Health benefits of magnesium
The Benefits of Magnesium
This essential mineral keeps your muscles and bones strong as well as keeping your heart healthy.
How magnesium protects:
“Most people will feel better and their health will improve if their magnesium intake is in an ideal range,” says James O’Keefe, MD, director of St. Luke’s Charles & Barbara Duboc Cardio Health & Wellness Center in Kansas City, Mo.
Studies suggest that the mineral may protect against a number of ailments. A 2021 study in the journal Nutrients found that getting 320 mg of magnesium daily was associated with a 34 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared with 240 mg a day. Another study, published in Nutrients in 2016, showed that the risk for type 2 diabetes dropped by 8 to 13 percent for every 100 mg consumed per day.
Magnesium may also lower fracture risk, improve muscle strength, and slow the advancement of sarcopenia, a loss of muscle mass that occurs with age. In addition, it’s important for immunity and is being studied, along with vitamin D, as a therapy to help patients fight COVID-19.
Most of the world's population is devoid of the vital nutrient magnesium. Our soil just doesn't have the nutrients it once had. Without magnesium, we have trouble sleeping, can get migraines, struggle emotionally with anxiety, get restless leg syndrome, and all sorts of other ailments.
Also, many perimenopausal and menopausal women experience symptoms of menopause which can affect their wellbeing, including sleepless nights, tossing and turning and restless legs.
What’s also clear from research is that a lack of magnesium negatively impacts sleep. A serious shortage of magnesium in the body is rare. However, some of the signs of insufficient magnesium in your diet are muscle weakness and tiredness. Low levels of magnesium are associated with poor sleep quality and insomnia5. Anxiety and depression also correlate with low magnesium levels6, and both anxiety and depression can contribute to insomnia7.
Research shows that magnesium may help improve insomnia symptoms. In a study of elderly patients with insomnia, taking 500 mg of magnesium daily for eight weeks improved many subjective and objective measures of insomnia. The patients:
- Fell asleep faster and slept longer
- Increased their sleep efficiency, meaning they spent more time sleeping while they were in bed
- Woke up later and reduced early morning awakening
- Experienced increased concentrations of melatonin, a sleep hormone, and serum renin which plays a role in regulating blood pressure
- Experienced decreased concentrations of serum cortisol, the “stress hormone” (www.sleepfoundation.org)
Take a look at our magnesium products and sleep well!
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