There is a brand new secret supplement that I just recently found out about that can help you . . .

Get stronger, fight several diseases, improve strength and body composition, give you deeper sleep as well as boost your brain health! It just happens to be magnesium. Okay, so maybe magnesium is not that much of a brand new supplement, but it is still an overlooked mineral with all of the new fancy supplements flooding the market. Let’s take a deep dive into what is the big deal with magnesium, how it can help you out and what are some of the best forms you can start with right now to start improving your health.

Deficiency in the Soil

This is where the whole problem of magnesium deficiency begins. We need to take a long hard look at the farming practices that are being used. If you are thinking that you are not a farmer, only have a small or don’t have any garden then this doesn’t pertain to you, well you are wrong. The type of farming practice you support with your food dollars has everything to do with it. If you support local farmers using good farming practices that are building back the topsoil that has eroded over the last few centuries do to mono-cropping then you are doing your part. This is where it all begins because this is where magnesium should be found in abundance.

Magnesium levels in the soil have been declining rapidly since the 1950s (and even earlier by some accounts). You must not overlook this when eating your food, unless you have found another source of magnesium. In which case, congratulations, but for the rest of us mere mortals we must continue to seek out the highest quality sources of food to source our magnesium. As always look for food that has not been sprayed, genetically modified or just not raised properly. Also, ask your farmer about his or her farming practices. Do that add a bunch of manure and compost to their soil? Are they using crop rotation? These two are huge because the addition of organic compounds will help to boost the magnesium content and the crop rotation will stop the same crops from pulling only specific minerals out of one area of the soil year after year.

Why So Serious!?

To say that magnesium is pretty important to our physiology would be a gross understatement. It is critical for the structure of our bones and teeth (one could argue a bigger deal than the whole calcium rage currently going on (me, I would argue that)), but it is also a very important cofactor for 300-350 enzymes in the body. Without proper magnesium levels the body is not able to conduct nerve impulses properly, insulin sensitivity will be thrown off, heart functioning will decrease and temperature regulation will be disrupted to name a few.

Symptoms of Deficiency

Constipation: For those who suffer, and it is a lot, increasing your magnesium is certainly one possible way to correct your bowel habits. Beware if supplementing as too much magnesium can also take you the other way into diarrhea or “disaster pants.”
the most characteristic signs and symptoms of Mg deficiency are produced by neural and neuromuscular hyper excitability
Fatigue: Remember those 300+ enzymatic activities in the body that magnesium plays a role in? Okay good. Now if there is not enough magnesium on board, those are either not going to happen, or not happen efficiently. Because of this your body will become rundown from lack of quality nutrition on board.
Chocolate Cravings: I imagine that this one piqued interest in more than a few of you. There is a reason behind that. Cacao is very high in magnesium and if eaten in the form of a dark chocolate of 85% cacao or higher, it can help get you the magnesium that your body has been craving.
Poor Sleep: Have you ever found that you cannot just calm down at night? Well do not worry because magnesium has a calming effect on both the nervous system as well as the body’s muscles. Research also shows that it may allow you to sleep longer and more deeply to get a more restful night. A deficiency in magnesium may also present itself in the form of restless leg syndrome at night as well.
Osteoporosis and Dental Caries: It is not all about the calcium and vitamin D. Magnesium is important for these to be properly assimilated into the bone structure. For proper health of bones and teeth magnesium certainly plays a critical role.
Stress: For those with lots of adrenaline and cortisol pumping through their body, you will be going through magnesium at an alarming rate. Good thing that making sure you get adequate magnesium can have a calming effect on the body. It has been shown to calm down the sympathetic nervous system which is often overtaxed in many people.

Are You Absorbing Yours?

The poor digestion of the western world is a topic for another long blog indeed, but let’s just look at a few groups who are even more susceptible than the average Joe for a magnesium deficiency:

Gastrointestinal Diseases: For those that have any of these disorders from Crohn’s disease, to gluten sensitivity, intolerance or celiac disease and any type of intestinal hyper-permeability (leaky gut syndrome) or even hypochlorhydria (low stomach acid). All of these are associated with poor absorption of foods because of some problems with digestion. This could be a problem for any suffering from impaired digestion.
Type 2 Diabetes
Those with Alcohol Dependence
Older Adults

Remember that you might be taking in adequate amounts or even much more than necessary, but if the lining of your gut is compromised you will not be able to absorb nutrients properly out of your food. Making sure to not eat a highly inflammatory diet (grains, processed foods, industrial see oils, foods that you are intolerant to, etc.) as well as sleeping well and avoiding negative stressors that you will be able to heal this back up in order to get the magnesium needed.

Specific Diseases

Cancer: Yes, let’s start with a biggie! Making sure to get enough magnesium, as well as calcium and zinc, has been shown to inhibit carcinogenesis (the initiation of cancer formation). Who doesn’t want to be counted in on this one with cancer rates still skyrocketing at an alarming rate?
Obesity: As you will see later in this post, magnesium helps with protein synthesis as well as insulin sensitivity. Both of which are critical in fat loss. What better way to combat obesity than getting yourself to use insulin properly and adding a bit of muscle.
Type 2 Diabetes: What needs to be fixed in diabetes? The answer is insulin sensitivity. What is one of the best minerals to improve insulin sensitivity? The answer as you probably guessed is magnesium. Sure there are other things you can eat more of, but this one is a biggie.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Magnesium has been shown to help counteract the effects of malabsorption associated with IBD secondary to diarrhea. As stated before magnesium can be the cause of diarrhea, but it can also help to suppress it in certain diseased states making its uptake and the uptake of other key nutrients easier.
Heart Disease: Heart disease is grown as a silent killer. It does not have to be this way. C-reactive protein (a marker of inflammation) can become elevated when magnesium intake is too low. Since high CRP is a very important risk factor for heart disease keeping it at bay and inflammation in general will benefit the heart and entire body and brain.
Depression: Since the neurons may not be receiving enough magnesium, the damage to the neuron may be presenting itself in the form of depression. It has also been shown that inadequate magnesium in the brain will also reduce serotonin levels which is commonly associated with depression.
Headaches and Migraines: Magnesium has been shown to have some pretty dramatic results in those suffering from acute migraines. It has even shown some promise in prophylactic use for those with chronic headaches and migraines.
Asthma: It has been shown that magnesium can serve as a cheaper form of bronchodilator therapy.

Strength Training

This is one that I am very interested in since I love to be strong. This is important both in young and old since decreasing strength levels with age is associated with a higher risk of mortality. By making sure magnesium intake is adequate one can be sure to activate the ATPase’s. This is the basis for a molecule ATP which is broken down to give off energy for muscle contraction. Without adequate amounts muscles will not be able to contract as strongly and thus not be able to build the same strength levels. Keep in mind that whether you are a high level athlete or just looking to stay strong throughout a lifetime, that magnesium will play a critical role.

Since magnesium plays a vital role in protein synthesis, it can help to keep adequate muscle mass on the body. Not only can it help maintain muscle mass by protein synthesis, but also by increasing the anabolic hormones growth hormone and IGF-1. Again, do not think this is just for athletes. Muscle mass and strength is critical for all!

Brain Health

As always, I am a big fan of brain health. Let’s take a look at a few of the things that magnesium can do between the ears:

Memory Loss: Whether you want to help improve your memory or just prevent further decline, magnesium is going to play an important role.
IQ Boost: Who knew that this mineral could do so much? Your IQ is not likely to change a great deal, but it is nice to know that it can help to increase slightly or at least be maintained with proper intake of magnesium.
Brain Injury: When the brain has been damaged magnesium plays a critical role in helping to repair and restore the brain to a normal state. There are many other factors as a brain injury is a very traumatic state, but your brain has probably been injured more than you realize, even if you have not been in a major accident.
Increased Synaptic Firing: Don’t be slowwwww. Be Quick! Yes, you want your synaptic firing rate to be up to par so that you do not always have to wait to remember something. Let your brains actions stay strong and fast.

Live Longer

It seems that people are and want to live longer and longer. Magnesium plays a critical role in this by helping to increase telomere length which contributes to helping one live a longer life. It also is able to stabilize DNA and allow for increased replication.

Top Foods

Here is a list of foods in order of highest to lowest amount of magnesium. This does not mean you should only eat these foods, but making sure to keep them in the rotation can help to keep your magnesium levels up to snuff. Also, by making sure to avoid refined foods (which are often void of vitamins and minerals because of processing) you are less likely to miss out on this amazing mineral.

Almonds
Cooked Spinach
Cashews
Black Beans
Avocado
Baked Potato
Brown Rice
Yogurt
Kidney Beans
Banana
Salmon
Milk
Halibut
Raisins
Chicken
Beef
Broccoli
White Rice
Apple
Carrot

Top Supplements

Theoretically we should be able to get all of the magnesium from the foods that we eat. However, this is probably not the case due to the first topic at the beginning of this article. It all comes back to the health of our soil and the deficiencies in it. There are a few different forms of magnesium that work well. They will be gone over below as well as the different properties of each. There are others, but I feel that they are of inferior quality and do not work as well, but as with anything, you must find what works for you. Either way go for ones that end in -ate as what they are bound to makes it more easily absorbed by the body:

Citrate: This has been the one I have worked with the most personally. It has laxative properties, which is very important with the amount of constipation in people, but also has a very calming affect. The magnesium is bound to citric acid. I prefer to take it before bed, but the dose can be split up throughout the day. It is also a little less expensive than some of the others. As for a place to start, this is it. Natural Calm is the simplest one to get and it is a good tasting powder to take before bed.
Glycinate: Here seems to be one of the highest bioavailable forms of magnesium and is bound to glycine. This means that the body can use it most easily and will certainly help in today’s commonly deficient state. Kirkman looks to be the cleanest one without any other junk in it.
Malate: This one is bound to malic acid and seems to have some pain relieving principles associated with it. Again, a chelated form that is going to be fairly easily absorbed. Seeking Health seems to be the cleanest I could find.
Threonate: This is the new biggie. Apparently it is better able to cross into the cell membrane and is being touted as the best form. It has even been shown recently to help cross into the brain and help restore memory. This is one that I have not tried, but am looking forward to shortly. BrainRevive will probably be my choice. It has a few different forms of magnesium, which is something that I am a fan of rather than only using the same one.
Mineral Water: This is a fantastic way to start the day. It is going to have trace minerals, including magnesium. Hydrate and get your minerals all at the same time.
Salt: As usual, we are talking about salt and not sodium chloride. I sprinkle in my water and use on food as it contains 80+ minerals and yes, magnesium is one of them. Celtic Sea Salt is my favorite, but also use Himalayan pink salt

There you have it. A fairly comprehensive overview of magnesium. Now it is your turn to take action. Make sure that your magnesium is up to par to be able to get all of the benefits associated with it and your body will certainly thank you for it.

If you are wondering how the health of your brain is, I have the answer. Check out this FREE Brain Health Quiz to find out where you are at and I will send you my new free book “The 4 Morning Secrets to Perfect Brain Health.”

Have a Great Day!
Nick Horowski

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