HEALING WITH MINERALS: MAGNESIUM 101

Fatigue, migraines, and stress headaches, food cravings, bloating, weight gain and constipation, breast tenderness, mood swings, acne, and muscle aches. These are just a small collection of symptoms that result from a mineral-depleted body. While modern-day medicine tells you that all these things are just natural parts of being alive or simply being a woman (insert hard eye-roll) that couldn't be further from the truth!

The truth is we are not supposed to live an agony inside our own bodies. Our periods are not supposed to be any a nightmare, seven-day roller coaster of emotions, pain, fatigue, cravings, and radical mood swings. Neither is daily life.

Of course, some aches and pains, or varied emotions are part of being alive (obviously). But, the vast majority of these extreme and omnipresent symptoms are not normal and not something that women have to continue dealing with no matter how much society tells them they do.

The thing is, for decades, our food quality has eroded, depleting our precious vessels of these tiny little things called minerals. Minerals are literally the building blocks of our entire mental and physical health. We have a chronic deficiency that is connected to endless health issues, anxiety, insomnia, disease, infertility, and more.

Our minerals, whether from plants or from the animals we eat who ate the plants, all get assimilated from the same places, which is from our soil. Unfortunately, that soil that is not taken care of or properly regenerated. Between toxic rainwater, pesticides, and pollution used in farming, industrial factories, prescription medicine that ends up in water, and basically everything else on this planet, we have HIGH TOXIC LOAD and LOW MINERAL INTAKE. It’s a recipe for disaster.

No matter how you cut it, our food has a fraction of the nutrition it should, and yes I do mean even your local, in season, organic food from the farmer’s market. Add to that our stressed to the max lifestyle, and we need even more of these nutrients than we used to in order to cope and feel well. Stress and toxins strip our bodies of minerals lightning fast.

So, let’s go over a few reasons you need to be taking extra care to give your body minerals. While ALL minerals matter and they should all be carefully supplemented in a balanced way to fill in the gaps, I’m going to narrow it down to one of the stars of the show; Magnesium!

Create the New Earth with Holistic Fashionista

First up you should know that while everyone seems to know that vitamins are important and often pop a “one a day” to cover their bases, nobody talks about minerals as a whole. That’s a huge issue because one, vitamins NEED minerals in order to really work. They are referred to as co-factors, and each of them works together to help assimilate and utilize each other. If your multivitamin doesn’t have minerals and antioxidants, throw it away. But back to magnesium, the superhero. Every cell in your body contains it and needs it to function, so it’s kind of a big deal.

One of magnesium’s main roles is acting as a cofactor or helper molecule in the biochemical reactions continuously performed by enzymes.

In fact, it’s involved in more than 600 reactions in your body, including

Energy production: Assists in converting food into energy.
Muscle movements: Critical for the proper contraction and relaxation of muscles.
Nervous system messaging: Aids to balance neurotransmitters, which send messages throughout your brain and nervous system.
Gene renewal: Helps repair and create new DNA and RNA.
Protein formation: Breaks down protein into usable amino acids.

So as you can see, magnesium (Mg) is pretty dang important for the human body! However, since I’m betting you’re not here for a lecture on hard molecular science and lab language, let’s make it simple and talk about the real-life impacts getting enough magnesium can have!

Blood Pressure Regulation: Magnesium has been shown to play a key role in regulating high blood pressure naturally. The potent mineral helps dilate blood vessels, prevent spasms in your heart muscle and blood vessel walls, and dissolve blood clots.

Fetal development: When you're pregnant, magnesium helps build and repair your body's tissues. A severe deficiency during pregnancy may lead to preeclampsia, poor fetal growth, and even infant mortality.

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS): A double-blinded placebo-controlled clinical trial suggests magnesium can significantly improve PMS symptoms, including mood changes. Interestingly, magnesium has also been shown to reduce water retention and other symptoms in women with PMS.

Mood and brain function: Magnesium plays a critical role in brain function and mood, and low levels are linked to an increased risk of depression.

Anxiety: Due to its unique role in brain function, inflammation, and muscle contractions, magnesium has been reported to have wonderful effects on anxiety. The results apply to both acute and chronic anxiety

Inflammation: Low magnesium intake is linked to chronic inflammation, which is one of the drivers of aging, obesity, and chronic disease.

Food cravings: Food cravings are nearly always the BODY’S cry for something it needs, not a mental defect or emotional impulse. When your body has the minerals it needs, cravings practically vanish.

Those are just a few of the things magnesium can help with, and I could write a book about all the others.

Unfortunately, studies suggest that up to 80% of people in the US and Europe get less than the recommended daily amount of magnesium. Given the RDA is already too low, and doesn’t account for the rapid DEPLETION our modern lives have, my professional opinion is we are ALL in need of this and other vital minerals. Since we can’t get it from food, no matter how well we eat, supplements are your friend here.

Not all supplements are created equal, so you really have to do some due diligence to make sure the company is dedicated to providing safe, pure, and potent products that actually work and don’t cause you harm. Cheap supplements have been proven to have high levels of heavy metals and other toxins, and low levels of the actual vitamins/minerals they claim to on the label. The lack of safety and integrity in the supplement world was in part why I expanded into this field.

Lastly, there are many forms of magnesium, but the most bioavailable (meaning the one your body can use easiest) is magnesium glycinate. It’s best to start small and gradually increase as you never want to bombard your body with too much of something new. Epsom salt baths or foot soaks are another great way to get magnesium. However, these can be draining for some people if they aren’t able to absorb the magnesium or are deficient in other minerals needed to detox.

Magnesium is a game-changer. Incorporating it into your routine can change your life. Just give it time, and watch your health, mood, and energy all improve!