Magnesium; the Sleep Better, Poop Better, Relax Better Mineral!
There is one supplement that can help you sleep better, poop better, relax more, and even help with chronic pain. Yup! I am not pulling your leg! Magnesium benefits so many systems in the body it is unbelievable.
Magnesium is the one nutritional supplement that, in my opinion as a nutrition consultant, is a panacea for most of our health-related complaints. Supplementing with magnesium benefits more than just those symptoms though! Read on to find out if you or your children could benefit from adding this magic mineral to your diet.
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Are you getting enough magnesium?
Recent studies show that about 75% of the American population is consuming less than the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of magnesium. This is alarming when you talk to a nutritionist, as most of them will tell you that they really consider the RDA to be a minimum daily intake goal!
How is it that most of the population is deficient in magnesium? This could be due to poor soil quality, poor diet, high stress lives, certain medications, and/or lower rates of absorption from poor gut health.
So, it makes sense that supplementing with this mineral could help alleviate common deficiency symptoms like poor sleep, constipation, anxiety, stress, and muscle pain. All that from one single mineral? Yup.
What about your kids?
Yes, children can also be deficient and can benefit from magnesium supplementation. We all know how hard it is to feed our children adequate amounts of vegetables. Guess what foods are high in magnesium? Dark green leafy vegetables! Also, nuts and seeds.
Common magnesium deficiency symptoms and conditions:
Irritability
Anxiety
Fatigue
Lethargy
Muscle cramps
Tremors
Vertigo
Irregular or rapid heartbeat
Sleep disorders
Migraine headaches
PMS (premenstrual syndrome)
Hypertension
ADHD
Prescription and over the counter drugs can further deplete magnesium levels as well. Commonly used drugs like birth control pills, antacids, antibiotics, blood pressure drugs and many more.
Can you test your magnesium levels?
The short answer is yes, however, the common blood test given in your doctor's office will only test the serum levels. What you really want to know is what levels of magnesium are inside your cells, or intracellular levels.
But don't fret, if you are really concerned about your magnesium levels, you can ask your doctor if they can run an "erythrocyte magnesium level" or "red blood cell magnesium level" test. If your doctor can't or won't run those tests there are other options for procuring those tests from other labs and practitioners. I wouldn't necessarily spend the time and money to pursue these tests unless you are really suffering from a chronic condition and have already exhausted many other avenues first.
Alternatively, if you are suffering from one or more of the symptoms or conditions above, why not just start supplementing and see how you feel? Magnesium is a fairly safe mineral to supplement with (of course, always check with your doctor - I have to say that), most of us are deficient, and it can aid in a whole host of issues.
This is the best test
There's also this one other way of telling that your body has sufficient levels of magnesium when supplementing...your stools will loosen! Of course, this is one of the qualities many are looking for when trying to remedy their constipation. Don't worry, you won't be glued to the toilet all day, saturating your body with sufficient magnesium levels will make your stools comfortably loose.
Magnesium benefits
In addition to helping with the symptoms and conditions listed above, you may want to try supplementing with magnesium to help with:
Constipation
Insomnia
Menstrual cramps
Difficulty setting down for sleep at night (for children as well), it's often called the "relaxation mineral"
Relieve stress
Increase energy
Improve mood
Assist in overcoming jet lag (by increasing relaxation to aid with falling asleep) - can be taken with melatonin
Muscle cramps and twitches
"Growing pains" (children)
Restless leg syndrome
Difficulty concentrating
Curbing sugar cravings
If stress is affecting your magnesium levels, you may find this article on Stress Management Techniques; How to Build Your Stress Reduction Toolkit quite helpful.
Why not try a natural mineral like magnesium first?
Let's talk about Miralax for a moment.
To date, no long-term studies meeting FDA criteria have ever been conducted on Miralax (or a similar generic product) use in children. Moreover, it has never been approved by the FDA for pediatric use. When it was first approved for adult use by the FDA in 1999, it came with a warning: “Miralax should not be used by children.”
As a nutritionist, I cringe when I hear about parents giving their children drugs like this because they just don't know that there are other options! I believe every parent is only doing their best to help their child. So let me help you learn more about alternatives.
For children, instead of using an over the counter drug, Miralax, for constipation, why not try a safer, non-habit forming natural remedy? Magnesium citrate is an osmotic laxative — meaning it works the same way as Miralax, by pulling water into the intestines. It is safe in moderation for even young children.
As an added bonus, it can help calm a child and relax them for more restful sleep.
Speaking of sleep, let's also mention the increasing use of melatonin in children.
I often hear parents at the end of their rope, trying to get their children to fall asleep at night but with no success. They've tried seemingly everything. Melatonin is often suggested, but melatonin is a hormone. While it could be useful for some children, I would only use it under a practitioner's care. On the hand, magnesium can be used quite safely and with great results.
Which magnesium supplement to take?
Chelated magnesium, which is magnesium bound to an amino acid, is generally the easiest form on the digestive tract. I really like this one* (buy on Amazon), which is magnesium glycinate. It also comes in a powder form* (buy on Amazon), which is nice for kids.
Another type of supplement you will often find are magnesium salts, like magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts - great for foot and body soaks), magnesium oxide, magnesium citrate, and magnesium chloride. While magnesium oxide is the cheapest, it can also be the hardest on your digestive tract. Magnesium citrate is often recommended and is fairly well tolerated by most people as well as having a reasonable price tag.
For children, I like the powder forms like this one*(buy on Amazon), or this popular one, or a magnesium lotion* (buy on Amazon) or magnesium oil/spray* (buy on Amazon). I find the magnesium oil/spray and lotion especially helpful to rub on my kids' feet and legs at night when they are experiencing "growing pains".
Apparently, magnesium oil/spray can also be used as a natural deoderant...anyone? I haven't tried this yet!
How much magnesium to take?
In general, most practitioners will recommend starting with a moderate dose and increasing as needed. If you are not feeling the magnesium benefits you are seeking after taking a supplement for 3-4 days, try increasing by 200mg. Repeat again if needed.
Remember, your stools will become comfortable loose when you reach a dose that saturates your cells with magnesium. After that, just dial it back a bit, but you can continue taking it.
For adults
A moderate starting dose could be in the 400-600mg range, daily.
For children
A typical dose range is as follows:
1–3 years 65 mg/day
4–8 years 110 mg/day
9–18 years 350 mg/day
Why are the pills so big??
The "horse pills" are so large because magnesium is a very large mineral. It takes up a lot of space! I'm guessing the supplement companies knew that you wouldn't be too thrilled at the idea of taking 8 or 12 pills each day for the recommended dose, so they crammed it all into fewer, but larger pills.
Additional resources for magnesium
I could go on and on about magnesium, but as it is, I'm impressed you've made it this far! If you want to learn more about magnesium I suggest these resources:
WellnessMama.com offers a free eBook for her subscribers entitled Magnesium: The Master Mineral. You can check it out here. (You have to sign up to her email list to gain access.)
There is a Facebook Group (shocker, I know) called Magnesium Advocacy Group led by mineral specialist Morley Robbins.
This is a great article by The Sleep Doctor, Michael J. Breus, Ph.D., on how magnesium affects sleep.
Make your own topical magnesium spray with this recipe.
If you need more ideas to deal with constipation in children read this article by Dr. Aviva Romm.
Magnesium is a magic mineral
If I haven't convinced you as of yet why magnesium is my favorite supplement, then I think the only thing left for you to do is to try it out! I am sure you will be a believer soon enough.
I would love to hear what your experiences are with magnesium supplementation! Please leave a comment below.
Wishing you better sleep, better pooping, and better relaxation! 😉
P.S. The supplements I recommend with an asterisk* are from Vitacost.com where I do most of my shopping for nutritional supplements. I find their prices to be very competitive, especially with their frequent discounts offered. It becomes very economical when you spend $49 or more and get free shipping. Just an FYI.
P.P.S. You may want to read more about sleep in this article; 7 Ways to Sleep Better Tonight!
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