When we start viewing food as fuel and nutrition and less as “fun” and emotional security, we will all be healthier.
Our bodies are primarily water, sea water specifically, and supplying our bodies with the water (H2O) and the minerals that are necessary, the nearer we get to health. By replenishing our natural nutrients sodium, chloride, calcium and magnesium for example, the better we feel and the healthier we are. It is very easy to get the necessary minerals like sodium and chloride (table salt) and difficult to receive some minerals like Magnesium, by eating a normal American diet.
When we start viewing food as fuel and nutrition and less as “fun” and emotional security, we will all be healthier in every way. There are many nutritional elements necessary to our health, but the mineral that most of us have inadequate amounts of, and need the most, is Magnesium. It is the 4th most plentiful mineral in sea water and should be plentiful in the diet of humans, however we rarely get enough. This leaves us at risk for high blood pressure, stroke, anxiety, Irritability, constipation, muscle cramps, and now it is evident that magnesium is necessary to prevent diabetes!
At BioBalance Health® we recommend several supplements that EVERYONE needs to complete their daily nutrition quotient. These include Magnesium glycinate, Iodine, Vitamin D3, and Methyl B vitamins (Methyl B12 and Methyl folate). I choose these particular nutrients because most people in the US do not get enough of them in their food. Of course, on an individual basis, I prescribe other nutrients to individuals who need them to treat their medical problems.
In general, the role for the mineral magnesium is ubiquitous to the human body’s function. Magnesium is needed for peristalsis of the intestines, the activity that pushes food along the GI track, to relax skeletal muscles and to relax blood vessels, lower blood pressure, the production of antidepressants in the brain, synthesize normal neurotransmitters, and normalize insulin resistance as well as insulin production to prevent diabetes. We are learning more about how important our nutrition is to our health daily. Opposed to the common belief that we can take a supplement for a few days and then we are fine, nutrients must be consumed daily to feed the body, and generally do not build up so that we can go days without consuming them. Once you are prescribed a mineral for your health to supplement your diet you must take it every day! We cannot possibly get enough of every nutrient every day by eating 3 meals per day, so supplying it through supplements to boost our nutrition is a logical and economical intervention.
How do you choose the type of Magnesium to take for what ails you?
In general, magnesium supplementation gives you back what you would possess if you had the perfect diet and no medications or diseases. In fact, if we had all the right nutrients, we would most likely not be sick at all. So, replacing nutrients through supplementation is the most important and most natural recommendation I make every day, other than replacing testosterone deficiency of course). If a patient has a specific condition requiring magnesium, I choose one of the forms of magnesium that is most beneficial to their condition.
First of all, oral Magnesium must be bound to another molecule to be absorbed in the gut. That is why I stated that I usually choose Magnesium Glycinate, instead of just Magnesium alone. The element that magnesium is attached to determines how well they are absorbed and what they can be used to treat.
My favorite, Magnesium Glycinate, is best at calming anxiety, relaxing muscles, and lowering blood pressure. More importantly, for patients who have normal bowel function, Magnesium does not loosen your stools or cause diarrhea. It possesses all the other benefits of the other forms of magnesium supplementation as well, but other forms have different primary results and have different side effects.
Magnesium citrate is another type of magnesium and is used to clean out the intestines for colonoscopies and to treat severe constipation. If you don’t want loose stools or diarrhea, don’t take this form.
Magnesium Taurate is the best type of Magnesium to take to lower the blood pressure and dilate blood vessels. Taurine is an amino acid that is known to feed cardiac muscle and enhance the quality of contractions of the heart so if you need Magnesium for heart function this is probably the best form for you.
Magnesium L-threonate has been found to cross the blood brain barrier and to treat dementia. L-threonate improves learning abilities, working memory and both short, and long -term memory. Additionally, it has the same benefits as any other magnesium including enhancing sleep quality.
How to Take Magnesium? Ideally, take it orally on an empty stomach. Don’t take oral magnesium with calcium or calcium foods because they compete for absorption and you will get less of the magnesium per dose than you think you are getting. If you are interested in the muscle relaxation provided from magnesium, then taking it topically as a cream, gel, or soaking in Epsom salts in the bathtub is preferable. A bath in Epsom Salts actually raises your blood magnesium level and effectively treats muscle spasms and blood pressure.
There are hundreds and possibly thousands of medical articles about the importance of magnesium in the human diet, however the latest research now proves that a lack of magnesium can cause the development of diabetes, the fastest growing non-communicable disease in the US, and taking magnesium every day can help prevent the development of this disease.
I hope this information helps you decide what type of Magnesium would be best for you, and to convince you that the modern American diet is not enough!
This Health cast was written and presented by Dr. Kathy Maupin, M.D., Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Expert and Author, with Brett Newcomb, MA., LPC., Family Counselor, Presenter and Author. www.BioBalanceHealth.com.
