Magnesium. If you are like 75 percent of Americans, you are deficient in it.
The SAD diet, or Standard American Diet, yields a lack of magnesium and many other important nutrients. In addition, pharmaceutical medications such as proton-pump inhibitors, corticosteroids, birth control, diuretics, and others can deplete magnesium levels. Gut issues can lead to malabsorption, so even if you are eating the right foods, if your gut is a mess, you may still not be absorbing the magnesium. Athletes who sweat a lot may also be deficient if they are not replacing their electrolytes correctly.
What form of magnesium should you be taking? You might be taking magnesium oxide – the common form of magnesium from inexpensive supplements sold at Walmart, Amazon and similar stores, which is poorly absorbed. There are many better forms of magnesium:
- Magnesium citrate is helpful for constipation.
- Magnesium threonate is beneficial for cognitive function, mood disorders, and sleep.
- Magnesium sulfate is found in epsom salts and it is used for detoxification and muscle relaxation.
- Magnesium taurate is useful for heart health.
- Magnesium glycinate is helpful for pain, anxiety, and insomnia.
This is not a complete list of the different types of magnesium, but as you can see, there are many to choose from and all forms offer different benefits.
How do you know if you are deficient? It’s easy — I like to have clients run a HTMA (Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis) lab. Oftentimes a magnesium deficiency won’t show up in the blood right away because blood is a homeostatic fluid. It will do what it can to stay in balance and will pull from bones and tissues first. Running a HTMA lab will show you where the magnesium level is at in your tissues, along with calcium and several other minerals, since health is about keeping everything in balance within the body. The HTMA can be beneficial for everyone to run to see their mineral levels, but especially for people with high blood pressure, chronic stress, thyroid issues, and blood sugar imbalances.
Contact me at kelseytreeoflife@gmail.com to schedule an appointment to talk about magnesium, the HTMA lab, or any other supplement questions you may have!