TN50#158_Should I Take Magnesium?_March_2024

Hi Team,

Two weeks ago, I wrote about what form factor of supplements works best for me.  Which is capsules that I can take with water over a powder that has to be mixed water or some other liquid.  I also mentioned the 2 supplements that, until recently, I was slacking on because I only had them in powder form.  Creatine and Magnesium.  Today I’m going to push you to consider your options on supplementing with magnesium.  Please make sure you do your own homework before adding supplements recommended by anyone, including me; that being said the safety profile on creatine is really solid.

Happy Tuesday and welcome to The Next 50 #158. I like to think of personal performance in 3 components: physical, mental and emotional.  My frameworks focus on 4 Buckets: Eat, Sleep, Move and Think.  This blog is my sandbox for sharing information that you might find useful for your personal performance.

I am very impressed with the list of all the internal processes that work better when we have enough magnesium in our system, but I wasn’t intending to do a follow up on magnesium’s benefits for supplementation even though about 50% of Americans are deficient in magnesium levels.  Then Rhonda Patrick goes and hangs a bunch of free resources, podcast and YT video pod, on how important magnesium is to live well and live long on my birthday AND about the time I’m setting up my “Should I take Creatine” article from last week.  So I decided this was a sign for me to pass the magnesium information along, like I did the creatine.  Here we go!

In Episode #87 of the Found My Fitness Podcast, Rhonda P.  answers all the questions you know to ask and even more questions you don’t know to ask.  If you don’t know who Rhonda Patrick is, you should so take some time to explore all the free content she has on her site.

Here is a list of subjects with hyperlinks for your quick view/listen pleasure, I’ve given you some hints on where to start:

  • 00:01:05 – Why the effects of magnesium are far-reaching
  • 00:03:25 – Why athletes need at least 10-20% more magnesium than the RDA
  • 00:07:30 – Why magnesium deficiency & insufficiency are common
  • 00:08:56 – How to determine if you’re getting enough magnesium
  • 00:09:02 – The problem with magnesium blood tests
  • 00:11:52 – Magnesium supplements
  • 00:14:28 – The effectiveness of epsom salt baths (see also 01:09:19)
  • 00:14:55 – Is magnesium threonate better at crossing the blood-brain barrier?
  • 00:21:46 – Why magnesium threonate shouldn’t count toward your RDA goal
  • 00:22:42 – What magnesium supplement do I take?
  • 00:23:09 – The effect of stress on magnesium balance
  • 00:26:53 – Why the energy demands of workouts affect magnesium balance
  • 00:29:34 – Does magnesium supplementation improve sleep?
  • 00:30:42 – Why trials in the field of nutrition are often misleading
  • 00:34:04 – Does higher magnesium intake improve cognition?
  • 00:35:45 – Does magnesium have a role in preventing Alzheimer’s disease?
  • 00:38:47 – The effect of creatine on the brain (and its relationship to magnesium)
  • 00:39:20 – Why magnesium may prevent excitotoxicity in the brain
  • 00:40:10 – Magnesium’s potential for managing migraines
  • 00:43:19 – The role of magnesium in aging
  • 00:44:17 – Why magnesium deficiency impairs DNA repair
  • 00:45:51 – Magnesium’s role in cancer prevention
  • 00:47:52 – Why magnesium is intertwined in genomic stability
  • 00:50:42 – Why we shouldn’t disregard observational data in nutrition
  • 00:51:30 – How magnesium intake affects mortality risk and cancer
  • 00:54:27 – Magnesium in osteoporosis prevention
  • 00:55:59 – Why magnesium intake in early life affects bone accretion
  • 00:57:44 – The effect of magnesium on vitamin D metabolism
  • 01:03:14 – Does magnesium treat high blood pressure?
  • 01:06:50 – Does magnesium help manage muscle cramps?
  • 01:09:19 – Is transdermal absorption of magnesium effective?

I take 3 forms of supplemental Magnesium at this point:

  1. LMNT, my favorite electrolyte mix, which makes for a delicious Nalgene bottle full of flavor that I crave after a workout and 25 minutes in the sauna
  2. Thorne, Magnesium Citramate capsules
  3. Thorne, Advance Bone Support capsules

Once I hit all of my supplements and one pack of LMNT a day, my total magnesium intake across all of it is 430 mgs a day; at this level I have no GI upset issues.  The most noticeable issue for me personally that I associate with low magnesium is cramps, usually in my feet and calves but occasionally in other random muscles as well.

Who do you know that could use this information?  I bet you can think of a couple of folks before you click the next email, so please share the post with your team and anyone who might find it useful and let me know what you think!

Have a good one, Alex