Magnesium can almost immediately make you feel much better when you suffer from certain conditions such as chronic fatigue, hair loss, hormonal imbalances that cause PMS, and severe symptoms of menopause.
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8 ways magnesium alleviates hormonal imbalances
But what about magnesium that we are so deficient in this mineral? We are deficient because our cells shed magnesium during stress. We actively push the mineral out of our bodies as a way to speed up our nervous systems and cope with everyday life.
An accelerated nervous system is what an average modern human need to get through an average modern day. If you work, travel, drink coffee, or worry, then you are magnesium deficient. If you live the meditative life of a monk on a mountainside, then you are probably fine.
The following are some of the ways that magnesium can be of great help in restoring hormonal imbalances.
1. Regulates cortisol in hormonal imbalances
Magnesium calms your nervous system and prevents excess cortisol. Your stress hormonal system (called HPA, or hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis) is your central hormonal system. When it’s better regulated, your other hormone axes, thyroid and sex hormones, will work better.
2. Magnesium lowers blood sugar
Magnesium is so effective in sensitizing the insulin receptor that it is like “natural metformin.” Better insulin control means fewer sugar cravings. Healthy insulin sensitivity is important for weight loss and PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), and it also prevents osteoporosis.
3. Supports the thyroid
Magnesium is essential for the production of thyroid hormone. It is also anti-inflammatory, helping to calm the autoimmune inflammation that underlies most cases of thyroid disease. (Other ways to address thyroid autoimmunity include eliminating gluten and supplementing with selenium.)
4. If you have hormonal imbalances, magnesium helps you sleep
Magnesium is the great promoter of sleep, and sleep is crucial for the production of hormones. In sleep is when we should have an increase in anabolic hormones like DHEA and growth hormone.
5. Feeds cellular energy
Magnesium is so intricately involved with glycolysis and the Krebs cycle (ATP energy production), that we can safely say, “There is no cellular energy without magnesium.” Glandular tissue such as the thyroid, ovaries, and testes are metabolically very active, requiring even more cellular energy and more magnesium than other tissues.
6. Helps in hormonal imbalance by producing hormones
Magnesium is involved in the manufacture of steroid hormones such as progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone. Magnesium has been shown to reduce hot flashes by 50%.
7. Activate vitamin D
Without enough magnesium, vitamin D cannot do its job. On the contrary, too many vitamin D supplements can cause magnesium deficiency.
8. It is anti-aging
The mineral has been shown to prevent telomere shortening, reduce oxidative stress, and enhance glutathione production.
Magnesium is a powerful medicine
Magnesium is a major player in emergency rooms, where it treats cardiac arrhythmias, heart attacks, migraines, and toxemia of pregnancy. But why should magnesium only be restricted to emergency medicine for acute care? It is time, time past, for magnesium to take on its role in treating chronic conditions.
Which magnesium supplement is the best?
The best supplement that can be of great help for your hormonal imbalances is magnesium glycinate or bisglycinate (magnesium linked to the amino acid glycine). This is the least laxative of all magnesium, and the most absorbable. Glycine has its own beneficial calming effect on your GABA receptors.
Food sources of magnesium include green leafy vegetables, almonds, chocolate, and mineral water.