Magnesium and Brain Health: Why Your Mind Needs This Powerful Mineral

Magnesium and Brain Health: Why Your Mind Needs This Powerful Mineral

Calcium and iron both get more attention than magnesium, but in reality this mineral is undervalued compared to what we now understand to be true. Magnesium might be called the hardworking, reliable behind-the-scenes worker who provides much of the benefit of our brains, and it can easily take on any position you assign to it as far as "importance" goes.

Our brains are a realm full of electrical energy. We think; memories occur; moods are altered; focus happens all via electrical impulses moving all around the neurons in our heads. Magnesium modulates the flow of these electrical signals. If there isn’t enough magnesium in the system, then the electrical impulses increase so much that it becomes like having so many different applications open on your phone that they are pushing out your audio and forcing you to hear every beep and ping at the same time. That's how the brain becomes more sensitive and stressed without any clear reason.

One of the major roles magnesium plays in your brain is that of "cow considering” (which is also known as regulating) glutamate, or GABA, which are both neurotransmitters that stimulate brain function.

Magnesium is required for both memory and learning. Studies show it is involved In synaptic plasticity (the ability of the brain to develop and strengthen connections). Simply stated, magnesium helps the brain create new memories and .have these memories recalled to mind later on. Remember when you were under chronic stress? Was it difficult for you to maintain concentration and/or remember things? When the body experiences chronic stress, it pulls magnesium from the body, and, therefore, this depletes our magnesium stores, and, in turn, impacts memory and mental clarity. Kind of like a vicious cycle, don't you think? Magnesium has other benefits, such as improving sleep quality by helping to create neurotransmitter GABA. GABA promotes relaxation and sleep, and this is why when people increase their magnesium intake, their sleep becomes deeper because magnesium has a relaxing effect on the brain. It is not a sedative and does not knock you out but helps the brain relax, which can ultimately lead to better sleep quality.

In addition to all the other forms of depression medication and therapy that exist (and there are a bunch), magnesium can help our mood as well. As long as we have enough magnesium in our system and take enough of it (at least the RDA) and do not take anything in between doses of magnesium, that will help regulate cortisol, adrenal hormones, insulin, resistance, inflammation, etc. Most processed foods and refined carbohydrates consume magnesium through the added sugar content. The same is true for both stress and caffeine intake, as well as a lack of sleep.

Foods such as nuts, seeds, legumes, leafy green vegetables, and whole grains provide more than enough magnesium to meet the RDA; unfortunately, they are all and each often missing from our typical American diet. If you feel mentally "off," disconnected, or "on edge" with your brain, magnesium may be the nutrient that you are deficient in or missing. Without a doubt, there is no magic pill that will fix everything overnight, but magnesium will help support your brain in many different ways that can build up over time. So what nutrients are we missing? Sometimes, it's the nutrients that we don't hear much about. They are the nutrients that will quietly and continually support the system while everything is working in the background.