Here at Nutri Advanced, we spend a lot of time talking to our customers about the benefits of magnesium, as we are seeing people becoming increasingly deficient in what is often referred to as the ‘miracle mineral’.

Quite rightly so, as it has numerous functions and roles to play in our bodies. These include maintaining healthy energy levels1, relaxing muscles including the heart, regulating the nervous system therefore helping to improve anxiety2, elevate mood & improving sleep quality.

There are a number of reasons why you might be deficient in magnesium such as chronic stress, auto-immune conditions, pain and inflammation, hormonal fluctuations & poor digestion and/or gut health.3

Signs of magnesium deficiency include quivery tongue, chronic & prolonged fatigue, poor sleep, poor recovery from exercise, anxiety & mood disorders, low immunity and more.

Here are 10 top tips from our Nutritionists about how to include more magnesium in your diet.

1. Increase magnesium-rich foods in your diet
Choose foods that are whole and unprocessed. Green leafy vegetables, wholegrains, nuts, seeds and legumes are great sources of this vital mineral.

2. Add an extra magnesium supplement
You may need to supplement with extra magnesium in tablet or powder form if your levels have dipped low. Choose magnesium glycinate as not only is this form top of the charts when it comes to absorption,4 but it is also well tolerated when taken in higher amounts. Consider choosing a magnesium supplement that is targeted to your particular needs including anxiety, muscle health, sleep or energy, so the synergistic blend of nutrients and botanicals has the maximum impact.

3. Take a daily multivitamin to supply the co-factors for magnesium utilisation and absorption
Choose a high quality one-a-day formula that contains forms of nutrients that the body is able to recognise and use efficiently. Obtaining vitamins and minerals from diet alone can be tricky with depleted soils5 and our bodies in ever-fluctuating state of stress and poor health, this can lead to a need for extra from a daily multi-nutrient.

4. Keep alcohol, fizzy drinks and caffeine to a minimum
Alcohol can interfere with the body’s absorption of vitamin D & other essential nutrients, which in turn can affect magnesium absorption. Fizzy drinks and caffeine are also associated with lower magnesium levels. Instead drink coconut water which is naturally rich in magnesium and other electrolytes to keep you well hydrated.6

5. Include sea vegetables as part of a balanced diet
Sea water is rich in minerals, including magnesium, so vegetables that grow in the sea, such as kelp, contain generous amounts of this mighty mineral.

6. Minimise intake of refined sugar
Sugar consumption, especially from refined foods, can lead to increased excretion of magnesium from the body, therefore quickly depleting our stores needed for optimal health.

7. Nourish your gut bacteria
It’s important to optimize gut health to ensure maximum benefits of digestion and nutrient absorption.7 Maintaining optimal levels of friendly bacteria can help to ensure magnesium gets absorbed and used efficiently within the body.

8. Add magnesium flakes to your bath
Regular Epsom salt baths or foot baths are a good way to increase magnesium levels as the mineral is well absorbed into your body through your skin. Furthermore, a hot bath at bedtime is known to help you get into a restful state ready for sleep, imitating the rise and fall in body temperature which we experience during sleep.

9. Include bone broth in your diet
Bone broth is a rich source of magnesium along with many other essential nutrients. Always use organic, free range meat or wild fish to make your broth.

10. Be careful with tannins (tea), oxalates (raw spinach) and phytic acid (wholegrains)
These can all bind with magnesium, making it unavailable to the body, unless extra care is taken to neutralise some of these compounds during food preparation. Drink herbal teas, gently cook spinach and look for organic, stone ground, sprouted or sour dough wholegrain breads.

Want to know more about magnesium?

Magnesium Deficiency Symptoms
Magnesium: Why Aren't We Getting Enough
Top 10 Magnesium-Rich Foods
10 Things You Didn't Know About Magnesium
Confused About The Different Forms of Magnesium?

References:
1. Tardy, A. L., Pouteau, E., Marquez, D., Yilmaz, C., & Scholey, A. (2020). Vitamins and Minerals for Energy, Fatigue and Cognition: A Narrative Review of the Biochemical and Clinical Evidence. Nutrients, 12(1), 228.
2. Boyle, N. B., Lawton, C. L., & Dye, L. (2016). The effects of magnesium supplementation on subjective anxiety. Magnesium research, 29(3), 120–125. 
3. Debora Porri, Hans K. Biesalski, Antonio Limitone, Laura Bertuzzo, Hellas Cena. (2021) Effect of magnesium supplementation on women's health and well-being, NFS Journal, Volume 23, pp 33-60.
4. Joseph E. Pizzorno (2020) Natural Medicines Quality Control, Textbook of Natural Medicine (Fifth Edition),Churchill Livingstone, pp 722-730.
5. Rosanoff, A. (2013) Changing crop magnesium concentrations: impact on human health. Plant Soil 368, 139–153.
6. US Department of Agriculture FoodData Central Coconut Water .
7. Krajmalnik-Brown, R., Ilhan, Z. E., Kang, D. W., & DiBaise, J. K. (2012). Effects of gut microbes on nutrient absorption and energy regulation. Nutrition in clinical practice : official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, 27(2), 201–214. 

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