You Need Magnesium!

So you may have picked up that I have a lot of experience with natural health products. I also have a lot of experience viewing the success or failure of said products on friends, family and clients' ailments. Some products seem downright ineffective (many weight-loss "solutions", certain root-based beverages to substitute delicious coffee, expensive skin creams to make you look younger) but some seem to have a near perfect success rate - maca to balance hormones, sulforaphane for skin problems - but above them all is magnesium. It is a miracle product. Time and again, when I recommend magnesium people come back with accolades for how well it works.

With the popularity of Dr. Carolyn Dean's book  "The Magnesium Miracle" more people are discovering this once rarely known mineral. Your body's muscles run on two main minerals - calcium to contract, and magnesium to relax. That doesn't mean magnesium will force them to relax (spontaneously falling to the ground - not fun) but it means that when you require a relaxed muscle, magnesium is the tool your cells are looking for.

This has many implications. Headaches are often the result of a tense muscle - in your face or neck. Menstrual cramps and certain menopausal symptoms are related to muscle tension. Constipation is another common one. Sore muscles after working out, leg cramps during pregnancy, or dehydration (or let's be honest - a night of drinking) - all muscle related. Not to mention nervousness, inability to sleep, some heart problems and ADHD... Magnesium deficiency is serious and very common. 

 

A lack of magnesium also causes poor calcium uptake in the bones so instead calcium circulates in the blood which not only doesn't help with osteoporosis but also puts you at risk of arterial plaque which is heart attack material.

Did you know? Craving chocolate is a sign of a magnesium deficiency. It so often occurs during a woman's "time of the month" - your body's natural way of telling you to intake some magnesium to prevent the muscle cramping pain. Thanks, body!

There are a few problems with attempting to get all of your required magnesium from foods - first of all, most magnesium-rich foods also contain calcium, and although they're often said to be a great combination, what we're looking for is a higher ratio of magnesium to calcium, thus promoting relaxation. Also, magnesium is one of the nutrients that is severely depleted from our soil and hence, our food supply. So even eating healthy isn't enough.

There is one magnesium supplement I recommend over and over: Natural Calm. It is a delicious drink mix that gives you a needed magnesium punch to calm even the twitchiest eye, the most over-active hands, or the most restless of legs. Take it before bed and you'll drift into a peaceful sleep. The mix comes in a powder that you mix with hot water. You can either use all hot water, or simply a little to dissolve the powder, and then finish with cold water for a chilled version. I use the lemon-raspberry flavour. It is well absorbed because it is in a water-soluble form (ionic). You can find out more on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NaturalVitalityLifeNutrified

Check out the Nutritional Magnesium Association for more information.