MAGNESIUM NEEDS
Whilst recommended daily magnesium minimum recommended is generally around 300-400mg, there is a wide spectrum of needs for optimal (best) magnesium supply for good health.
For example, if you are young and don't suffer from too much stress or excessive physical exertion, and if you have a balanced diet of fresh foods and avoidance of chemicals, then 300mg or 400mg of daily magnesium may be sufficient for you to maintain good health.
However, if you do excessive exercise or have high levels of stress in your life – as with shift working and sleep deprivation - then you may need 1,000mg per day. It’s pretty hard to get high amounts of magnesium out of diet alone, as the magnesium content of foods has dropped significantly over the last 50 years.
We are also all different in our magnesium needs, which may fluctuate daily. If you have a day of physical hard work outside in the hot sun and you perspire a lot, you will have lost excessive amounts of electrolytes in sweat.
Different genetics may need more magnesium than others, people with kidney problems lose too much magnesium in the urine (called hypermagnesuria), and the advancement of age generally means we need extra magnesium for maintenance.
Pregnancy requires a much higher amount of magnesium for the growth of a new body, people with digestive disorders can't digest and absorb enough nutrients from foods, and there are those who have suffered trauma and injury, which severely depletes the body of magnesium.
If you are on drugs or medications, exposed to heavy metals or glyphosate, smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol excessively - all of these circumstances can cause excessive loss or blocking of magnesium in the body.
Regardless of why you have become magnesium depleted, you can recover your stores over time with daily transdermal magnesium supplementation using magnesium bathing or footsoaking with Magnesium Chloride Flakes, or application of Magnesium Cream, Lotion and/or Oil.
To optimise results and get the best out of your magnesium, follow a balanced fresh food diet (avoiding processed chemicalised junk foods and sugar) and drink plenty of filtered water with added magnesium for good hydration. Note that the fluoride and chlorine in tap water inhibits magnesium and also kills beneficial gut bacteria that we need for proper digestion. It is therefore recommended to filter your tap water and then add the magnesium flakes to remineralise.
Magnesium makes water work better, so that more gets access to cells rather than going straight through the digestive system too quickly. It tastes great too!
In order to maintain our electrolyte fluids, we also need the good oils (cholesterol fats) which stop our water from evaporating into the atmosphere. They also help to lubricate joints and nervous system. The cell membrane is made up of a lipid bi-layer with magnesium ions that control the membrane’s channel traffic. Lipids protect the membrane and help to keep moisture where it is supposed to be.
Magnesium blood tests are not accurate indicators of how much magnesium is stored in the body because 99% of magnesium is stored in muscle and bone. These tissue cells can sacrifice their stored magnesium in order to keep blood levels normal.
By the time we show up with low magnesium levels in blood tests, it indicates much more severe magnesium depletion in the rest of the body, and consequently worsening health. Ideally, we don’t want it to get that bad.