Should I take a Magnesium supplement?

What is Magnesium and why is it important?

Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in your body, and is essential for hundreds of essential metabolic processes, including energy production, heart function, bone health and more.

In short, your body can’t function properly without Magnesium.  Low magnesium intake is associated with many health issues including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and sleep challenges, which of course are associated with more health issues. 

Why should I take a Magnesium supplement?

You can meet your magnesium needs via food only by consuming magnesium-rich foods.  These include:

• Seeds and nuts: pumpkin & chia seeds, almonds, cashews, peanuts
• Oats & whole grains
• Brown rice
• Avocados

However, over a third of Canadian adults are deficient in magnesium. And an even larger number are not consuming an optimal amount.  Remember that not being deficient, only means preventing the diseases directly linked to a deficiency of that nutrient, whereas getting optimal amounts of a nutrient is more about maximizing the health benefits as opposed to just avoiding disease. 

Supplementing with magnesium can offer the following health benefits:

1. Reduced blood pressure
2. Sleep improvement
3. Improved mood – reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression
4. More balanced blood sugar
5. Reduced risk of heart disease
6. Fewer, less severe migraines 

What is the best kind of Magnesium?

It’s a growing category with a ton of choices – which is a great thing until you are standing in front of a shelf or scrolling endlessly online trying to figure out which one to buy.

And the answer is, it depends.

It depends on why you are taking magnesium and the main benefits you want to get out of it. It depends if you want to take a tablet or capsule (and how many you are willing to take each day) or take it in a chewable, liquid or powder drink mix form.  And it depends if you are ok with the laxative effect some forms of magnesium create (some people actually like the stool loosening with some magnesium forms – really!).

For more on the many types of magnesium and which is best for what indication check out our Magnesium 101 blog. For overall health and best bioavailability (meaning it’s easy for the body to recognize, absorb and use) without the laxation effect  just look for Magnesium Bisglycinate (or glycinate – same thing), which is a combination of elemental magnesium with the amino acid glycine. This is the same form that is in many magnesium rich foods, so your body knows exactly what to do with it, which is why it absorbs so well. It offers all the above health benefits associated with magnesium in general, but is also calming and indicated for stress/anxiety/depression symptoms, and insomnia or sleep challenges.

It’s thought to be the best magnesium for sleep and relaxation. And that is why we use it in our Hey Relax Magnesium, along with its calming friends; GABA, Tart Cherry and Inositol.  This powder drink mix is best taken in the evening, to wind down and can be mixed with hot or cold water. It tastes like pineapple juice – perfectly refreshing and like zen in a glass! We have been told by our community that Hey Relax is by far the best tasting magnesium powder in Canada, and the best magnesium for sleep and stress.

Sources and reading:

1. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/magnesium-supplements
2. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/foods-high-in-magnesium
3. https://globalnews.ca/news/3957035/signs-of-magnesium-deficiency/#:~:text=Over%20a%20third%20of%20adult,to%20latest%20Statistics%20Canada%20numbers.
4. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/magnesium-types