March 2014
Magnesium and Its Many Benefits
By Mike Parenti, CN
The right amount of magnesium is essential to maintain your health. It’s important to consume 400mg of magnesium or more per day for optimal health and wellness. Magnesium is necessary for proper muscle and nerve function, and it works to keep your blood pressure at a healthy level and to regulate bowel movements. It’s a major source of your body’s energy, as well as a calming nutrient. Magnesium is also very good for blood sugar and insulin sensitivity. Anyone who is hypoglycemic or suffers from Type 2 Diabetes should be taking anywhere from 400-1,000mg of magnesium every day.
Magnesium works together with your body’s calcium supply to absorb the calcium into your bones. We need plenty of magnesium to “dissolve” the calcium in our bodies so it can be properly absorbed into the bones. Not taking enough magnesium can cause calcium to slowly build up in the arteries over time – you don't want calcium in your arteries, you want it in your bones! When individuals (especially the elderly) take calcium supplements without magnesium and other nutrients like Vitamins D3 and K2, it may lead to a variety of other problems down the road.
There are options when it comes to taking magnesium supplements, including Magnesium Glycinate and Magnesium Citrate. I prefer to take Magnesium Glycinate – personally, I take 200mg of Magnesium Glycinate three times a day. Magnesium Citrate is also very effective, but it is used more often if constipation is a factor – Magnesium in its citrate form acts as an excellent natural stool softener.
Overall, magnesium supplements are effective, inexpensive and very important for many aspects of your health. Magnesium is an amazing mineral that has so many great benefits for the human body.
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