Magnesium is my favorite supplement. It is a mineral that most people are deficient in. It’s harder to get it from food because the quality of soil food is grown in has become poor due to poor farming practices. Years ago, my then doctor recommended taking magnesium for headaches. Over the years, it has greatly helped, particularly magnesium citrate.
Turns out besides helping with migraines, magnesium has a bunch of other health benefits, including:
– improve bone health
– regulate blood pressure
– help regulate blood sugar
– reduce risk of a stroke
– helps with depression and anxiety
– improves sleep
There are a bunch of different types of magnesium, each with it’s own additional benefits.
These include:
– Magnesium chloride
– Magnesium lactate
– Magnesium malate
– Magnesium taurate – This form may help reduce blood sugar and improve blood pressure.
– Magnesium L-threonate
– Magnesium sulfate
– Magnesium glycinate – This is formed from elemental magnesium and the amino acid glycine. It is easily absorbed and may have calming effects.
– Magnesium orotate
– Magnesium lysinate
– Magnesium chelate
– Magnesium citrate – This is bound with citric acid. It is easily absorbed and is helpful for constipation. Too much can have the opposite effect, so reduce the dosage if that happens. This is the type I like to take for headaches around the eyes and forehead. I also take it when I can’t sleep.
– Magnesium oxide – This combines magnesium and oxygen. This is the type typically found in multivitamins. I never include this in the total amount of magnesium per day that I take because it’s not really absorbed by the body that well, so it’s not good for raising overall magnesium levels. It’s used for digestive issues like heartburn, indigestion, and constipation.
Some foods that provide magnesium are: almonds, spinach, cashews, pumpkin seeds, bananas, black beans, avocado, oatmeal, bananas
Challenge:
If you don’t use magnesium, think about trying it. Consult your doctor first though, especially if you are taking any medications or have kidney issues.
A few brands I’ve used include:
Bioptimizers Magnesium Breakthrough – This is pricier, but I take 1 capsule in the morning, so a bottle lasts a little longer. I think it has helped improve my sleep. It combines a bunch of different types of magnesium into 1 capsule.
Swanson Magnesium Citrate – Super Strength – This is what I take for headaches and when I have trouble sleeping.
Natural Vitality Calm, Magnesium Citrate Supplement, Anti-Stress Drink – I drink this after dinner. It’s a powder, so it’s easy to control the dosage. Start small because it’s pretty potent.
Doctor’s Best High Absorption Magnesium Glycinate Lysinate – I used this for a long time, but recently switched to using Bioptimizers instead, not sure if this helped with anything, but it’s cheaper and does have a lot of positive reviews on Amazon. This combines magnesium glycinate lysinate and chelate into 1 tablet.
Resources:
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/magnesium/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/286839