So you’ve come to therapy because you’re having problems coping with depression, anxiety, or even insomnia. In the therapy office, we often talk about how you can respond to emotional distress through thinking exercises, breathing, meditation, and behavioral changes. However, our mental techniques and coping tools will be less effective if your body is lacking in the major nutrients and chemicals needed for optimal functioning. Today we’re going to highlight the importance of magnesium.
What is magnesium?
Magnesium is an essential mineral for humans. Magnesium is involved in almost all major metabolic and biochemical processes in the body.
If you want to know why you should be concerned about your magnesium intake and absorption, here are all the bodily systems that magnesium can impact:
- Protein & nucleic acid synthesis
- Regulation of metabolic pathways
- Neuronal transmission
- Neuromuscular function
- Regulation of cardiac rhythm
- Electrolyte balancing
In plain language, magnesium plays a role in most functions of your body!
Magnesium and Stress
In the mental health field, the curious fact about magnesium deficiency is the overlap in symptoms between magnesium deficiency and stress. So, it’s possible that your symptoms of anxiety, fatigue, or insomnia may be a direct result of being deficient in magnesium (or other important vitamins in minerals such as iron, vitamin B, and Vitamin D). Your symptoms may not be getting better because you’re not treating the root cause. If you feel like you are paddling upstream in therapy, doing all of the things and working really hard, it may be time to reach out to reach out to someone.
A growing wealth of research has shown that magnesium is involved in the body’s response to stress:
- Magnesium is a calming electrolyte that acts on key neurotransmitters involved in decreasing expression in the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight system). It enhances mood and promotes relaxation by blocking glutamate, and increasing GABA and 5-HT (a precursor for serotonin production).
- Magnesium is a critical mineral that mitigates the effects of adrenaline/cortisol and supports the adrenals for a healthy and balanced stress response.
- Magnesium is a key component in mood regulation often having anti anxiety and anti depressant effects by enhancing and protecting brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). This enzyme is important for protecting and supporting neuronal growth and is key in learning, memory, and higher thinking.
- Magnesium has been shown to help decrease and repair damage from oxidative stress. A biochemical process involved in neurodegenerative diseases and aging.
What’s made worse is the cyclical process of stress and magnesium loss.
Stress causes the body to use up magnesium (lose magnesium) at an increased rate. Magnesium deficiency leads to increased stress on the body, causing further damage. It is considered, in short, a vicious cycle.
How much magnesium do I need?
The current recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for magnesium in the United States is 400-420mg/day for men and 310-320mg/day for women. For those listed in the categories above leading to magnesium depletion, additional magnesium intake may be required.
Factors that Contribute to Low Magnesium
Research has shown that there are lifestyle, diet, pharmacological, and health conditions that can lead to significant magnesium loss or malabsorption.
Can low magnesium levels be detected in the blood?
Yes, you can have your blood magnesium levels checked by requesting your doctor order the appropriate labs. You can also visit a functional medicine practitioner who may be able to look into more specific magnesium tests. Mild hypomagnesemia (low magnesium) is estimated to affect around 2.5-15% of the population. Pickering et al., (2020) states “in the majority of cases, magnesium deficiency is not identified, as low serum levels are compensated by the release of magnesium from the bone reservoir.” This is important because although your blood levels may show magnesium in the normal range, it may mean that your body is releasing it from critical areas (like the bones) in order to maintain normal levels. You may still be deficient and the test is unable to pick that up because your body is harvesting magnesium from your bones.
Can I get enough magnesium in my diet?
An estimated 60% of Americans do not consume the recommended daily intake of magnesium through their diet (King et al, 2005). Foods such as nuts, legumes, whole cereals, and fruits have high magnesium levels. However, many foods that traditionally have high magnesium levels may also be lower than in years past. “Over the past 60 years, intensive farming practices have caused a significant depletion of the mineral content of the soil, including a decrease in magnesium of up to 30%” (Pickering et al, 2020). Additionally, refined foods often deplete magnesium by 80-90% in the refining process. In summary, this means that although you may have a diet high in magnesium rich foods, you may still have difficulty reaching optimal levels.
If you think that you may have a magnesium deficiency, there is hope.
Talk to your doctor
Reach out to your doctor and ask about getting your levels tested. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and advocate for yourself. Doctors have incredibly demanding jobs and in general we often expect them to have all of the answers to our medical questions. In reality, it is just not possible for them to have all of the answers.
Magnesium Supplementation
If indicated, magnesium supplementation is available. The supplement world is a deep dark cavernous hole that we are not comfortable diving all the way down into. We recommend talking to your doctor or someone who is knowledgeable before starting supplementation, as there can be certain medications or other vitamins that can sometimes interfere with one another’s absorption in the body. Consult The National Institute of Health’s Fact Sheet on Magnesium and your doctor.
Integrative Mental Health
At the Houston Center for Valued Living, we think that treating the whole person is important. This integrative mental health moment is directed at helping us achieve that goal and helping you learn more about the things that may be causing some of your symptoms. If you are in therapy or regularly meeting with your doctor, we encourage you to have a discussion with your provider about the ways that something like magnesium can be impacting your mental health. We think that an important part of taking care of yourself is making sure that you have annual check-ups (not just sick visits) with your doctor, along with annual in depth labs so that you are more aware of the health of your whole person.
Pickering, G., Mazur, A., Trousselard, M., Bienkowski, P., Yaltsewa, N., Amessou, M., Noah, L., & Pouteau, E. Magnesium Status and Stress: The Vicious Circle Concept Revisited. Nutrients. 2020 Dec; 12(12): 3672.