Another Great Shortcut!

Buckwheat – Image by Hans from Pixabay

Howdy folks! It’s Abbey, and today we’re going to go a little bit more general.

Last week, Dr. Swaim talked about some of the ways that we can support our body fast, and start getting results, aka, shortcuts! Well today, we’re chatting about a shortcut for magnesium, a macromineral essential to more than 300 of your biochemical processes, and the twelfth element on the periodic table. Don’t worry, I’m not going to make you attend a biochemistry lecture, but I am going to give you the low-down on what it is, how it functions, and the best ways to get it into your system. Mostly, we’re going to talk about two of nature’s most wonderful sources: buckwheat & Swiss chard! Ready? Let’s go.

If you want to geek out on chemistry with me for just a minute, stick with this paragraph. If you don’t, you can skip to the brief summary below :) At its most basic level, magnesium is a fairly small element that sits in a spot on the periodic table that makes it easy to ionize (i.e., make charged). Magnesium almost always contains a positive 2 charge, which is what allows it to perform the functions that it does. That charge allows bonds to form (think magnets), jump-starting the biochemical reactions I was referencing earlier. Its primary role is in maintaining the central nervous system, by supporting energy production and proper nerve conduction. Most of the time, we think of magnesium as having a relaxing, or anti-cramping effect, which it absolutely does. But we then must consider that the opposite is also true: a deficiency can cause anxiety-like symptoms, unease, and difficulty in rest (ie: restless legs). It also messes with our glucose processing and makes blood sugar levels much harder to balance. So, energy levels drop. Consequently, issues with blood sugar handling can lead to issues like Type II diabetes (1). As you can tell, magnesium plays an incredibly important role, and we want to keep it at good levels in our bodies, to help them function their best!

The gist: Magnesium’s chemical properties are what give it the ability to help us relax but also improve our blood sugar handling and central nervous system function. That’s great!

The natural question then, is where do we get our magnesium from? As always, let’s start with our food sources. Magnesium is found in the highest amounts in dark leafy greens (like kale and Swiss chard), buckwheat, nuts, seeds, legumes, and dairy products. But often, we may be behind the eight-ball here and struggling to catch up to the appropriate levels of magnesium. So, we need a shortcut! And this is where we can supplement.

There are many forms of magnesium available, mostly in salt form. [Side note: when I say salt, I’m not talking about table salt. Salts are compounds that have a positive metal on one half (ie: magnesium), and a negative complementary compound (ie: citrate) on the other. They bond to make a “metal salt,” that has no charge.] Magnesium is available in many salt forms, such as magnesium citrate, magnesium threonate, magnesium oxide, or magnesium lactate. But they are NOT all created equal. The more soluble the compound, the more bio-available to your body. Standard Process makes Magnesium Lactate as their isolated magnesium product, but because of how calcium and magnesium interact (see the blog on calcium here) they also have two products that combine calcium/magnesium in different ratios, depending on what is needs to be accomplished.

But their most useful magnesium product, in my opinion, is E-Z Mg. E-Z Mg is not made of a magnesium salt, but rather the elemental magnesium found in Swiss chard and buckwheat extract. Remember hearing about buckwheat last time? (Shortcuts) It is an absolute superfood! Standard Process’s recent study on this form showed that it not only became available in the blood but could help to restore the supply in the brain as well, which most salts have a much harder time doing (2). In addition, it provides a great variety of minerals, because the magnesium has been left in its complementary whole food form. Your body gets all the pieces to do what it needs.

The best way to know the form that your body needs is to see what it reacts to. When we do a nutritional consultation in the office, that’s a huge part of what we’ll do. If magnesium seems like something you need a shortcut for, schedule a time with us to chat. We’ll find you the product that will do the most for you. A simple step AND a great shortcut!

Cheers to health made simple, friends!

Abbey BS, CNC

EZ-Mg Ordering Link: EZ-Mg

(1) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2022, June 2). Office of dietary supplements – Magnesium. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/ 

(2) El-Khodor, B. F., James, K., Chang, Q., Zhang, W., Loiselle, Y. R., Panda, C., & Hanania, T. (2021). Elevation of brain magnesium with Swiss chard and Buckwheat extracts in an animal model of reduced magnesium dietary intake. Nutritional Neuroscience, 25(12), 2638-2649. https://doi.org/10.1080/1028415x.2021.1995119