Next, you should evaluate your body’s current magnesium status by having your doctor order a magnesium red blood cell (RBC-Mg) blood test. You can get this test done even if you don’t have a doctor—a number of medical laboratories now operate independently, allowing you to buy medical tests online without a prescription. You visit their website, select the test you want to have done, and the company will direct you to a nearby facility that will perform the test. Typically, your results will be emailed to you within seventy-two hours from the time that your blood is drawn. Please note that at this time, the RBC-Mg test is not available by mail to residents of Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, or Rhode Island. If you live in these states, you will still be able to obtain the test through your physician.
It is important that you order a magnesium red blood cell test, and not the more widely available serum magnesium test. Because the RBC-Mg test measures the amount of magnesium that is in your red blood cells, it is a far more accurate measure of your magnesium levels than the serum test, which simply evaluates the amount of free magnesium in your plasma.
Currently, the normal reference range for the RBC-Mg levels is 4.2 to 6.8 mg/dL Prior to 1963, however, normal levels were said to range from 5.0 to 7.0 mg/dL. The change essentially lowers the bar for an American population that is overwhelmingly magnesium deficient; by reducing the reference range, more Americans can be considered to have a “normal” magnesium status. The earlier reference range is more realistic. Because “normal” levels of magnesium are not necessarily optimal levels, it is best to consider any RBC-Mg reading under 5.5 mg/dL to be a clear indication of magnesium deficiency.
ASSESSING YOUR MAGNESIUM NEEDS
Knowing your body’s magnesium status is the first step you can take towards better health. But how can you remedy a deficiency or help maintain optimal levels? This section shows you how to determine the amount of magnesium your body needs in order to perform at its best.
The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences recommends the following dietary reference intakes (DRIs):
DRIS FOR CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS
AGES DOSAGE
Ages 1 to 3 40 to 80 mg/day
Ages 4 to 8 130 mg/day
Ages 9 to 13 240 mg/day
Males, ages 14 to 18 410 mg/day
Females, ages 14 to 18 360 mg/day
(Note: Children should not take magnesium supplements without a doctor’s supervision.)
DRIS FOR ADULTS
AGES DOSAGE
Males, ages 19 to 30 400 mg/day
Males, age 31 and over 420 mg/day
Females, ages 19 to 30 310 mg/day
Females, age 31 and over 320 mg/day
Pregnant females, ages 19 to 30 350 mg/day
Pregnant females, age 31 and over 360 mg/day
Breastfeeding females, ages 19 to 30 310 mg/day
Breastfeeding females, age 31 and over 320 mg/day
The DRIs are problematic because they measure only the smallest amounts of each nutrient needed to achieve minimum health, not the amounts that are necessary to create and maintain optimal health. As this book has pointed out, nearly all Americans today are deficient in magnesium, and the dietary reference intake levels suggested are not high enough to correct this problem. The DRIs also fail to take into account the fact that your magnesium needs change depending on the varieties and levels of stressors in your life.
Because the DRIs are thus inadequate, another set of guidelines must be used. Your magnesium burn rate, or MBR, evaluates your daily exposure to stress. The more stress you are under, the more magnesium your body burns. Your MBR is the metabolic price tag for all the pressure and tension that stress causes.
To determine your MBR, appraise how often you are exposed to each of the stressors we listed in Chapter 2. Be honest with yourself. How many stressors do you encounter on a daily basis, and how intensely do you experience them? To help you along in this process, answer the questions as truthfully as you can.
It is easy to determine your magnesium burn rate. To help you out, the questionnaire on the following two pages will allow you to appraise how often you are exposed to each of the stressors discussed in Chapter 2. Be honest with yourself—only then will you be able to get an accurate picture of how quickly stress causes you to use up your magnesium stores.
How Stressed Are You?
How many times did you answer “yes”? The more “yes” answers you had, the more stressors you face, and the higher your MBR will be. And the higher your MBR is, the more magnesium you need.
While there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all daily allowance for magnesium, a good rule of thumb is to take about three milligrams of magnesium for every pound of body weight at the minimum. This formula is based on the one developed by Dr. Mildred Seeling, the scientist you read about in Chapter 4. For example, under normal circumstances, a woman weighing 120 pounds should take at least 360 mg of magnesium, while a 200-pound man would take 600 mg. Under more stressful circumstances, you’ll need to increase your dosage—Dr. Seelig recommends raising your magnesium intake to five milligrams for every pound of body weight. This means that if confronted with a particularly difficult workweek or emotional crisis, our 120-pound woman might take 600 mg of magnesium, and our 200-pound man would take about 1,000 mg—far more than the DRIs would suggest.
The following chart will help you calculate your magnesium needs based on your weight. Magnesium intake levels are presented as a range of values, to allow you to account for variations in your daily stress levels. If you are having a particularly stressful day and your magnesium burn rate is higher, you may want to increase your dosage to reflect the upper part of the range for your weight class. Or you can simply add 100 to 200 mg of magnesium to your normal daily magnesium intake to help your body cope with the greater stress burden.
OPTIMAL DAILY MAGNESIUM INTAKE REFERENCE
WEIGHT (POUNDS) MAGNESIUM RANGE (MILLIGRAMS)
75–100
250–500
100–125
300–650
125–150
400–750
150–175
450–900
175–200
550–1,000
200–250
600–1,200
250+
750–1,250
Once you’ve figured out approximately how much magnesium you need, it’s time to consider how best to get it.
GETTING MAGNESIUM FROM YOUR DIET
A wholesome, well-balanced diet is the key to good health. Consequently, in order to supplement your magnesium intake, you should first look to increase your consumption of foods that are rich in this nutrient. As explained in Chapter 2, magnesium is a key component of chlorophyll. So it shouldn’t surprise you that chlorophyll-rich green vegetables are good sources of magnesium, especially Swiss chard, collard greens, mustard greens, beet greens, kale, parsley, spinach, asparagus, and broccoli.
But a food source doesn’t have to be green in order to possess high concentrations of magnesium—nuts, legumes (beans), and dried fruit are also excellent sources. The list on the following page of magnesium-rich foods is derived from the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Nutrient Database. To the right of each food is the quantity of magnesium present in a 100-gram (3.5-oz) serving of that food.
Various seeds are also loaded in magnesium: flaxseed (10 mg per tsp), pumpkin seed (74 mg per oz), sesame seed (32 mg per tsp), and sunflower seeds (37 mg per oz). So are certain spices, including coriander powder (6 mg per tsp), cumin (8 mg per tsp), fennel seed (8 mg per tsp), and dried parsley (6 mg per tsp). Small servings of these seeds and spices can go a long way toward improving your magnesium status—if considered in terms of 100-gram servings, the magnesium content of these foods would actually exceed many of those listed on the following page.
SUPPLEMENTING WITH MAGNESIUM
While any attempt to optimize your magnesium level should begin with your diet, ther
e are a number of factors that make it difficult to meet all your magnesium needs through food sources alone. As shown in Chapter 2, magnesium levels in food can vary from region to region and day to day, due to conditions that impair the general nutrient density of our agricultural products. In addition, magnesium absorption can be limited by impaired digestion, improper cooking methods, interactions with other food-based chemical compounds, low- or high-protein diets, acid-forming foods, and pharmaceutical drugs. Accordingly, you should reinforce and increase your magnesium intake with supplements.
The Magnesium in Your Food*
•Rice bran—781 mg
•Wheat bran—611 mg
•Cocoa powder—499 mg
•Brazil nuts—376 mg
•Almonds—268 mg
•Cashews—260 mg
•Blackstrap molasses—242 mg
•Peanuts—176 mg
•Hazelnuts—163 mg
•Walnuts—158 mg
•Pecans—132 mg
•Kelp—121 mg
•Coconut (dried)—90 mg
•Spinach (cooked)—88 mg
•Swiss chard (cooked)—86 mg
•Lima beans—74 mg
•Beet greens (cooked)—68 mg
•Figs (dried)—68 mg
•Quinoa—64 mg
•Tuna (fresh, cooked)—64 mg
•Soybeans (cooked)—60 mg
•Crab (cooked)—58 mg
•Dates—54 mg
•Navy beans—53 mg
•Parsley—50 mg
•Pinto beans—50 mg
•Kale (raw) —47 mg
•Kidney beans—45 mg
•Millet—44 mg
•Brown rice (long-grained)—43 mg
•Chives—42 mg
•Prunes (dried)—41 mg
•Green peas (cooked)—39 mg
•Shrimp—39 mg
•Salmon—37 mg
•Scallops—37 mg
•Raisins—32 mg
•Avocado (Hass)—29 mg
•Cheddar cheese—28 mg
•Halibut—28 mg
•Banana—27 mg
•Sweet potato (baked)—27 mg
•Beets (cooked)—23 mg
•Barley—22 mg
•Broccoli (cooked)—21 mg
•Collard greens—21 mg
•Shallots—21 mg
•Cauliflower (raw)—15 mg
•Asparagus—14 mg
•Leeks—14 mg
•Mustard greens—13 mg
•Onions (cooked)—11 mg
•Tomatoes—11 mg
* Based on 100 gram (3.5 oz) portions.
It is important that you have all the information you need before beginning any magnesium supplementation regimen. As with any health initiative, it is advisable that you consult with a physician, who will be able to give you specific advice based on your medical history and current health condition. At the very least, you should make sure to determine your magnesium status with an RBC-Mg test and assess your magnesium burn rate. Once you have this information, you and your doctor will be able to come up with an appropriate plan for magnesium supplementation.
The Various Forms of Magnesium
Choosing a magnesium supplement can be a very confusing business. Magnesium supplements come in many forms and can be taken either internally and externally. Dosages vary from form to form and brand to brand—although nearly all magnesium supplements are measured in milligrams, with amounts ranging from 100 mg to 500 mg. Chemical composition can also differ: Some brands use only one type of magnesium compound, while others mix types, and still others include non-magnesium ingredients such as calcium, folate, and other vitamins. Not all forms of magnesium are alike; thus the benefits they offer can vary. The following guide will help you figure out the best supplement for your needs, detailing the many forms of magnesium and their different applications and benefits.
Oral Magnesium Supplements
Magnesium supplements are most commonly found in forms that can be taken orally—tablets, capsules, powders, and liquids. Tablets are coated with sugar or a similar substance, preventing their magnesium from being absorbed into the bloodstream immediately; their primary advantage is that they can be cut in half (or even into thirds) if a specific dosage is desired. Capsules are coated in gelatin that dissolves upon contact with liquid; they are more easily swallowed and their contents more quickly absorbed, though they can’t be subdivided the way tablets can be. Powders are useful for people who have difficulty swallowing pills; the prescribed dosage is simply mixed into a volume of water and drunk. Magnesium also comes in liquid form, often as milk of magnesia—but this medium is poorly absorbed by the intestine and is primarily used for its laxative effect (see below). It’s also possible to buy concentrated magnesium drops at your local health store; these, too, can be added to your drinking water each day.
Types of Magnesium Supplements and Their Uses
By and large, any magnesium supplement can provide benefits, but certain forms of magnesium can have special benefits for specific health complaints. Here is a breakdown of the various uses of these different forms of magnesium.
General Use: Magnesium chloride (applied directly to the skin or used in a foot bath), magnesium glycinate, magnesium malate.
Brain Health: Nearly all forms of magnesium cross the blood-brain barrier to benefit the brain. Magnesium orotate and magnesium lthreonate are especially useful in this regard.
Gastrointestinal Health: Magnesium citrate and magnesium lactate. Milk of magnesia (liquid magnesium oxide) is frequently used for constipation.
Heart Health: Magnesium malate, magnesium taurate.
Joint and Muscle Health: Most oral forms of magnesium help prevent and remedy joint and muscle pain. Topical applications of magnesium oil and Epsom salt baths are also excellent for relieving joint and muscle pain.
While any magnesium supplementation is better than none, for convenience, ease of application, precision of dosage, and widespread availability, I recommend using either tablets or capsules in order to supplement your magnesium intake. That said, there are still a number of different factors to consider when choosing a magnesium pill.
Bioavailability
As discussed earlier, your body doesn’t necessarily receive all of the nutrients contained in a serving of food or a supplement. Various factors affect your ability to absorb these different nutrients. The term that is used to describe this relative absorption rate is bioavailability, or the amount of a nutrient or drug that can be readily taken into your bloodstream from your digestive system at a given time. Certain forms of magnesium—such as magnesium malate, magnesium glycinate, and magnesium taurate—are more bioavailable, and thus recommended by most healthcare practitioners. Unfortunately, the forms of magnesium most commonly used in oral magnesium supplements—magnesium oxide and magnesium chloride—are less bioavailable, and thus have a lower absorption rate. These forms are more likely to pass through your digestive system without being absorbed into your bloodstream.
In choosing a magnesium supplement, consult the ingredient list to ensure that the form of magnesium used is one of the more readily absorbed compounds recommended above. When using topical or transdermal forms of magnesium, concerns about bioavailability are lessened because the magnesium is absorbed directly through your skin.
Timed Release
It’s important to consider not only the chemical bioavailability of oral magnesium supplements, but also your body’s physical ability to absorb them over time. Some oral forms of magnesium pass through your system quickly because your body is unable to absorb all the magnesium at once. As a result, these forms can cause loose bowels even at low doses, since your body gets rid of whatever it can’t use at the time. (In fact, it is this bowel-loosening effect that has made milk of magnesia famous as a treatment for constipation.) This is particularly unfortunate, since diarrhea, or loose bowels, can make a magnesium deficiency worse. Instead, choose forms of mag
nesium that have timed release—sometimes called extended or sustained release. These forms slowly discharge their magnesium over a period of hours, improving the likelihood that your body will be able to absorb as much of the nutrient as it needs and greatly reducing the risk of laxative effects and digestive discomfort.
Cofactors
To maximize your magnesium absorption, you should be sure to take vitamin B6 along with your magnesium supplement. Vitamin B6 is a cofactor for magnesium and enhances its bioavailability, allowing you to get the most out of this important nutrient. Try to take the active form of B6, known as pyridoxal-5’-phosphate, or P-5-P, which can be used by the body immediately.
When to Take Supplements
Once you have determined your total daily supplement intake, divide that dose into increments of two or three—whichever works out best in terms of the specific magnesium dosage of the pills you’ve bought. Take your supplement with food, at mealtime (breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner), or at evenly spaced intervals throughout the day. For example, if you are supposed to take 600 mg each day, and you’ve bought 200-mg pills, you can take one pill at each of your meals. Although magnesium is generally beneficial to sleep disorders, because of its role in producing energy, magnesium can sometimes interfere with sleep. Until you rule out this problem, you may want to take your last dose of magnesium no later than 5 or 6PM each day. Should you experience loose bowels or stomach upset when using magnesium supplements, try reducing your total daily dose temporarily, then build it back up as your tolerance increases. You may also benefit from using a timed release formulation. If symptoms continue, stop your supplementation and consult with a physician to determine whether you have any underlying gastrointestinal problems.
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