The benefits of ionic magnesium are seemingly endless, but long-term studies show more than 70% of people to be magnesium deficient. Lifestyle factors like bad diets and high stress raise our daily magnesium needs. As a result, you can usually experience the benefits of a high-quality ionic magnesium supplement within hours.
Common Symptoms of Magnesium Deficiency
It’s not surprising that deficiency leads to a number of symptoms because magnesium is used in over 300 natural reactions within the body. How many common magnesium deficiency symptoms do you have?
- Trouble sleeping
- Inability to relax body and/or mind
- Osteoporosis
- Frequent headaches or migraines
- Unexplained muscle cramps or twitches
- Fatigue and muscle weakness
- Depression and/or anxiety
- High blood pressure
- Irregular heartbeat
Common Causes of Magnesium Deficiency
There are many reasons for a person to be deficient in magnesium, but not all of them are obvious.
- Poor diet
- Malabsorption
- Certain health conditions (Crohn’s, celiac, type 2 diabetes, alcoholism)
- Certain medications (diuretics, antibiotics, proton pump inhibitors)
- Pregnancy
- Chronic stress
- Old age
- Chronic diarrhea
- Eating disorders
- Excessive sweating
What is Ionic Magnesium?
“Ionic” simply means magnesium molecules have an electrical charge that makes it easier for plants and animals to use. As a result, a natural soil compound called fulvic acid ionizes minerals in the soil and helps move these minerals into cells. Throughout human history, we have consumed fulvic acid and ionic minerals from plant foods, but it not that easy with today’s farming practices.
The Benefits of Ionic Magnesium
It’s important to understand how ionic magnesium works and why deficiency causes so many symptoms, so let’s break down the science behind some of it’s crucial functions.
Fatigue & Energy Production
Magnesium promotes the enzyme activity involved in energy production. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is an essential coenzyme involved in energy and metabolism, but ATP must bind with an ionic magnesium molecule to work.
Our bodies have limited amounts of ATP stored in muscle tissue. As physical activity increases, this stored ATP is depleted faster and faster. This makes ionic magnesium especially important for athletes and for those just beginning on a new fitness journey.
Nervous System
Our nervous system is responsible for nearly everything the body does, from automatic functions like breathing and blood pressure regulation to sensory-based actions like moving and pain awareness.
It does this by sending messages via electrical impulses back and forth from the brain to bodily tissues. In doing so, our cells lose potassium and gain sodium and calcium. Thus, magnesium is responsible for bringing the amount of electrolytes inside our cells back into balance. Without this process, our nervous system can become over-stimulated and lead to cramps, twitching, irregular heartbeats, anxiety, and, in more severe cases, potassium deficiencies.
Cardiovascular System
We are often told to limit saturated fats, cholesterol, and sodium to protect cardiovascular health, but how often do we check our magnesium levels? Research dating as far back as the late 1930s points to a strong association between low levels of magnesium and all heart disease risk factors.
This became even more evident when doctors began prescribing high doses of calcium without magnesium to older women to fend off osteoporosis. Not only did the occurrence of osteoporosis not improve, but the rate of cardiovascular disease among these women increased. As discussed in the section on our nervous system, our cells can become overloaded with calcium when magnesium levels are low causing the calcification (stiffening) of soft tissues including arteries. This reduces arterial elasticity forcing the heart to work harder. As a result, blood pressure rises and the heart grows weaker over time.
According to several recent studies, magnesium and coronary artery calcification (atherosclerosis) have an inverse relationship. In other words, as magnesium levels rise, the level of arterial calcification drops and vice versa. One of these studies actually showed a 36% increase in the risk of dying from coronary heart disease and a 54% increase in sudden cardiac death in patients with low serum magnesium levels compared to those with mid to high levels.
Increasing magnesium levels helps rebalance these electrolytes and contributes to improved soft tissue elasticity. As a result, why high blood pressure and heart arrhythmias often decrease with magnesium supplementation and other dietary changes.
Bone Health
Repeated studies have found that magnesium directly contributes to osteoporosis.
Osteoblasts are cells responsible for new bone formation. A study(1) evaluating the effects of ionic magnesium on osteoblasts showed meaningful increases in osteoblast activity (including higher osteocalcin levels) when more magnesium ions were present. This means, higher levels of ionic magnesium support increased bone tissue formation.
Osteoclasts, on the other hand, are cells that break down calcified bone tissue. Considering what we have learned in the sections above, it’s no surprise that bone tissues become calcified when magnesium levels are low. The more calcified cells there are, the more osteoclasts our bodies produce and the weaker our bones become.
The benefits ionic magnesium are seemingly endless and we believe it is one of the most important minerals we can supplement with. Ongoing scientific research will undoubtedly continue to uncover even more links between magnesium and optimal human health.
Eating more magnesium-rich foods and supplementing with high-quality Ionic Magnesium can go a long way in helping your body function like it was designed to.
(1) He LY, Zhang XM, Liu B, Tian Y, Ma WH. Effect of magnesium ion on human osteoblast activity. Braz J Med Biol Res. 2016;49(7):e5257. doi:10.1590/1414-431X20165257
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