What Is Magnesium?

Not many people know about magnesium. This has long been used as a relaxant and magnesium is one of the most abundant mineral in the human body. As an essential element, about 50% of the total magnesium in the body is found in the bones. The rest are found in cells of body tissues and organs and about 1% is found in the blood. But no matter how minute this quantity of magnesium is in the blood, the body has to maintain a normal blood magnesium level.

Magnesium serves many functions. The muscles and every vital organ in the body especially the heart and the kidneys need magnesium. It helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function, keeps a normal heart rhythm. The main role of magnesium is in the activation of many enzymes, production of energy and the regulation of calcium, as well as copper, zinc, potassium, vitamin D, and other important nutrients.

Although calcium and vitamin D are notably responsible for bone health support on top of many other factors, evidences suggest that magnesium may be crucial in the prevention of post-menopausal osteoporosis. This could be due to the fact that magnesium also regulates the hormone that regulates calcium.

There are at least 300 biochemical reactions where magnesium is needed, and the increased interest in investigating the role of magnesium in preventing and managing disorders like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and hypertension may be attributed to the fact that it also plays a role in the regulation of blood sugar levels and in the promotion of normal blood pressure. This essential mineral is actively involved in the energy metabolism and protein synthesis.

You might be deficient of magnesium. Magnesium may be lost by excessive sweating, increased urination, vomiting or diarrhea. Some medications can deplete magnesium too especially diuretics (medications increase urination). Some antibiotics and anti-neoplastic medications can do the same too.

If your body is deficient from this mineral, you could suffer from any of these early signs: loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and weakness. The worsening of magnesium deficiency can result to numbness, tingling, muscle contractions and cramps, seizures (sudden changes in behaviors caused by excessive electrical activity in the brain), personality changes, abnormal heart rhythms, and heart muscle spasms. Severe magnesium deficiency can result in low levels of calcium in the blood (hypocalcemia). Magnesium deficiency is also associated with low levels of potassium in the blood (hypokalemia).

Magnesium source is abundant. Supply for this essential mineral is abundant. Dietary sources include whole grains, nuts and green vegetable and fresh fruits. The Office of Dietary Supplements of the National Institutes of Health provides this comprehensive information about its sources. Accordingly, green vegetables such as spinach are good sources of magnesium because the center of the chlorophyll molecule (which gives green vegetables their color) contains magnesium. Some legumes (beans and peas), nuts and seeds, and whole, unrefined grains are also good sources of magnesium. Refined grains are generally low in magnesium. When white flour is refined and processed, the magnesium-rich germ and bran are removed. Bread made from whole grain wheat flour provides more magnesium than bread made from white refined flour. Water that naturally contains more minerals is described as “hard”. “Hard” water contains more magnesium than “soft” water (Office of Dietary Supplements, NIH). The recommendation is to eat a variety of whole grains, legumes, and vegetables (especially dark-green, leafy vegetables) daily to help provide recommended intakes of magnesium and maintain normal storage levels of this mineral. Increasing dietary intake of magnesium can often restore mildly depleted magnesium levels. However, increasing dietary intake of magnesium may not be enough to restore very low magnesium levels to normal.

Magnesium Supplements

Although the food we eat may contain adequate amounts of magnesium, some of it gets lost during the cooking process. This is where magnesium supplements come in handy. One of the best magnesium that we’ve found is Magnesium Infusion from Activation Products. Magnesium Infusion is not consumed orally, but is taken through the skin by spraying it on the skin’s surface.

This increases the amount of magnesium that can be absorbed by our body significantly. People typically take pills or drink magnesium based syrups, but these have a much slower action as compared to Magnesium Infusion, which is absorbed immediately upon contact with the skin.

Sources:
“Learn More About How Important Magnesium Is”. Dr. Murray’s Newsletter. (March 2, 2005). http://www.rense.com/general63/magne.htm
“Magnesium“. University of Maryland Medical Center. http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/magnesium-000313.htm
Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health. Dietary Fact Sheet: Magnesium. http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/magnesium/

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