The Benefits of Magnesium

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At Mercola Market, Dr. Joseph Mercola explains the history and benefits of magnesium as a supplement. He writes:

When English chemist Sir Humphry Davy first isolated this powerful mineral in 1808, he couldn’t have suspected the significant role it plays in human health.

Today, we know that this nutrient is the fourth most abundant mineral in your body. Your bones need it. Your muscles need it. And perhaps most important of all, your brain needs it.

If you’ve ever spent a day at the beach, riding waves on a boogie board or sitting in the sand as the surf washes over your legs, you know how the ocean can make you feel totally relaxed. By the time you carry your towel and beach bag away at the end of the day, you feel lighter, clearer, calmer.

And then, you sleep like a rock.

That’s partially because ocean water is full of this essential mineral. In fact, of the 47 minerals in ocean water, this one is the third most abundant.

Your body can absorb it through the skin. And that’s why you feel calmer and clearer after a day at the beach. It’s why you sleep more deeply. These are two key benefits you get when you have healthy amounts of magnesium in your system.

Fortunately, you don’t have to spend a day at the beach to experience the benefits of this nutrient. You can also get it from food.

Let’s look at where it comes from and what you can do to enjoy its benefits.

As you get older, your body becomes less efficient at absorbing important vitamins and minerals.

So even if you’re eating a healthy diet rich in fresh organic vegetables, you may still come up short on some important nutrients.

One of those nutrients is magnesium. It plays a key role in your health. When you’re low in magnesium, your brain struggles to think clearly while your body struggles to sleep well.*

The number of Americans potentially not getting enough of this nutrient is high, especially among people who are middle-aged and older. Some experts believe it may be as high as 80%.

Figuring out whether you’re one of the people who needs more magnesium can be tricky. Standard blood tests aren’t much good at finding the answer because very little of it actually resides in your bloodstream.

Here’s how it works…

When your body becomes deficient in magnesium, it pulls what’s stored in your red blood cells and deposits it into the serum of your blood.

So the standard serum magnesium blood test may show your levels as normal even though your red blood cells’ stores of magnesium are depleted. And this is a problem because your body needs this mineral for many vital processes.

For that reason, the red blood cell (RBC) magnesium test is a great way to measure your levels and check for signs of a potential deficiency.

Read more here.