How Magnesium Changed My Life

My health is one of my core values and I’ve focused over the last few years on optimizing it.  I wanted to share one of the most impactful things I’ve added to my supplement routine with y’all today–magnesium!

Related: Ten Healthy Habits that Changed My Life

Magnesium is found throughout your body. Every cell in your body contains this mineral and absolutely needs it to function.

About 60% of the magnesium in your body occurs in bone, while the rest is in muscles, soft tissues, and fluids, including your blood.  Magnesium supports hundreds of chemical reactions in your body like:

• Energy creation
• Protein formation
• Gene maintenance
• Muscle movement
• Nervous system regulation

Magnesium is found naturally in foods like leafy greens, legumes, seeds and nuts.   And the shocking part is……most people get less than they need!

Now, before I share my experience with it…..let’s remember, I’m not a doctor.  I’m just a health girlie on the internet sharing her perspective with you.  Go do your own research, talk to your own doctor, and make the decision based on what works best for YOUR body.

Sleep

I first was intrigued by magnesium because I read that it helped with sleep. Maintaining healthy magnesium levels can help you get restful sleep–helping you to fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.

Sold. I’m always looking for ways to optimize my rest and recovery and if there is a natural way to help me relax and wind down at night, I’m in.  I noticed an immediate impact as soon as I started taking it.  I was able to fall asleep quickly and another effect I noticed is that it gently helped me wind down at the end of the night.  I became more relaxed towards bedtime, almost as if my body knew it was time to start the process.

Headache

Magnesium is necessary for proper nerve function and also helps regulate inflammation and improve blood flow in the brain. People who experience frequent headaches, like migraines, tend to have lower blood levels of magnesium.

A number of studies have also found that magnesium supplements are helpful for reducing the frequency and severity of symptoms in people with migraines and tension-type headaches.

I used to get daily tension headaches.  I could set my watch by them–3PM every day I could start to feel the dull ache spread across my forehead and it wasn’t long before the pounding started.  I blamed stress, I blamed my sensitivity to fluorescent lights (I’m generally at work at 3PM most days), and I blamed it on lack of sleep.

They disappeared once I started taking magnesium.  Literally vanished.

Reduced Stress, Anxiety and Depression

Magnesium plays such an important role in your body’s stress response. If you’re not taking in enough magnesium, it can impact your ability to deal with stress. In fact, research shows that people who are frequently stressed have lower blood levels of magnesium compared to people who aren’t typically stressed!

What’s even more amazing, magnesium supplements may be helpful for improving symptoms of conditions like anxiety and depression.

My stress levels are continuously off the charts.  I have a chronic disease, my daughter has a disability + a chronic heart condition, my husband is in a dangerous profession and I also have a higher level of stress job.  Plus all of the normal stress of life! I do as much as I can to manage and mitigate all of those daily stressors but if there’s something else that can help me?  Sign me up.

I have noticed a fundamental shift in my response to stress now.  The easiest way I can explain it is that I notice the stress/stressor, but I’m not in it.  It doesn’t have it’s claws in me, I’m not drowning in it, it doesn’t pull me down the rabbit hole–I can see it, acknowledge it, without it completely taking me over.

PMS Symptoms

Some research suggests that magnesium supplements help relieve PMS symptoms (water retention, irritability, and fatigue) and other conditions such as menstrual cramps and migraine attacks.

This could because magnesium levels fluctuate throughout the menstrual cycle, worsening PMS symptoms in those with a deficiency. As such, supplements may help reduce the severity of symptoms, including menstrual migraine attacks.

I’ve seen a significant difference in my cramps after starting on magnesium.  Day one of my period used to wreck me.  I would have zero energy, I looked like I was three months pregnant from the bloating and I would be doubled over in pain from the cramps.

Dare I say now that its…….easy?  My period has drastically changed since I started taking magnesium.  Don’t get me wrong, I definitely don’t look forward to it or enjoy it, but it’s not a disruptive to my life as it used to be.  My energy levels are more balanced, my body feels better and I am more comfortable through the process.

No One Will Tell You But I Will…….

Magnesium has powerful poop-inducing potential.  You want to be regular?  Take magnesium.  You want flush toxins out of your body?  Take magnesium.

Magnesium acts in two different ways to potentially relieve occasional constipation. First, magnesium has an “osmotic laxative” effect, meaning it pulls water into the intestines. What this does is soften waste products, which, in turn, keeps things moving towards the exit. Second, magnesium relaxes intestinal muscles, which also aids in the whole transit process. These actions are why magnesium is a primary ingredient in some over-the-counter laxatives!

There’s many forms of magnesium, and they’re not all good for constipation.  The ones that I like are magnesium oxide, magnesium citrate and magnesium sulfate. Now, the more that you get to know yourself, the more that you’ll know exactly how much your body needs. Typically a starting dose is somewhere around 500 mg and you could easily go up to 750 or 1000 mg per day but be sure to talk to your healthcare team before implementing a supplement.

Pro tip?  I would suggest adding this to your nighttime supplement schedule.

I found it best to take it before bedtime and since I take it before bed, it helps me sleep, plus I wake up the next morning and have a great bathroom moment.  Then I’m off and running.

My favorite brand of magnesium?  Cymbiotika. Literally, 99% of my supplements come from them.  I love their founder, I love their mission, I love their attention to detail and quality ingredients.  My favorite supplements?   Their magnesium, Vitamin C, and their Glutathione.

Want to try them out and save some $$$?  Use the link below or simply enter “Jaime Cline” when you check out in the discount code field!

Commit to your health every day with Cymbiotika!