FAQS. | THE MAG LAB.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS.

OKAY, SO YOU’VE HEARD ABOUT MAGNESIUM AND YOU MAY NOW BE WONDERING “WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?” OR “DO I NEED TO SUPPLEMENT MAGNESIUM?”

GOOGLE “MAGNESIUM BENEFITS” AND YOU’LL BEGIN SEEING LOTS OF INFORMATION ABOUT BIOCHEMICAL AND ENZYMATIC REACTIONS OR THE INTRACELLULAR PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS THAT MAGNESIUM CONTRIBUTES TOWARDS.

WAIT. WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?

FOR EVERYONE THAT DOESN’T HAVE A BIOLOGY DEGREE, WE’VE BROKEN DOWN THE IMPORTANT BITS INTO BITE-SIZED CHUNKS FOR YOU TO NIBBLE AWAY AT YOUR OWN PACE…

GIVE ME A QUICK AND SIMPLE OVERVIEW OF MAGNESIUM, PLEASE.

MAGNESIUM IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MINERALS THAT IS NEEDED FOR OUR BODIES TO WORK PROPERLY. IT IS A NATURAL RELAXANT THAT HELPS WITH THE MAJORITY OF BODILY FUNCTIONS.

QUICK ENOUGH?

HUMANS ARE FUELLED BY ENERGY, AND THAT ENERGY COMES MAINLY VIA THE FOOD AND DRINKS THAT WE CONSUME.

VITAMINS AND MINERALS (MICRONUTRIENTS) ARE JUST AS IMPORTANT AS MACRONUTRIENTS (CARBS, PROTEINS & FATS) WHEN IT COMES TO MAINTAINING GOOD HEALTH AND WELLNESS. LOW VITAMIN AND MINERAL LEVELS CAN CAUSE SEVERE AND EVEN LIFE-THREATENING CONDITIONS.

MAGNESIUM IS OFTEN RECOGNISED AS “THE MASTER MINERAL”, BECAUSE IT HELPS ALL THE OTHER NUTRIENTS TO WORK PROPERLY. WITHOUT MAGNESIUM, EVERYTHING SLOWS DOWN AND BECOMES MUCH LESS EFFICIENT.

WHY IS MAGNESIUM “THE MASTER MINERAL”?

MAGNESIUM IS OFTEN REFERRED TO AS “THE MASTER MINERAL” BECAUSE OF ITS IMPORTANCE TO OVERALL HEALTH AND WELLNESS. WITHOUT HEALTHY MAGNESIUM LEVELS, CELLS CAN BEGIN TO DYSFUNCTION AND LONGER-TERM CAN LEAD TO HEALTH AND WELLNESS COMPLICATIONS.

IT REALLY IS A CASE OF GOOD MAGNESIUM LEVELS LEAD TO POSITIVE EFFECTS; LOW MAGNESIUM LEVELS COULD LEAD TO NEGATIVE EFFECTS.

HOW IMPORTANT IS MAGNESIUM?

IN ONE WORD, VERY.

EVERY CELL IN THE HUMAN BODY REQUIRES MAGNESIUM TO FUNCTION PROPERLY.

OKAY, SO EVERY CELL NEEDS MAGNESIUM. BUT…EVERY HUMAN HAS 37.2 TRILLION CELLS IN THEIR BODY?

NO NEED TO PANIC JUST YET THOUGH…

THE RECOMMENDED DAILY INTAKE FOR ADULTS IN THE UK IS JUST 300MG FOR MEN AND 270MG FOR WOMEN.

THIS IS A VERY SMALL AMOUNT, BUT PLAYS A HUGE ROLE!

WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON’T GET ENOUGH MAGNESIUM?

LOW LEVELS OF MAGNESIUM CAN BE RECOGNISED PRETTY QUICKLY.

AFTER A FEW DAYS, MANY PEOPLE WILL START TO SEE SIGNS OF:

FEELING SLUGGISH AND/OR TIRED;

SLEEP PATTERNS CAN BE AFFECTED;

FOCUS IS HARDER TO MAINTAIN;

THERE’S MORE RISK OF STRESS OR ANXIETY;

EXERCISE PERFORMANCE CAN DECLINE;

MUSCLES AND JOINTS CAN BECOME SORE OR LESS FLEXIBLE;

CRAMPS CAN BE MORE FREQUENT OR SEVERE;

SKIN HEALTH CAN BE NEGATIVELY AFFECTED;

AND HAIR AND NAIL STRENGTH/HEALTH MAY DETERIORATE.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I DO GET ENOUGH MAGNESIUM?

GOOD LEVELS OF MAGNESIUM WILL ALSO BE RECOGNISED PRETTY QUICKLY.

AFTER A FEW DAYS, MANY PEOPLE WILL START TO SEE THE OPPOSITE SIGNS THOSE LISTED ABOVE, INCLUDING:

FEELING MORE ENERGETIC AND LESS TIRED;

MORE REGULAR SLEEP PATTERNS;

FOCUS IS EASIER TO MAINTAIN;

THERE’S LESS RISK OF STRESS OR ANXIETY;

EXERCISE PERFORMANCE CAN BE IMPROVED;

MUSCLES AND JOINTS CAN BECOME LESS SORE AND MORE FLEXIBLE;

CRAMPS CAN BE LESS FREQUENT OR SEVERE;

SKIN HEALTH CAN BE POSITIVELY AFFECTED;

AND HAIR AND NAIL STRENGTH/HEALTH MAY IMPROVE.

DOES MY DIET AFFECT MY MAGNESIUM LEVELS?

YES, QUITE DRASTICALLY IN FACT.

DID YOU EVER EAT A REALLY HEALTHY, SUPERFOOD-PACKED MEAL, AND THEN FEEL GREAT?

IT’S NO SECRET, THAT’S BECAUSE OF ALL THE AMAZING VITAMINS AND MINERALS IN THERE!

LIKEWISE, DID YOU EVER EAT A GREASY TAKEAWAY MEAL AND IMMEDIATELY SLUMP INTO A FOOD COMA?

YES, THAT’S BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF NUTRITIONAL VALUE!

BUT, WAIT. THAT’S NOT ALL.

FOODS THAT ARE HIGH IN SUGAR AND SATURATED FATS CAN ALSO DEPLETE MAGNESIUM LEVELS.

A DOUBLE-NEGATIVE.

NOT ONLY WAS CHOOSING THAT GREASY FAST-FOOD OVER A HEALTHIER OPTION A MISSED CHANCE TO GET ESSENTIAL VITAMINS AND MINERALS INTO YOUR BODY, BUT IT ALSO USED UP VITAL STORES OF VITAMINS AND MINERALS TO TRANSPORT THE UNWANTED PARTS OUT OF YOUR BODY TOO.

I’VE NOT SUPPLEMENTED MAGNESIUM BEFORE - WHY NOW?

“I’VE LIVED FOR X-AMOUNT OF YEARS WITHOUT MAGNESIUM SUPPLEMENTS. WHY DO I NEED TO START NOW?”

THE MAJORITY OF MAGNESIUM THAT WE CONSUME IS THROUGH THE FOODS THAT WE EAT. MAGNESIUM-RICH FOODS INCLUDE NUTS, SEEDS, LEAFY GREENS, WHOLEGRAINS, BANANAS, FATTY FISH AND DARK CHOCOLATE.

YES, DARK CHOCOLATE IS HIGH IN MAGNESIUM! [ADD TO BASKET.]

SINCE 1940, THERE HAS BEEN A TREMENDOUS DECLINE IN THE MAGNESIUM CONTENT WITHIN SOME OF OUR FAVOURITE FOODS OF UP TO 99%.

THAT’S RIGHT, THE SAME FOODS 80 YEARS AGO HAD 100 TIMES THE AMOUNT OF MAGNESIUM THAT THEY DO TODAY.

OVER RECENT YEARS, OUR FOODS HAVE BECOME LESS AND LESS NUTRITIONAL AND THAT PATTERN IS UNLIKELY TO CHANGE ANYTIME SOON UNFORTUNATELY.

THIS IS DOWN TO A FEW KEY FACTORS.

FOOD PROCESSING

PROCESSED FOODS, FATS, REFINED FLOURS AND SUGARS CONTAIN NO MAGNESIUM AT ALL,

THE WESTERN DIET IS BECOMING MORE AND MORE DOMINATED BY THESE FOOD GROUPS TOO, WHICH MEANS WE’RE CONSUMING LESS AND LESS MAGNESIUM-RICH FOODS.

SOIL QUALITY

THE FOODS OUR ANCESTORS ATE, AND THE SOIL THEY GREW THEIR FOOD IN, USED TO NATURALLY PROVIDE PLENTY MAGNESIUM IN THEIR DIETS.

BUT, THINGS HAVE CHANGED.

SOIL HAS BEEN DEPLETED OF NUTRIENTS, MAINLY DUE TO OVER-FARMING, TO THE POINT THAT FOOD HAS BECOME MUCH LESS NUTRITIOUS.

LOWER MAGNESIUM LEVELS IN FOOD SOURCES IS BECOMING AN INCREASINGLY NOTICEABLE PROBLEM, AS WE SEE RATES OF CHRONIC ILLNESS AND DISEASE CONTINUE TO INCREASE YEAR AFTER YEAR.

WHEN SHOULD MAGNESIUM BE SUPPLEMENTED?

EVERY DAY.

THE RECOMMENDED DAILY INTAKE FOR ADULTS IN THE UK IS 300MG FOR MEN AND 270MG FOR WOMEN.

MORE THAN 95% OF UK ADULTS FALL SHORT OF THIS RECOMMENDED TARGET REGULARLY.

HOW SHOULD I SUPPLEMENT MAGNESIUM?

AMONGST ALL THE DOOM AND GLOOM, OF “WE’RE NOT GETTING ENOUGH” AND “FOOD IS BECOMING LESS NUTRITIONAL”, THERE IS SOME LIGHT.

IN FACT, QUITE A LOT OF LIGHT!

THERE ARE MANY WAYS OF SUPPLEMENTING MAGNESIUM, SO PLENTY OF OPTIONS TO CHOOSE FROM.

MOST VITAMINS AND MINERALS CAN BE SWALLOWED IN TABLET OR POWDER FORM, BUT MAGNESIUM IS A NATURAL RELAXANT. IT IS OFTEN PRESCRIBED BY DOCTORS FOR CONSTIPATION, AS IT IS AN AMAZING NATURAL LAXATIVE!

THIS PROVIDES A CHALLENGE IF YOU’RE NOT CONSTIPATED THOUGH, AS ORALLY INGESTING MAGNESIUM REGULARLY CAN CAUSE LONG-TERM DIURETIC EFFECTS.

OUR SKIN IS OUR LARGEST ORGAN, AND ONE OF THE MOST WONDERFUL ORGANS TOO. SKIN HAS A TREMENDOUS ABILITY TO ABSORB NUTRIENTS AND MINERALS, WHILST CONTROLLING INTAKE LEVELS TO MAKE SURE TOO MUCH ISN’T TAKEN IN.

RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT THE SAFEST WAY TO SUPPLEMENT MAGNESIUM IS VIA TRANSDERMAL ABSORPTION (THROUGH THE SKIN), DIRECTLY INTO CELLS. THIS IS A GREAT WAY OF BYPASSING THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM AND ANY NASTY DIURETIC/LAXATIVE EFFECTS THAT MAY HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY ORALLY INGESTING IT.

MINERAL ABSORPTION THROUGH THE SKIN HAS BEEN USED FOR CENTURIES, AND IS STILL HUGELY POPULAR AROUND THE WORLD TODAY. FROM THE DEAD SEA IN ISRAEL, TO THE BLUE LAGOON IN ICELAND, TO THE MUD BATHS IN TURKEY AND THE HEALING WATERS OF LOURDES IN FRANCE, MINERAL-RICH WATERS ARE NOT ONLY GREAT FOR SKIN BUT ALSO FOR OVERALL HEALTH AND WELLNESS.

TRANSDERMAL MAGNESIUM ABSORPTION – WHAT ON EARTH DOES THAT MEAN?

LET’S TAKE THIS ONE WORD AT A TIME.

TRANSDERMAL, IN ITS SIMPLEST DEFINITION, MEANS “THROUGH THE SKIN”.

MAGNESIUM. OKAY, PLEASE TELL ME WE DON’T NEED TO START AGAIN?

ABSORPTION, MEANS “SOAKING INTO”.

SO, TO PROVIDE AN OVER-SIMPLIFIED DEFINITION OF THIS RATHER SCARY-LOOKING, SCIENTIFIC TERM, WE’D SUGGEST SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF…

MAGNESIUM SOAKING INTO AND THROUGH THE SKIN.