GEM Glossary: Magnesium

Magnesium: The Equalizer

🙅Struggling with PMS?

💤Feel like you’re never getting a good night’s sleep?

🍷Indulging in a glass of wine too many? (Or 3… we are only human)

Magnesium is a cofactor in protein synthesis, muscle and nerve function, blood glucose control, and blood pressure regulation. Magnesium is required for energy production within the body and plays a key role in the development of bone health.

Sources

Magnesium is found widely in animal-based foods like meats and dairy products, making it difficult for vegan and vegetarian eaters to get adequate doses. Eating a diet rich in leafy greens, nuts, and whole grains can help us meet our daily levels of magnesium, a bite of your daily GEM vitamin wouldn’t hurt either.

Benefits

PMS: A Female’s Best Friend 👯

When that time of the month comes around, you know we are all feeling some type of way--bloat, mood crashes, and the occasional (or very frequent) food cravings. Don’t start popping period relief just yet, we have something else in mind.

If you suffer from menstrual headaches, it’s most likely from signs of deficiency in magnesium. A 1991 study of 20 female patients affected by menstrual migraines showed after just two months of added magnesium the number of days with a severe headache was reduced (1). We already deal with so many other things while on our period, let's knock something off the pain list.

Sleep and Stress 💤

Magnesium deficiency can lead to insomnia and uneasy sleep schedules. A 2001 study looked at the effects of magnesium on paradoxical sleep patterns and found that higher levels of magnesium were associated with less fragmented sleep (2).

Another study looked into the effects magnesium has on anxiety and stress (3). Adequate to high doses of magnesium was positively associated with stress reduction. Life is already hard enough, we don’t need added stress to our lives, so thank you magnesium!

Additionally, females hold onto stress and experience it in different ways than men, hence why we built GEM for womankind--read more about it in our blog post here.

Wine Night(s) 🍷

Indulging is normal and absolutely accepted, but we don’t want that to affect your health long-term, so our little friend, GEM, is here to save the day with a magnesium packed punch.

Studies have found that magnesium deficiencies occur in people with high levels of alcohol intake (4). High alcohol consumption causes the body to quickly excrete the magnesium along with other electrolytes.

But no need to kiss those wine nights goodbye! Eating a balanced diet with rich sources of magnesium and your GEM vitamin help make that indulging feel that much better.

Want to read more on Mg? Check out our Research Library!