Magnesium and Its Awesome Powers

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I have been lured into the world of blogging, apparently these days it’s the main way to maintain and increase your web presence for a business.  So, here goes:

I was racking my brain trying to think what to start with.  I finally settled on giving you my take on magnesium. No, its not Chinese Medicine, but its something I recommend to a lot people I see through work, I recommend it to friends and family, and I spray my poor unsuspecting children with it at every opportunity.  Why? Because it’s totally awesome and most of us are, to some degree, deficient. We use a stack of magnesium when we are stressed, and let’s face it, most of us lead busy lives.  If you work, if you study, if you have kids or care for others, drink coffee, drink alcohol, or worry, then you can use some magnesium.

What does magnesium do that is so awesome? Here are a few things:

  • Magnesium soothes the nervous system and regulates cortisol production via the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis.  Acupuncture and lots of herbs do this as well, but when you can’t make it in to see your acupuncturist, using magnesium can really help to regulate this stress response, which in turn helps balance the thyroid and sex hormones too.
  • Magnesium directly supports thyroid function.  Thyroid issues are a really common health complaint for women and magnesium is required for the production of thyroid hormones.  Suboptimal thyroid hormones can make you feel tired, depressed, foggy in the head, put on weight, lose hair, and a host of other unpleasant symptoms. We often think of iodine for supporting thyroid health, but magnesium is also important too.
  • Magnesium is used in the production of the bodies natural steroid hormones.  Progesterone, estrogen, testosterone all require magnesium in their manufacture. In fact, one study showed magnesium supplementation to be extremely effective in reducing hot flushes.
  • Magnesium is important for sleep. If you are magnesium deficient it can prevent your mind from settling at night. So if you lie in bed at night with a racing, busy mind, switch off the electronic devices early and take some magnesium. (I might just spray my kids once more…)
  • Magnesium relaxes muscles.  If you get cramping anywhere you are definitely magnesium deficient, but it can also help relax any muscle tension in the body for aches and pains, including period pain. It also reduces blood pressure due to this effect.
  • Magnesium works synergistically with Vitamin D and activates Vitamin D which is needed for hormone production and for strong bones.  Over supplementation of Vitamin D can lead to magnesium deficiency.  Make sure you have good levels of both of these to prevent osteoporosis.

There is a heap of other things magnesium is fantastic for, but these are the main ones that spring to mind for me. If you are now contemplating a magnesium supplement be aware that it can interact with other medications particularly blood pressure medication so check with your health practitioner first.  I usually recommend using a magnesium oil which is sprayed on topically and absorbed through the skin as it can be hard on digestion, but if you want to take an oral supplement look for magnesium glycinate as it has the least laxative effect. And where possible it is always best to get your nutrients through food sources (but unless you have a pretty chill life it can be a challenge to get sufficient quantities in this case) so increase your green leafy veg, almonds and chocolate (yes! Exciting, but as sugar depletes magnesium go for dark or use raw cacao when you cook things).

Keep calm and spray on the magnesium.

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