Suddenly, everyone is obsessed with magnesium supplements. It’s the key ingredient in #sleepygirlmocktails, powders stirred into tart cherry juice and prebiotic soda, a wellness cocktail for anxious millennials. Your coworkers are popping magnesium glycinate before bed instead of melatonin, because it allegedly cures insomnia, constipation, and existential dread. Folks seem especially concerned with optimizing their poop and pillow time. In the past year, Google searches for “which magnesium is best for sleep” and “which magnesium makes you poop” have more than doubled.
Magnesium is essential for maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system. It’s also one of the most abundant minerals in the human body, running more than 300 biochemical reactions, from protein synthesis to nerve function and blood sugar regulation. It supports bone structure and helps shuttle calcium and potassium across cell membranes, a process that allows for muscle contractions and normal heart rhythms.
You can get it from foods like legumes, leafy vegetables, and whole grains, or from fortified foods and dietary supplements. The question is: Do you need to supplement?
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Symptoms of Magnesium Deficiency
While an essential mineral for overall health, many people don't get enough magnesium. This is partly because magnesium is predominantly found in high-fiber foods, and a significant portion of Americans do not consume sufficient fiber, according to registered dietitian Sue-Ellen Anderson-Haynes. Research confirms this: More than 90 percent of women and 97 percent of men fail to meet the recommended daily intake for dietary fiber.
Older adults are particularly at risk, as the body's ability to absorb magnesium decreases with age. Health conditions like Crohn’s disease or kidney disease, alcohol use disorder, and the use of diuretics can all lead to magnesium depletion.
Anderson-Haynes notes that a magnesium deficiency (also known as hypomagnesemia) can result in a range of symptoms, such as headaches, nausea, constipation, tremors, heart palpitations, and muscle soreness. Chronic magnesium deficiency can increase the risk of developing high blood pressure, osteoporosis, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes.
Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
There are several forms of magnesium supplements, including:
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