dietary supplement magnesium

Don't follow the trend and make up for it. 90% of ordinary people who eat a normal diet do not need to take additional magnesium supplements at all. Only those who have clear intake, malabsorption, or magnesium deficiency-related problems as assessed by professionals need to supplement as needed. Excessive magnesium supplementation can cause diarrhea and bloating in mild cases, and may cause electrolyte imbalance in severe cases, which may harm the body.

A while ago, I, who goes to the gym every day, came to me anxiously and said that I had read several bloggers who said that magnesium supplementation can cure exercise cramps and build muscle. I spent hundreds of dollars to buy imported magnesium glycinate and took it according to the recommended amount for three days. The cramps did not go away and I had diarrhea for two days. I asked about his daily diet: at least 200g of stir-fried spinach every day, 15g of almonds + 10g of pumpkin seeds for snacks, and he also likes to drink multigrain porridge on weekends. After all, the magnesium in his food alone is almost 500mg, which is already more than the recommended daily amount of 420mg for adult men. It would be strange if he takes an extra 300mg to prevent diarrhea. Later, he stopped taking supplements and did dynamic stretching for 10 minutes before exercise, and the cramps disappeared.

Magnesium is an essential mineral for the human body. It participates in more than 300 enzyme reactions, ranging from muscle contraction and nerve conduction to energy metabolism and bone synthesis. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a "lubricant for the body." But the problem is that it is so widely distributed in food: the core of chlorophyll in dark green vegetables is magnesium, and a handful of spinach has nearly 80 mg of magnesium. ； Nuts, whole grains, and beans are big sources of magnesium. A small handful of almonds contains 100 mg. ； Even if you drink tap water with high hardness at home, you can absorb dozens of mg of magnesium just by drinking water every day. There is really a shortage of people who eat normally.

As for the "magnesium supplements to treat insomnia, anti-anxiety, and relieve menstrual cramps" that are so popular on the Internet, they are not entirely wrong, but it depends on the premise. I have checked relevant clinical studies, and these effects can basically only be verified on people who are deficient in magnesium: for example, girls who have been dieting for a long time to lose weight, or old people whose gastrointestinal absorption function has declined in old age. Their own magnesium intake is insufficient, neuromuscular excitability is high, and they are prone to insomnia and cramps. Supplementing some magnesium can indeed alleviate it. But if you eat a balanced diet, even if you suffer from insomnia and dysmenorrhea every day, magnesium supplementation will most likely be useless. At best, it will have a placebo effect.

Of course, there are different voices. For example, my friend who practices functional medicine told me that serum magnesium can only reflect 1% of the magnesium content of the human body. Many people are deficient in magnesium in their cells, and blood tests cannot detect it at all. If you really have long-term muscle tightness, inexplicable anxiety, and restless sleep, and other reasons have been checked to no avail, you can try to supplement magnesium glycinate in a low dose for two weeks, not more than 200mg a day. If there is improvement, continue taking it. If there is no effect, stop, and there will be no big burden. There is indeed some truth to this statement. During the period after my Yang Kang, I always felt that my muscles were stiff and I woke up easily in the middle of the night. When I checked the serum magnesium, it was normal. I tried taking 100 mg of magnesium glycinate every day. I felt a lot better after about a week. Later, I adjusted my diet and added nuts, and I stopped taking supplements without any recurrence.

If you really need to take supplements, don’t just buy the popular ones. Different magnesium supplements are really different. I have done a lot of homework before when I was helping the elderly at home choose: the absorption rate of magnesium citrate is about 30%, it is cost-effective, has a slight cathartic effect, and is suitable for people who usually have constipation. ； Magnesium glycinate is chelated magnesium, with an absorption rate of more than 40%. It has almost no irritation to the gastrointestinal tract. People with weak gastrointestinal tracts and the elderly can choose it. ； As for magnesium threonate, which is very popular nowadays, it is said that it can improve mood and improve memory through the blood-brain barrier. There is actually not much research evidence. The price is three to four times that of ordinary magnesium. If you have a limited budget, there is no need to pay this IQ tax. ； There is also the cheapest magnesium oxide, which has an absorption rate of only about 10%. It is usually used as an anti-acid medicine for stomach medicine. Don’t buy this kind of magnesium supplement. After taking it for a long time, you won’t be able to replenish much, and it will cause diarrhea.

Finally, I would like to remind you that extra magnesium supplements should not exceed 350mg per day (this is the tolerable maximum intake set by the National Nutrition Society, not counting the amount in food), otherwise diarrhea and flatulence will easily occur. Especially for people with poor kidney function, magnesium is excreted by the kidneys. You must ask your doctor before taking supplements, otherwise you are prone to hypermagnesemia, which may even affect heart function in severe cases, which is no joke.

After all, supplements are always meant to "make up for" the gap. If you don't even eat well and rely on supplements every day to get nutrition, that's sheer sacrifice. If you are really not sure whether you are deficient, check your serum magnesium first, or ask a nutritionist to calculate your daily dietary intake. Don’t just stock up on what bloggers say is good. It’s a small thing to spend money, but you will suffer big losses if you have problems with your diet.