Did you know that magnesium plays a role in over 300 biochemical reactions in the human body? Despite being essential to our health, up to 30% of people struggle with magnesium deficiency. Magnesium is an essential mineral that helps regulate everything from protein synthesis to blood pressure. In this article, we will explore why magnesium is important, its top five benefits, and how to make sure you get enough of this essential mineral in your diet. At the end of this blog, we will also include a list of tasty foods rich in magnesium and a helpful bonus benefit!
5 Benefits of Magnesium
1. Promotes Hormone Health
Most of us have heard before that hormones are important, but do you really know why? The simple answer is that hormones control countless functions in our bodies. Hormones regulate sleep, metabolism, fertility, blood pressure, and so much more. Learning about substances that are linked to hormonal health is crucial due to its significance. Magnesium is a mineral that naturally supports hormone health in both men and women. It is known to balance testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone, as well as the hormone DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone).
In women, magnesium supports healthy liver detoxification, which in turn helps regulate estrogen levels. This balance of estrogen levels may help women avoid fibroids, have regular menstrual cycles, and feel more balanced overall. In men, magnesium can help regulate their testosterone levels. Low magnesium levels have been proven to correlate with lower testosterone levels. More balanced testosterone equals better mood, muscle mass, and energy! As we talked about earlier, hormone health is crucial for one’s overall well-being, which is why taking advantage of the benefits of magnesium is so important! Keep reading to discover more areas where magnesium can provide support, such as improving sleep quality.
2. Improves Sleep
Quality sleep is something we all need to function properly. Unfortunately, so many people struggle with restless, interrupted sleep, or insomnia. To be exact, around 1 in every 3 adults displays insomnia symptoms. But, there is a silver lining; magnesium can help people fall asleep quicker, stay asleep longer, and get a better night’s sleep overall.
Magnesium is an essential mineral that regulates various nerves and hormones, including melatonin, which is known to play a large role in our sleep cycles and help people fall asleep. Magnesium also plays a part in calming the body and preparing it for sleep through the parasympathetic nervous system. In other words, magnesium calms down your nervous system, making you feel relaxed before going to sleep for the night. Try adding magnesium to your bedtime routine to get a better night’s sleep! Next, let’s talk about another one of magnesium’s many benefits, stress management.
3. Manages Stress
Stress is a frustrating, yet inevitable part of life. Managing stress is crucial for maintaining both your physical and mental well-being. That’s why it’s important to make a conscious effort to address it effectively. It’s a good thing there are many natural stress relievers, magnesium being one of them! One of the benefits of magnesium is its calming properties. Magnesium regulates how our bodies deal with physical and mental stress. Highly stressed individuals often have low magnesium levels. Low magnesium levels can create even more stress, which is an all-around lose-lose situation. If you are feeling stressed and looking for relief, magnesium is a great natural option.
4. Reduces Anxiety
Another struggle that is often paired with stress is anxiety. Anxiety is a common issue for many people worldwide. Fortunately, there are natural alternatives that can help put you at ease. Just as with stress, anxiety can cause magnesium depletion, causing you to spiral into a harmful deficiency. People who have low magnesium levels are more likely to be anxious.
Magnesium Bisglycinate has amino acids that bind to calming receptors in the brain. This puts you in a more peaceful state. So if you find yourself to be anxious regularly, adding a magnesium supplement to your daily regimen will help boost your levels and reduce your anxiety. As an added benefit, magnesium can lower blood pressure, calm the brain, reduce stressful cortisol levels, and stimulate serotonin and melatonin. These effects all help take the edge off of anxiety.
5. Promotes Heart Health
In the United States alone, around 805,000 people have heart attacks each year. Heart health is crucial to living a long and healthy life. Magnesium helps promote heart health in a few important ways.
Magnesium can:
- Help regulate heartbeat
- Ease heart palpitations
- Allow the heart muscles to relax by eliminating calcium
- Regulate electrical pulses in the heart
Knowing this, magnesium becomes even more important to incorporate into your everyday diet. But what foods are high in the heart supporting mineral? Below is an attainable and delicious list of foods that contain magnesium.
Magnesium-Rich Food:
- Dark chocolate (And its a sweet snack!)
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Legumes (peanuts, beans, lentils, etc.)
- Whole grains
- Fish (salmon, tuna, halibut, etc.)
- Bananas
- Avocados
- Leafy greens (kale, collard greens, spinach, etc.)
There are so many foods that can help you utilize the benefits of magnesium!
Take Away:
Magnesium is a key mineral that our bodies need to perform various actions like regulating our heartbeat, producing melatonin, reducing stress, and regulating testosterone and estrogen. Magnesium is readily available in many foods and supplements. To further recap the top 5 benefits, magnesium supports hormones, improves sleep, controls stress and anxiety, and promotes heart health. A fun extra benefit is that magnesium supports immune strength, so next time you’re feeling under the weather, add magnesium to your recovery protocol!
At Eabha Organics, we believe in the proven benefits of this mineral, which is why we incorporated 150 mg of magnesium bisglycinate per serving in our hormone-balancing supplement, Total Balance. If you ever need a reminder of what magnesium does, go to the “our ingredients” section of our website under the “Learn” tab for a summary. If you struggle with any of the topics we mentioned, try incorporating magnesium-rich foods or a magnesium supplement into your diet to enjoy its great benefits!
5 Responses