10 Signs You Have a Magnesium Deficiency (How to Boost Magnesium Naturally)

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That's coldture.com, C-O-L-D-T-U-R-E.com. And don't forget to use the code Axe to save $200 today. Hey everyone, welcome to the Dr. Josh Axe Show. I am your host, Dr. Axe. And each and every week on this podcast, we dive deep into the science and principles behind how to grow physically, mentally, and spiritually and take your life and your health to the next level.

On today's episode, I'll be going through the The top 10 signs that you are magnesium deficient. Did you know that magnesium deficiency is one of the greatest deficiencies out there?

And there's a good likelihood if you have headaches, if you have muscle tension, if you have painful cramps, if you have issues like cellular dysfunction, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, neurological conditions, and so many more, that you're magnesium deficient. I'll go through that and you'll know If you're magnesium deficient, likely, on today's show and what to do about it.

By the way, I'm also going to go through what the top forms of magnesium are. Did you know there are over 10 different forms of magnesium in supplements? So you want to make sure if you're buying magnesium that you're buying the right magnesium supplement. I'll cover that today as well. Hey, make sure to subscribe to this podcast and follow my weekly wellness newsletter. It's new.

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Approximately 50% of people in the United States don't get enough magnesium from their diet, according to the NIH. Modern diets, which typically rely heavily on processed foods, are very, very low in magnesium-rich foods like leafy green vegetables and nuts and seeds.

And people with gastrointestinal issues, diabetes, or those who drink excessive alcohol on a regular basis also tend to have low magnesium, as do athletes. Athletes require more magnesium due to its loss through sweat during exercise.

So if you're a person that exercises on a regular basis or gets in an infrared sauna or just sweats more often, you also have a greater likelihood of having a magnesium deficiency. And magnesium is essential for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body. It's like the oil that keeps your body's engine running smoothly.

Without enough magnesium, many bodily processes can slow down or malfunction altogether. It's also very important for your cellular health and for creating antioxidants in your body like glutathione. And so it is incredibly important and it is one of the top 5 minerals that everyone is deficient in. A few things it does. Again, it helps convert food into energy, helps with ATP creation.

This is important. If you've got low energy, could be magnesium deficiency. Nervous system support. It aids in transmitting signals between your brain and body. It supports muscle function. Magnesium helps with muscles contracting and relaxing. Without it, your muscles cramp or will spasm. Helps build strong bones. It's required for calcium absorption. It maintains a steady heartbeat.

And healthy blood pressure. A 2012 study published in the journal Nutrients confirmed that magnesium is crucial for preventing high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and both migraine and regular headaches. It's critical for so many things.

Now, the recommended daily intake for magnesium for males between the ages of 19 and 30 is around 400 milligrams a day, for females 310 milligrams a day, and for pregnant women 350 milligrams a day. And if you have any one of these health conditions or symptoms going on, then you likely are magnesium deficient. The first one is muscle tightness, cramps, and/or spasms.

Okay, if you notice your muscles are always tight, especially your traps and your shoulders, again, you get cramps or spasms, then you're likely magnesium deficient. And it could also be a potassium deficiency, but it's an electrolyte deficiency, magnesium being the most likely. The second is fatigue and weakness. Magnesium is involved with energy production.

Without it, you may feel tired, weak, sluggish for no clear reason. The next is nausea and vomiting. Early signs of magnesium deficiency can include being nauseous. Another one is loss of appetite, tingling and numbness, especially of your hands and feet, irregular heartbeat. Magnesium helps regulate your heart rhythm. Mood changes, especially anxiety. Okay.

There's a growing number of evidence that low magnesium is linked to mood disorders, especially anxiety, but also depression. Another one is high blood pressure. Magnesium helps relax blood vessels. Without enough magnesium, your blood pressure may rise, putting strain on your cardiovascular system. Weakened bones.

Magnesium is essential for the absorption of both calcium and vitamin D. And magnesium is essential for building of your bones. And the 10th most common symptom is trouble sleeping or insomnia. Magnesium has a calming effect on the nervous system, and low levels can interfere with your body's ability to fall asleep or stay asleep.

And I do want to mention certain medications also deplete your body of magnesium. For instance, diabetes medications can. Antibiotics can, birth control can. So there are so many medications— diuretics, um, things for acid reflux, uh, there, there are so many. Um, numerous, numerous medications deplete your body of magnesium. A few I just mentioned there.

Also, certain diseases put you at risk of not absorbing magnesium well. Diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic diarrhea are also issues there as well. The most at-risk groups of magnesium deficiency are athletes, or if you just work out a lot and sweat a good amount.

Older adults and pregnant women often need higher doses of magnesium, and athletes again lose it through sweat, and older, older adults have absorption issues, which is why they need more magnesium. And testing for magnesium deficiency can be tricky because only 1% of the body's magnesium is in the blood. However, there are some ways that can test for it. One is serum magnesium test.

It's a blood test that measures magnesium levels. Though it may not always give the full picture. There's also a magnesium RBC test, stands for red blood cell test. This test measures magnesium within the red blood cells and is considered more accurate. There's also a 24-hour urine test which tracks how much magnesium is being excreted by your body over a full day.

But again, if, if it was very different a month ago or a month in the future, that may not be as accurate as well. But you can also do sometimes an organic acids test or micronutrient test is another one which can test for Magnesium deficiencies. Now, I want to go through the most common forms of magnesium supplements because you might be thinking, well, I'm buying a magnesium supplement.

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And we attach magnesium to another amino acid so it looks more like, or it functions more like a food, because when you So when you eat a food, let me give you an example. If you ate seaweed like spirulina, or you would go and eat a handful of pumpkin seeds. Spirulina, I know specifically has, the magnesium has 18 different amino acids attached, okay?

So this is how you absorb it, it's how the cells utilize it for the body. So in most supplements, it'll attach on one amino acid. Now, there are some higher-level magnesium supplements that may attach a few on, or maybe even up to 18, which is probably the highest level possible. But again, you have to attach it to something for it to be absorbed.

Now, I want to go through different types of magnesium and what they're better for or one reason you may not take it. One of the most popular forms of magnesium today is magnesium glycinate. This is one I prescribe and recommend on a regular basis. Its main benefit is that it has a high level of bioavailability and it's has a gentle effect on the stomach.

Just FYI, a lot of minerals including magnesium, zinc, iron can be hard on the digestive system if they're not in the right forms. But magnesium glycinate is chelated, meaning it's bound to an amino acid, specifically glycine, which helps with the absorption. And this form is particularly effective for promoting relaxation, reducing anxiety, improving sleep, and supporting muscle recovery.

It is one of the least likely to cause digestive issues compared to other forms. Now, where it might not be as beneficial is for digestive health and treating constipation. And so that's sort of where its shortcoming is. Number 2 is magnesium L-threonate. Now, it's unique because it has the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier.

And magnesium L-threonate is particularly beneficial for cognitive function, memory and brain health. It's ideal for improving mental clarity, for learning, for neuroprotection. And this form is frequently used in its research to prevent cognitive decline and for treatment of conditions like Alzheimer's.

Now, it's not going to be as effective for muscle relaxation or headaches or constipation relief as other forms. It's specifically good for brain and neurological function. Number 3 is magnesium carbonate. This is well known for its antacid properties. It helps with indigestion and acid reflux. It also has a mild laxative effect, so it is very good for constipation.

So this is one, if you've heard the brand Cal-Magnesium, their magnesium carbonate, and so it's probably one of the best for digestive discomfort, digestive cramping, and for constipation.

Now the bioavailability is lower than other forms, but it should be because you want a lot of it to stay In your gut and affect your gut for its laxative effects to support, uh, if you are dealing with constipation symptoms. So if you have constipation, magnesium carbonate is the go-to. Uh, as is the next one here is magnesium citrate. It's highly absorbable and often used as a natural laxative.

It's an even stronger laxative effect. Magnesium citrate is effective for treating constipation and for relaxing muscles. It's really affordable and it makes it an effective choice. It's also good for muscle cramps. However, I do wanna say, Um, I think there's some recent research that came out showing it is not the best for long-term use for gut tolerance.

So over time, it may irritate the gut lining. So using it once or twice, or if you have just a very short-term constipation from something like traveling, it's good. But for long-term use, magnesium carbonate is likely a better option if you want to help with regular bowel movements. Number 5, is a spirulina-bound magnesium-18 supplement.

This is a food-based magnesium, and it's a naturally occurring magnesium that comes from the superfood spirulina. So it's not bound to one amino acid like glycine, it's bound to 18 different types of amino acid, which is what— the way it's found in its whole food form.

This probably is the most premium type of magnesium you could purchase, and spirulina also delivers a range of nutrients like B vitamins, iron, and antioxidants. So there are other cofactors with the magnesium that are going to support its absorption. The reason why it's going to be better than other forms of magnesium, it is the most highly bioavailable and gentle on the stomach.

It's excellent for overall nutrient support, especially for those who prefer a food-based option of a supplement. Now, where it might not be as good is its concentrations of magnesium and spirulina are lower. But if you buy a supplement and it has a higher dose, it is great. So really, there's almost no downside of this type of magnesium.

It's just sort of the, the, the premium, the best you can get. Number 6 is magnesium malate. This is bound to malic acid. It's typically used for muscle, uh, muscle pain or chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia.

So if you're a person and you have chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia, This could be a good source of magnesium, magnesium malate, because of how it supports energy production and reducing muscle soreness. It may not be as effective at promoting relaxation and sleep, though, as other forms like glycinate. Number 7 here is magnesium oxide.

This is cheap, widely available, used as a laxative or to treat heartburn. It's not my favorite. It is a lower It has low bioavailability, it's not well absorbed, and it may cause digestive upset. So I— it's not a type that I typically recommend most people use unless it's in a lower dose as part of another formula. And then magnesium sulfate, this is Epsom salt.

So if you ever take an Epsom salt bath and do a soak, a magnesium soak, or magnesium topically, it's typically magnesium sulfate. Again, this is commonly used for soaking in baths to relax muscles and relieve soreness. It's effective for topical use, whether it be a magnesium oil or a salt. And again, it's good for muscle aches and relaxation.

Now, again, it's not something you're going to want to use orally. It's probably not going to help as much with constipation or internal support. But again, very good for sometimes for sleep, for relaxing muscle, and for muscle soreness for that reason. And the reality is each form of magnesium serves different purposes depending on what your needs are.

As we've talked about glycinate, it tends to be very good for cellular support and for promoting, you know, good sleep and relaxation. Threonate is great for the brain. Carbonate is great for constipation. The spirulina-bound that has 18 amino acids, that's probably the best overall. But all of them can support different ways.

And listen, with any of them, you are going to get some magnesium that probably supports everything a little bit, but you definitely want to focus on which type of magnesium is best going to serve your specific health goals and needs.

Something else you need to know about magnesium is that in order to absorb it at the highest level possible, you also need to take it with vitamin D. Vitamin D helps absorb magnesium into the body. Calcium helps to a small degree absorb magnesium into the body, as does vitamin B6. Vitamin B6 helps transport magnesium into the cells where it's needed the most.

And so those are also going to be helpful there. And I want to say the best way to improve your magnesium levels is through diet and lifestyle, along with taking magnesium supplements in some cases. I want to walk you through the top foods that are high in magnesium. Pumpkin seeds are the highest of all magnesium-rich foods, much higher than almost any other food.

They have 168 milligrams per 1 ounce. Almonds have 80 milligrams per 1 ounce. Spinach, 157 milligrams. Per 1 cup that's cooked. Cashews have 74, dark chocolate 64 milligrams, black beans 60 milligrams, chia seeds 111 milligrams, mackerel 82 milligrams, tuna 64 milligrams. I want to say salmon probably is around 40 milligrams, avocado 58 milligrams, and quinoa 118 milligrams.

But you see here, it's really eating nuts and seeds, green leafies like spinach, Nuts like cashews and almonds, beans like black beans and edamame, wild fish like mackerel and tuna, and then avocado and quinoa. These are the foods highest in magnesium.

And if you're craving something like dark chocolate a lot, that could be that you're magnesium deficient and need to get more of these in your diet. Basil as an herb and holy basil are high in magnesium. Those also support digestion and blood sugar. And one other thing that may support your magnesium absorption is taking probiotics.

Now, from a lifestyle standpoint, understanding that if you get stressed or you exercise or sweat a lot, that will cause your body to lose magnesium. You may need more magnesium if you're in a stressful situation. And I also want to say, you know, it's kind of amazing. Epsom salt baths have been done for centuries to support getting more magnesium into your body.

So again, if you have any of the symptoms that we talked about, you definitely want to consider getting magnesium. And remember, it is one of the most common mineral deficiencies out there, up there with iron and, and zinc and others. But magnesium, in some cases with certain populations, it is the number one mineral deficiency. So make sure that you get magnesium via the food you're eating.

Make sure you take the right supplement based on your health goals. All right, I want to say thanks so much for tuning in here to the Dr. Josh Axe Show, where I've been doing a series on the top vitamins and minerals you're likely missing and how to get those in your diet and the right form of supplementation.

Remember, each week on the podcast, I explore the science and principles behind how to grow in body, mind, spirit, and take your health and your life to the next level. Hey, if you enjoyed this, don't forget to subscribe, like, and please share. Thanks for being on mission with me. There are millions of people with magnesium deficiencies and they don't know it.

So hey, do me a favor, share it on social media, text it to a friend, and we're gonna save and transform some lives together. I can't wait to see you on the next episode.