Magnesium is the no. 1 most commonly found deficiency today

It would be optimal if we could eat enough of all the vitamins and minerals, because food is more recognizable to the body and it is easier to absorb. The sources of magnesium in our food products include whole grains, nuts, sprouts, legumes, cocoa, meat and vegetables. However, what I see when I test, is that many lack it - in 9 out of 10 cases, we see a deficit of magnesium. Magnesium is, together with zinc and silica, among the minerals we commonly find is difficult to obtain an optimal level of through our food because the soil is so depleted and our demands for these minerals have increased due to various stressors in modern life.

Magnesium combats constipation

Magnesium is also known to relieve constipation because it has the ability to draw water into the intestines, which is essential for good digestion. Anecdotal advice drawn from Ayurvedic teachings if one suffers from constipation, is to make sure to drink more lukewarm water, preferably with lemon and honey to further lubricate the intestines. Lukewarm water does not have the same shock effect on the system as ice cold water.

When should you take magnesium

You can take magnesium at any time of the day. You most often hear that it is recommended to take it in the evening, but there is no current research that confirms this - and magnesium has no sleep-inducing effect per se. Rather magnesium has a relaxing effect on the nervous system, and if you can relax during the day, the body will also be able to calm down more easily and sleep well at night. Basically a good night’s sleep begin from the moment we wake up. We can’t expect to sleep good if our entire day is frantic so we really want to implement ways throughout which we can have moment of calmness - and this includes not “emergency supplementing last minute” when we want to sleep, but rather preparing throughout the day.

Stress increases our need for magnesium

When we are stressed, the body has a higher consumption of magnesium - both stress coming from EMF (coming from our cell phones, wifi, smart gadgets etc.) but also physical or mental stress. Many experiments have been done on animals that show how specifically this new technology we are all surrounded by today (EMF) drains the body's magnesium.

Magnesium is essential for our mitochondria to function.

The mitochondria are the cells' batteries and help to produce the cells' fuel - called ATP. Dysfunction in the body's mitochondria is seen very often and this can both be due to nutrient deficiencies and/or toxic load. When our mitochondria don't work optimally, we get tired or get the feeling of being burnt out, perhaps without being able to figure out why. One of the very typical problems people come to the clinic with today is the experience of being tired - and there can be many reasons for this, but if it is simply because you lack nutrients for optimal well-being, it is quite easy to fix with a supplement and some basic diet strategies.

Magnesium is essential for the body's bones and teeth.

This is also why it is beneficial to take magnesium during pregnancy, where it can help create optimal conditions for the child to have strong bones and teeth. Prenatal nutrition is super important, because it is the foundation stone that is built inside the belly and it can be difficult to make up for weak bones and bad teeth later in life.

Magnesium helps to stabilize your blood sugar

A clear sign of unstable blood sugar is if you suffer with the urge to throw yourself into the candy drawer (well that is if your candy drawer is big enough). This uncontrollable craving for sugar is usually not an expression of a definite sugar addiction per se bur rather about imbalanced blood sugar control. It takes incredibly large amounts of refined sugar to create an addiction, and it is important to state that you do not become addicted to sugar by simply eating a piece of cake. Unstable blood sugar can be an expression of nutrient deficiencies, for example that you don't get enough fat and protein in your meals. The saturated fatty acids play a big role in our feeling of satiety, so if we cut out all fat, we can easily end up eating more in the end. Most of us will get a much higher satiety factor when we eat full-fat yogurt than with a non-fat yogurt product. It is always important to keep the balance in mind, for example: a meal consisting exclusively of carbohydrates will have a strong effect on your blood sugar, but if you add fat, the fluctuations will be significantly smaller. It is much better to eat the bread with the butter than without. Magnesium helps to stabilize your blood sugar so that, together with balanced meals, you simply feel more balanced.

Magnesium is one of the building blocks of serotonin – also called the happy hormone.

Physical and mental stress eats away at serotonin and therefore magnesium is also seen as a mood-regulating mineral. Men have 52% more serotonin in the brain than women. Among other things, this may be one of the reasons why mood swings and eating disorders are more pronounced in women, as these issues are typically tied to serotonin (or lack thereof).

Increased demand for elite athletes

If you play sports where you sweat a lot, you must also be aware that the body excretes large amounts of the mineral here. Therefore, it is most often a supplement elite athletes receive in high doses as a supplement. Magnesium is a building block in all the hormones - both female and male such as progesterone, DHEA, estrogen and testosterone - that we women also have.

Anti-aging effect of magnesium due to it preventing shortening of our telomeres

Magnesium also has an anti-aging effect because it plays a role in preventing shortening of our telomeres, because short telomeres equal early aging. In relation to fertility, magnesium is also an important mineral, as it affects the woman's FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) - and this hormone stimulates our ovaries. FSH is often included in fertility treatment, so it is therefore good to know what you can do yourself to increase natural production - without side effects.

Reference on serotonin levels in men vs. women:

Differences between males and females in rates of serotonin synthesis in human brain

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC24674/

References on effect of EMF on stress and magnesium depletion:

EMF drains minerals - calcium, zink, magnesium

Extremely low-frequency magnetic field decreased calcium, zinc and magnesium levels in costa of rat https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20872091/

Emf increases stress

Effects of electromagnetic fields exposure on the antioxidant defense system: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6025786/

Emf increases cortisol

Exposure to cell phone radiofrequency changes corticotrophin hormone levels and histology of the brain and adrenal glands in male Wistar rat: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6312682/