The human body needs a full complement of vitamins and minerals in order to perform to its fullest potential on a daily basis, including nutrients that it cannot produce on its own. These nutrients, which are known as essential nutrients, have to be provided to the body through dietary sources. With there being so many essential nutrients that support comprehensive wellness through so many different avenues, it can be difficult to figure out which ones are the most critical to the support of optimal whole body health.
Magnesium is an essential mineral that has earned a reputation for supporting a wide range of functions and processes that are critical to comprehensive wellness. With this essential mineral being a catalyst or cofactor for hundreds of enzymatic reactions throughout the body, magnesium is also one of the most important nutrients to obtain on a consistent basis.
How Does Magnesium Support Optimal Function and Whole Body Health?
Being needed by the body for hundreds of chemical reactions allows for magnesium to influence overall function and comprehensive wellness through a wide range of avenues.
Catalyst for Health and Wellness
Magnesium assists the body in over 600 chemical reactions, including:
- Protein formation
- Neurotransmitter regulation
- Energy production
- Muscle function, contraction, and relaxation
- Creating and repairing both DNA and RNA
Supporting Other Facets of Comprehensive Wellness
Some of the other functions and processes that magnesium assists the body in performing include:
Bone Density Maintenance
Roughly 60 percent of magnesium stored in the body can be found in the bones. In addition to being a component of bones, magnesium is responsible for regulating levels of calcium and converting vitamin D into its active form.
Cardiovascular Function
Magnesium has been recognized for its ability to assist the body in the regulation of multiple facets of cardiovascular function, including blood pressure, insulin activity, and blood sugar.
Stress Response
Magnesium is known to support an optimal stress response from multiple fronts. One way that this essential nutrient can influence a health stress response is through its ability to regulate the release and function of neurotransmitters like gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that blocks the chemical signals associated with fear and anxiety from reaching the brain.
Magnesium has also been recognized for its ability to regulate cortisol, which is also known as the “stress hormone”. While cortisol is necessary to help the body return to a balanced state after being exposed to stress, too much cortisol can lead to chronic stress and an increased risk of both anxiety and depression.
Sleep Health
Magnesium’s ability to regulate healthy levels of cortisol and optimal neurotransmitter function also lends to a potential for supporting healthy sleep cycles. Chronic stress and high levels of cortisol can increase the risk of insomnia and other sleep issues. Meanwhile, the optimal function of GABA and other neurotransmitters can help people to both fall and stay asleep.
The Facts About Magnesium Deficiency
Even though the body can store magnesium, an estimated 2-15 percent of Americans experience magnesium deficiency. This condition is even more common among people with diabetes and those who abuse alcohol. Magnesium deficiency can also be hard to diagnose from blood tests because most of the magnesium in the body is stored in bones and various types of soft tissue.
What Are the Symptoms of Magnesium Deficiency?
When levels of magnesium remain low, the human body can struggle with a wide range of symptoms and health conditions that include:
- Fatigue
- Cramps and twitching in the muscles
- Weakness
- Nausea and reduced appetite
- Migraines
- Reduced bone density and an increased risk of osteoporosis
- Irregular heartbeat
- High blood pressure and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease
- Stress
- High blood sugar and an increased risk of diabetes
- Anxiety and an increased risk of depression
What Causes Magnesium Deficiency?
The most common cause of magnesium deficiency can be tied to diets that are low in magnesium. In fact, it has been estimated that roughly 48 percent of Americans do not get enough magnesium from their diet.
Another lesser-known source of magnesium deficiency can be tied to the soil that is used to grow food. A combination of pesticides and other agricultural practices, like excessive planting, have stripped the soil of their natural levels of magnesium.
Other causes of magnesium deficiency include:
- Insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes
- Alcohol abuse
- Natural aging process
- Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and other gastrointestinal (GI) conditions
Discover the Best Sources of Magnesium
Fortunately, people can obtain magnesium from a variety of dietary sources and nutraceutical products.
Magnesium-Rich Foods
Some of the foods that can provide the body with magnesium include:
- Salmon
- Soybeans and soymilk
- Beef
- Poultry
- Brown rice
- Milk and yogurt
- Peanut butter
- Peanuts, cashews and almonds
- Dark chocolate
- Bananas
- Oatmeal
- Black beans and kidney beans
- White potatoes with skin
- Pumpkin seeds
- Cooked spinach
Nutraceutical Products
People can also supplement their diet with nutraceutical products to bolster their body’s stores of magnesium. Complete Magnesium from EVEXIAS Health Solutions is a professional grade nutraceutical product that contains three highly absorbable forms of magnesium for the support of comprehensive wellness. This nutraceutical has been developed with magnesium chelates, which occur when organic chemical compounds attach to magnesium molecules and result in enhanced bioavailability (absorbability) in addition to other unique benefits.
Magnesium glycinate is a chelated form of magnesium with an attached amino acid called glycine. Magnesium glycinate has been recognized for its ability to support optimal mood, bone health and blood sugar regulation.
Magnesium taurate forms an amino acid known as taurine attaches to magnesium. This chelated form of magnesium has shown an ability to support healthy cardiovascular, nervous system and cognitive function.
Magnesium malate combines magnesium with an organic compound known as malic acid. This magnesium chelate has been associated with optimal mood regulation, oxygen absorption, energy production and GI function.
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