Rough night? Woke you up with a painful contraction? Sleepy, you drink coffee after coffee, but it doesn’t help and you still can’t concentrate. You are getting more and more tired and irritable. The twitching of the eyelid and the numbness of the hands also distract you from your balance. Finally, the work day is over and you count on the fitness or gym to relax you a little. Here’s another nasty contraction! You blame everything on the weather and hope tomorrow will get better. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and the situation has been repeated for many days.
If you know this scenario from your own statement, or you are affected by at least one of the symptoms described, it may be time to replace the magnesium deficiency as evidenced by these symptoms. Magnesium is one of the most important ingredients in our body. Responsible for the proper functioning of virtually all systems. The cardiovascular system and the increased risk of cardiac arrhythmias or hypertension in the absence of magnesium should be mentioned here. The aforementioned neuromuscular symptoms are just the tip of the iceberg. Also the respiratory, bone and joint and immune systems will not work efficiently in the case of magnesium deficiency. Numerous studies have shown a significant relationship between the disturbance of magnesium metabolism and the occurrence of diabetes mellitus. There is still a long way to go. There is a reason why magnesium is said to be the “element of life”.
But let’s go back to our daily scenario and take a closer look at what you eat during the day. Even if you think your diet is healthy and rich in minerals, unfortunately you might be wrong. On the one hand, magnesium is very difficult to absorb. Of the total amount contained in food, it is absorbed only in the range from 15 to 40%, depending on the demand, product quality, and the condition of the small intestine mucosa. On the other hand, there is less and less of it in the foods themselves. This is facilitated by its low soil content due to the use of artificial fertilizers, as well as the process of cleaning, cooking and preserving food. The “soft water” we usually drink is also low in magnesium. Magnesium absorption is also limited by a diet rich in fat, proteins and phosphates, slimming treatments and many medications, incl. antibiotics, sedatives and contraceptives. Coffee is probably the most typical, but also one of the biggest enemies of magnesium because it flushes it out of the body. Stress is equally dangerous – the less magnesium in the body, the more we are exposed to stress, and magnesium deficiency increases our susceptibility to nervousness and overload of the body.
And the demand for magnesium, unfortunately, is not decreasing. There are many different guidelines for the correct dose of magnesium, but all of them clearly indicate that in adults it is around 300-400 mg per day. However, these values vary considerably depending on gender, health condition and even lifestyle. People exposed to constant stress and significant body loads need more magnesium. Just like pregnant women and adolescents.
Therefore, it is worth adding one more scene to your daily scenario, in which you reach for a properly selected dietary supplement. Before that, however, you need to choose the right preparation. Taking into account the fact that magnesium is difficult to absorb, you need to choose the form that is most easily absorbed by the body. Of great importance in this matter is the solubility of magnesium salts in the gastrointestinal tract. For example, magnesium chelates have been touted as being best absorbed by the body, while it is difficult to find scientific support for this claim. Contrary to popular opinion, there are reports of high stability of chelate compounds, which may then translate into their bioavailability. On the other hand, organic salts dissolve best. To ensure proper magnesium supplementation, salt that is well absorbed and well tolerated should be administered. Organic salts include, among others magnesium lactate and magnesium citrate. Keep this in mind when choosing dietary supplements containing magnesium.
What is your day’s scenario now? You get up in the morning feeling refreshed and relaxed. You are not afraid of physical and even mental effort. You can cope with all problems and keep your nerves in check. The heart beats calmly and steadily. It would be worth reducing the amount of coffee you drink, but that’s a completely different story …
Text: Julia Banaszewska