The Magnesium Cheat Code for health
Magnesium, the unsung hero of health. Magnesium is critical for over 300-600 enzymatic processes and essential for energy production, stress management, and overall well-being. But its significance doesn’t stop there—it plays a pivotal role in light, water, and circadian biology.
To truly optimise magnesium, we must explore its multifaceted functions and the personalised approaches that suit individual needs.
The Importance of Magnesium
Magnesium’s influence spans a wide array of biological functions:
Energy Production: Activates ATP, the energy currency of cells.
Nervous System Regulation: Modulates neurotransmitters, balancing excitatory and inhibitory signals.
Stress Resilience: Chronic stress depletes magnesium stores, while sufficient levels help buffer cortisol’s effects.
Enzymatic Activity: Magnesium is a cofactor for hundreds of enzymes involved in protein synthesis, glucose metabolism, and DNA/RNA repair.
Magnesium’s importance is amplified by its role in regulating light, water structure, and mitochondrial efficiency, making it foundational for health. A fundamental connection with phosphorylation of ATP/ADP in the final step in the electron chain transport in the mitochondria. The water (Postive/Negative alignment) is what transforms the magnesium into action.
Magnesium and Its Synergy with Light and Water
Light Exposure: Magnesium stabilises mitochondrial function and ATP production, processes enhanced by natural sunlight exposure. Morning sunlight regulates circadian rhythms, synchronising magnesium’s influence on sleep and cellular repair.
Structured Water: Magnesium contributes to forming "exclusion zone" (EZ) water, a gel-like state within cells that optimises energy production and detoxification. The combination of sunlight, proper hydration, and magnesium maximises this process. This fundamentally connects to how ATP is formed and stabilised with magnesium and phosphorylation.
Modern Challenges to Magnesium Levels
Despite its critical role, magnesium deficiency is widespread due to:
Chronic Stress: Cortisol increases magnesium excretion.
Poor Diet: Processed foods lack magnesium, and high sugar, caffeine, or alcohol intake depletes it.
Soil Depletion: Modern farming practices strip magnesium from crops.
Blue Light Exposure: Disrupts circadian rhythms, indirectly affecting magnesium-dependent processes.
Medications: Proton pump inhibitors, which help with indigestion, are known to reduce magnesium absorption, leading to deficiency.
Gut Health: With magnesium absorbed in the small intestine - factors such as dysbiosis or hypochlorhydria can invalidate absorption.
Does Coffee Deplete Magnesium?
Many people believe that coffee depletes magnesium, but coffee contains a decent dose. Consuming your coffee with calcium like ghee, raw milk, or cream can mitigate diuretic loss, as shown in studies. Additionally, dairy, like milk, can enhance hydration, making it a great or wise addition to your coffee.
Beyond Magnesium Supplements
If you’re looking for a way to enhance your magnesium status without any pills or supplements, then look no further than topical magnesium sprays (transdermal Magnesium) or Float tank Therapy, or it could be substituted at home with an Epsom salt bath.
While diet is the number 1 priority and supplementation has shown to be the most effective means for replenishment. The use of transdermal magnesium via the skin offers a powerful alternative approach:
Epsom Salt Baths:
Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) dissolved in warm water allow magnesium to absorb through the skin. You can use magnesium chloride if you wish.
Benefits: Reduces muscle soreness, promotes relaxation, and improves sleep quality. A 20-minute soak is an excellent way to decompress. Add essential oils, even borax (for boron - a mineral but also a great antifungal on the skin), and bicarbonate soda (enhances magnesium absorption)
Topical Magnesium Sprays:
It is ideal for targeted muscle relief or for those with sensitive digestion that limits oral magnesium. For quick absorption, apply it to sore areas or the soles of the feet. You can use chloride or even make your own magnesium sulfate spray.
My favourite topical magnesium brand for topical spray is HERE.
Float Tanks:
Float tanks contain high concentrations of magnesium sulfate in water, creating a near-zero-gravity environment, in water.
Benefits: Enhances magnesium absorption, reduces cortisol levels, and supports meditative states. Regular float sessions can profoundly impact stress resilience and recovery.
You can find these in major cities. It is a great experience for couples to enjoy but also a gift such as a birthday or Christmas for someone.
The Food-First Magnesium Strategy
Magnesium-rich foods should remain your foundational source. Bioavailability, not just the number, is the name of the game here, which is why grains and chocolate aren't featured. (In no particular order)
Leafy Greens: Spinach (ideally cooked), kale, Swiss chard, or even okra.
Seafood: Mackerel, halibut, sardines, oysters, shrimp, octopus.
Grass Fed meat: Beef, Bison, Venison, Lamb.
Coconut water:
Mineral Water: Brands like Gerolsteiner provide magnesium naturally. Even San Pelligrino has small amounts that can help.
Seaweed - (e.g., Nori, Wakame, Kelp) with 30–80 mg per serving (10 g dried).
Avocados - 1 medium provides 58 mg of magnesium.
Understanding Magnesium Storage: The Bone Connection
Bone as a Reservoir: Around 60% of the body’s magnesium is stored in bones, which play dual roles in structural integrity and as a reserve for other physiological processes. Up to 10 grams of magnesium is believed to be stored in our bones alone.
Dynamic Regulation: When magnesium is deficient, bone stores can release magnesium to maintain serum levels. While this may mask deficiencies in blood tests, it can weaken bone health over time.
Takehome: As you enhance your understanding of nutrition with magnesium stored in bone, you realise that taking a hair mineral analysis test or using a serum magnesium blood test becomes somewhat redundant when comprehending more accurate analysis.
Testing for Magnesium: Nuances and Challenges
Understanding nutritional status is common in the clinic, especially with clients. However, magnesium status can be tricky to comprehend, as illustrated above.
Blood Tests Are Limited:
Serum Magnesium only reflects 1% of total body magnesium, making it an unreliable marker of deficiency. Only ~1% of magnesium is in the blood.
Normal serum levels don’t necessarily mean adequate magnesium at the cellular or tissue level.
Hair mineral Testing: I am not a fan of this. While it can be exciting to explore the HMTA world, a blood test is always required to validate the hair test result.
Red Blood Cell (RBC) Magnesium: A more accurate reflection of magnesium in tissues.
Magnesium Loading Test: This test measures how much magnesium is retained after supplementation, providing insight into true body stores. However, it is not practical for most people.
Indirect Blood Test Markers:
Potassium (K): Hypokalemia (low potassium) can be a secondary result of magnesium deficiency, as magnesium affects potassium transport.Parathyroid Hormone (PTH): Abnormal levels can result from magnesium deficiency, which affects calcium regulation.
Vitamin D (25-OH): Magnesium is essential for activating vitamin D. Low levels of active vitamin D (1,25-dihydroxy) despite adequate 25-OH D can indicate magnesium issues.
Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP): Low ALP levels can be associated with magnesium deficiency since magnesium is a cofactor for many enzymes, including ALP.
C-Reactive Protein (CRP) or other inflammatory markers: Magnesium deficiency can increase systemic inflammation.
Symptoms as Indicators:
Muscle cramps, fatigue, insomnia, and irritability are common signs of magnesium deficiency. These symptoms, possibly combined with testing, help clarify magnesium status.
Final Thoughts and Practical Takeaways:
For the most accurate assessment, RBC magnesium levels combined with a clinical evaluation of symptoms and dietary intake are often the best approach.
If your health is somewhat challenged, you may not need extensive testing; deficiencies are likely. Start with food sources and consider supplements as needed. Gradually increase the dosage until you notice changes, such as loose stools or increased cravings for salt or potassium. Symptoms of low levels include rapid heart rate and frequent urination.
Once you find a comfortable dosage, maintain it. As your health improves, you can reduce magnesium supplements. Remember, increasing magnesium often requires a balanced salt and potassium intake to prevent mineral imbalances.
Magnesium Supplementation Strategies
When food and transdermal options are insufficient, or your requirement is high—"magnesium burn rate," for example — supplementation can bridge the gap.
My favourite and best absorbable magnesium supplements are below. (In no particular order)
Magnesium Glycinate: For stress, sleep, glutathione, and connective tissue such as collagen.
Magnesium Malate: For energy and chronic fatigue - especially for muscles.
Magnesium Threonate: Supports cognitive health by crossing the blood-brain barrier more easily.
Magnesium Bicarbonate: Found in water-based forms, ideal for those seeking enhanced bioavailability. You can do this at home.
Magnesium Taurate: Great for cardiovascular health with blood pressure reduction and liver health with detoxification and digestion.
How To Integrate Magnesium in Your Daily Routine
Here’s a holistic magnesium routine which will help improve your magnesium status.
Morning: Start your day with a magnesium-rich breakfast (e.g., spinach and eggs) and exposure to sunlight with topical magnesium spray.
Afternoon: Sip on magnesium-rich mineral water and incorporate leafy greens in your lunch, ceviche, or grilled fish.
Evening: Wind down with an Epsom salt bath or a topical magnesium spray—maybe a magnesium supplement—my favourite one combines the best of the three.
Active Recovery: For sore muscles, use topical sprays or schedule regular float tank sessions for relaxation and magnesium replenishment.
Fluids: Make magnesium bicarbonate-rich water and add it to your fluids throughout the day—small amounts add up.
My favourite magnesium items and magnesium bicarbonate recipes can be found below
Conclusion: The Bigger Picture with Magnesium
Magnesium is more than a mineral; it’s a cornerstone of health that integrates the forces of light, water, and energy within the body. Its role in enzymatic processes, mitochondrial efficiency, and stress regulation underscores its indispensability in modern health challenges. Yet, magnesium status is not merely about lab values; it requires a nuanced, personalised approach. From dietary choices and lifestyle practices to sunlight exposure and circadian alignment, optimising magnesium is about reconnecting with the rhythms of nature to unlock resilience, energy, and balance.
