Everything You Wanted to Know About MAGNESIUM FOR ANXIETY: IS IT EFFECTIVE? (2022)
Magnesium is an essential mineral in the human body. It is essential for many bodily functions, including but not limited to muscle function, nerve transmission, heart rhythm, blood pressure, and bone density. Magnesium deficiency is relatively common and can lead to a variety of health issues. In this article, we will discuss the best magnesium supplements for anxiety.
What Is Magnesium?
Magnesium is one of the four major minerals needed by our bodies. It's an essential element because it's required for hundreds of biochemical reactions within cells. Magnesium is involved in nearly every metabolic process in the body, including protein synthesis, DNA replication, cell division, and energy metabolism.
Which foods have the most magnesium?
It is important to monitor magnesium intake by using a variety of nutrients in the diet. Our first stop should be for daily consumption of foods with a magnesium-rich source. Leafy greens are the top source of magnesium, followed by grains, seeds, and nuts.
What are the symptoms of magnesium deficiency?
- fatigue
- muscle cramps
- muscle tremors
- muscle weakness
- numbness
- convulsions
- abnormal eye movements (Nystagmus)
- insulin resistance (type II diabetes mellitus)
What does magnesium do?
A broad spectrum of benefits occurs when you maintain adequate levels of dietary magnesium. Magnesium-involved biochemical reactions include regulating blood sugar.
An under-appreciated area where magnesium may show promise in the fight against mental illness is anxiety.
What is anxiety?
Like many negative emotions, anxiety is neither good nor bad. It’s simply an emotion that many people must vary degrees. Like all emotions, people suffer from anxiety in the form of anxiety itself or anxiety disorders. Some people suffer from persistent and severe anxiety that disrupts their life. For these individuals, their symptoms can interfere with everyday life.
Anxiety vs depression
Depression and Anxiety are different. However, people with depression often experience symptoms such as “nervousness, irritability, problems with sleeping and concentrating” Both disorders have separate causes, but it is unclear whether depression causes anxiety or vice versa. Some work on combining antidepressants and anxiolytics has been successful, whereby it is unclear whether the synergism that improved patients was due to the antidepressants or anxiolytics. Magnesium has been investigated to treat depression. Magnesium's effects on anxiety may be indirect through its relationship with the brain.
Magnesium supplements for anxiety, how does it help?
Magnesium Reduces Stress Hormones
Stress can result in a wide variety of mental
and physical problems, including anxiety, depression, mood swings, memory
problems, dementia, concentration and attention problems, insomnia, and more.
Leveling the body's magnesium store can prevent stress levels from rising, and
to balance the body's magnesium levels, you can supplement with magnesium.
After studying the effects of magnesium for decades, Keegan believes it is a key drug that we should properly view. In one study, magnesium was proven to be as effective as prescription antidepressants for treating depression, which makes me appreciate the impact magnesium brings to my body. Between that study and another study showing magnesium supplements reduced cramps, water retention, and negative feelings, I would appreciate the effects magnesium brings.
Magnesium Is Anti-Inflammatory
Magnesium suppresses inflammation throughout the body, tying it to the limbic system and hippocampus. A relationship also appears to exist between magnesium and an elevated alert state of the brain. An elevated bipolar state appears to grant the brain an increased concentration of potentially hyper-calculative hyper-inflammatory behaviors. Magnesium deficiency has also been linked to several neurological and psychiatric disorders, including anxiety and depression, substance abuse, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinsonism.
Magnesium Increases Brain Plasticity
Magnesium is one
of the important nutrients that has been known to play a significant role in
brain plasticity. It accelerates new brain cell formation and enhances the capacity
for learning and memory. It has also been called one of the nutrients of choice
in the therapy of a range of anxiety disorders.
Magnesium Enhances Overall Mental Well-Being
We may be able
to optimize our magnesium intake which can profoundly impact our well-being. We
will notice more will experience more happiness, the ability to relax with more
energy, get more motivated, become more focused and attentive, have better
sleep, improve mental lucidity, and better manage stress. This can truly make
us all the difference.
What are the additional advantages of consuming magnesium?
Relief constipation
Improve blood pressure
Reduce the risk of type II diabetes mellites
Improve pain
Helps in the treatment of migraine
Improve the mood
Offer you a better sleep
Magnesium and Vitamin D
The body needs magnesium to activate vitamin D into its active form, which then is used to activate vitamin D receptors in cells to increase the body's ability to use the active form of vitamin D. In addition, magnesium helps to release any chief vitamin D you have in the storage form. In fact, often just increasing magnesium intake will increase vitamin D concentrations in the blood.
The following are the primary causes of magnesium deficiency: -
-Every day, we are eating more refined foods containing basically little (if any) magnesium. The truth is, most crops are grown without nutritional emphasis and so, this healthy diet can be extremely deficient in magnesium
-Also, fluoride added to the water supply binds to magnesium, reducing its bioavailability.
- Chronic stress depletes magnesium stores. It induces magnesium excretion through urination.
- Alcoholics, diabetics, and the elderly are all at a higher risk of magnesium deficiency.
-With gastrointestinal diseases such as celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), the absorption of magnesium is prevented.
-Also, there are over 200 medications that block magnesium absorption, for example
Antacids e.g., Maloox
Drugs decrease gastric acid secretion e.g., Zantac, Controloc, Nexium, etc.
Antibiotics e.g., Amoxicillin, Clarithromycin, Ciprofloxacin, Sulfonamides, etc.
Antiviral drugs e.g., Lamivudine and Zidovudine
Digoxin
Antihypertensive drugs e.g., Lasix, Valsartan, etc.
Corticosteroids
Immunosuppressive drugs e.g., Cyclosporine and Tacrolimus.
Best and worst magnesium supplements
The Two Worst Magnesium Supplement Forms: Oxide and Sulfate
The first thing you want to steer clear of are the worst forms of magnesium. Most inexpensive forms of magnesium (magnesium oxide) will only raise your levels of magnesium by a few percent, and that will not directly help your anxiety. Only 4% of magnesium oxide is absorbed overall, the rest simply passes out and may have you running to the bathroom.
Oral magnesium sulfate can cause serious diarrhea, nausea, spasms, irregular heartbeat, and seizures.
The best magnesium supplements are magnesium citrate, aspartate, chloride, or lactate, as these are the more absorbable forms.
Magnesium Dosages
The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for magnesium depends a bit on age and sex. For men, it's 420 mg and for women is 320 mg. However, there isn't a noted upper limit of magnesium intake, but it is best to work your way up gradually if you are not getting the results you desire. We suggest that you start with the RDA and work your way up gradually if you haven't reached the desired response yet.
When you start to feel digestive distress, visit your doctor to figure out what’s up.
Should You Test Your Magnesium Level?
Magnesium is typically included in blood tests in the hopes that it will indicate how much magnesium is in total body stores. Although blood levels of that mineral are not a substitute for total body stores, there is a correlation. According to the US National Institute of Health's Magnesium Fact Sheet for Professionals, lab results correlate poorly with total body stores of the mineral. They recommend a clinical interview based on symptoms along with laboratory assessments.
Where can I buy highly absorbable magnesium supplements?
You can easily buy highly absorbable magnesium supplements from trusted stores.
Summary
Magnesium deficiency is so prevalent because of bad dietary habits or poly medications we use. I hope I answered your questions, I will leave you now with a subtitled video about the same topic.