take care of it.
Magnesium can help reduce calcium build up in your heart and arteries. This can be a marker of atherosclerosis and is a predictor of cardiovascular death. People with high magnesium intake had 42% lower odds of coronary artery calcification compared to those with low magnesium intake.
9. Magnesium Combats Asthma
Asthma and its side-effects can be completely debilitating at times. Magnesium is often used as therapy in hospitals for life-threatening asthma. This is because it can potentially stop the spasms of your bronchial muscle and help your lungs breathe easier.
There is evidence that shows that low magnesium may relate to the cause of the condition. Those with high magnesium intake have lower rates of asthma. It can also help manage non-extreme cases of the disease on a daily basis in both children and adults.
Make Your Health a Priority
Did you know that most of the common conditions chiropractors treat have been linked to magnesium deficiencies? That’s why Dr. Dee and our team here at Healing Hands Chiropractic highly recommend magnesium supplements to our clients. If you are in need of chiropractic care in the Murfreesboro, Tennessee area, give us a call and we can help!
Did you know Chiropractic care can help treat chronic back pain, sports injuries, and auto accidents?
Get in touch with Dr. Dee at Healing Hands Chiropractic today for an initial consultation!
