Magnesium: A Notable Mineral Essential for Life

The list of activities that magnesium is involved with is like the Who’s Who of elite physiology. It's one mineral you don’t want to be lacking. Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral by the body after sodium, potassium, and calcium and the most abundant mineral inside cells. While we are busy doing our daily work and routines, the body uses magnesium for more than 300 enzymes and processes essential to daily life and energy to all cells of the body. Here is a sample of what magnesium does for the body.

Bones, Joints and Cartilage

Magnesium is required for the outside shell and inside matrix of bone structure. Bones also store magnesium as a reservoir for the rest of the body. Magnesium stimulates the hormone calcitonin which is critical for keeping calcium inside bones to preserve bone structure. This mechanism keeps calcium from depositing elsewhere in the body but if it fails to work well, then calcium is inappropriately laid down in unwanted places like blood vessels and tendons.

Magnesium is essential to the function of osteoclasts and osteoblasts, which are bone remodeling and building cells. And in order for vitamin D to work, it must have magnesium. All of the enzymes that metabolize vitamin D require magnesium to work. This is essential for bone growth during childhood and adulthood with keeping bones strong. Inadequate magnesium compromises bone structure in all ages. Cartilage and joints also require magnesium as wear and tear increases with inadequate intake or diminished reserves.

Heart, Muscles, Blood Vessels, Blood Flow, and Red Blood Cells

The heart and blood vessels use magnesium for contraction-relaxation. The heart’s electrical system requires magnesium to maintain regularity. Magnesium supports healthy blood flow to the extremities and helps to warm hands and feet. It plays a vital role in skeletal muscle and smooth muscle (digestive tract, lungs, and blood vessels) function. This allows muscle movement and relaxation, peristaltic movement and bowel motility, lung expansion and inhalation, and blood vessel dilation-relaxation. Magnesium also affects platelet movement and is essential for healthy platelets and smooth blood flow within the body and brain.

Magnesium is needed for keeping the membrane around red blood cells intact and healthy. If the red blood cell membrane breaks down, then magnesium and potassium leach out of the cells, sodium is retained inside and cells becomes dehydrated due to the electrolyte shift.

Magnesium Affects How Omega Oils Work in the Body

Magnesium is needed for the proteins and phospholipids/fats to be inserted into the cell membrane. This is essential for cell membrane stabilization, cellular energy and efficient function. Magnesium is a necessary cofactor for how omega-3 and omega-6 oils work in the body. This is essential for blood sugar and insulin transport and even protection of beta cells in the pancreas.

Critical Cellular Function Activities and Tolerance

Magnesium is required for protein synthesis, DNA/RNA synthesis, and glycolysis or the breakdown of glucose used for metabolism. Magnesium affects the balance with other minerals like calcium, phosphorus, and potassium. Magnesium facilitates calcium absorption in the kidneys and affects calcium balance inside and outside of cells or intracellular calcium levels in tissues other than bones.

Magnesium regulates several different cytokines, hormones, and immune chemicals such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF-a), interleukin-1, interleukin-6, vascular cell adhesion molecule, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein, substance P, calcitonin, NF-kappa B, reactive oxygen species, NMDA, and insulin.

Mitochondria, Nervous System, and Neurochemicals

Mitochondria need magnesium for energy production and oxidative phosphorylation. Nerve cells use it for nerve and glial cell stability, signaling mechanisms, neurotransmitter formation and function, and energy. Magnesium is required by the autonomic nervous system for energy function and relaxation balance with the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system as seen with healthy heart rate variability. Magnesium buffers adrenal gland and nervous system stress hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine. Magnesium dampens the output of these neurochemicals and helps keep blood vessels open rather than constricted. Magnesium also influences acetylcholine and serotonin release.

Thyroid and Menstrual Cycle

Magnesium works with the thyroid gland to maintain immune-thyroid homeostasis and healthy function. Magnesium is necessary for healthy menopause transition. Magnesium, along with calcium levels, affects estrogen balance in the body. A healthy shift of the hormones FSH and LH within the normal monthly menstrual cycle depend upon adequate magnesium and its balance with calcium.

Prostate Men’s Health and Bladder

Prostate health also requires magnesium to maintain healthy size and function. Erectile function depends on magnesium as this mineral is essential for the metabolism of nitric oxide. Magnesium helps bladder cells against cellular change from oxidative stress.

Team Players with Magnesium

Magnesium works in tandem with vitamin B1 in helping carbohydrate, blood sugar and insulin metabolism and function. Potassium transport in cells requires magnesium and is a reciprocal relationship. If potassium is low, magnesium levels are also likely lacking. Magnesium also depends on selenium, vitamin B6, vitamin D, and the parathyroid glands for absorption.

Adverse Players and Medications against Magnesium

High levels of stress, processed foods, alcohol intake, sleep deprivation, digestive disorders, and athletic activity may increase the need for magnesium. Magnesium is depleted out of the body by nearly 200 known medications. These include:

Round-up/Glyphosate Affects Magnesium

Animal studies show that the herbicide glyphosate and Roundup deplete or interfere with magnesium along with other ions/minerals (iron, copper, zinc) in the body. (Roundup is the number one herbicide used on the planet since 2001.) Oxidative stress and tissue damage occur to the liver, kidney, spleen, lung, heart, muscle, and brain and fat tissues.

Magnesium Needs and Support

Magnesium is stored primarily in bone which contains 67 percent of total body stores, 31 percent is found intracellular or inside cells, and 2 percent is found outside of cells. Normal serum/blood levels are 1.5 to 2.5 meq/L. Routine serum blood tests do not reflect the body stores of magnesium as less than one percent are found in the blood stream. Even the more sophisticated red blood cell magnesium level testing may not fully evaluate true body levels of magnesium. If routine serum blood tests are low, then magnesium levels are deficient in the body. Intravenous or IV magnesium loading tests are considered the most accurate but it is not a practical test for most. If blood potassium levels are low, then cellular stores of magnesium are low.

Magnesium supplementation works well to help keep up with daily magnesium needs. Magnesium glycinate is easily absorbed and works well for relaxation and stress tolerance with the brain, adrenal glands, nervous system, heart, and blood vessels. Magnesium attached to malate has an affinity for muscle function, heart and blood vessels. Coral magnesium is also easily absorbed and works well for helping alkaline pH balance and general replenishment of the daily magnesium needs. Foods that contain higher amounts of magnesium include dark green vegetables like broccoli, legumes, cereals, wheat bread, fish, and nuts. Cooked broccoli contains 51 mg per ½ cup. Sunflower seeds, dry roasted contains 128 mg per ¼ cup. One slice whole wheat bread contains only 3.5 mg of magnesium.

It is estimated that as many as four out of five individuals fail to get adequate magnesium for their daily needs and stressors. In fact, according to USDA research, most individuals get about 50 percent of the Estimated Average Requirement for magnesium intake per day. Adult needs are at least 400-420 mg per day for the RDA. Children 4-8 years need 130 mg, 9-13 years olds need 240 mg, and teenagers need as much as adults per day for the RDA. Only a handful of functions and needs were described in this article, but you can easily see that magnesium plays an enormous role in physiology and function. Are you meeting your body’s magnesium needs?