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Magnesium has many crucial roles in maintaining the integrity and function of the skin barrier 
- Helps to pull moisture into to keratinocyte cells of the skin. Water and electrolytes are essential for bio-electrical conductance, nerve function and touch sense.
- Is a key regulator of skin pH, detoxification (clearance of channels and pores) and barrier protection.
- Is essential for the production of proteins such as collagen and elastin, which form the meshing structure of skin.
- Is vital for the energising of the immune system, which is integrated into our skin barrier.
- Skin microbiome balance depends on magnesium.
- Healing requires sufficient magnesium supplied to mitochondria so they produce ATP, the body’s bio-electrical units.
- Has calming anti-inflammatory properties, promoting faster healing.
- Acts as an antioxidant to help neutralise free radicals and protect skin against oxidative damage.
Skin Structure
Skin is composed of three primary layers: the epidermis, the dermis and the subcutaneous.
This barrier is our fort against the ravages of the environment. It is the largest organ of the human body, accounting for about 15 % of the total adult weight, and a surface area of between 1.5-2.0m2. It is crucial for protection and hydration, acting as a shield against pollutants, allergens, and UV radiation. The skin maintains moisture balance by keeping water in via fats called ceramides. It regulates body temperature, protects against infection by keeping harmful microorganisms out, and supports the skin's natural pH and immune response.
Thickness and type of the skin vary significantly over all parts of the body and from individual to individual. For example, skin of the forearm is thinner than the skin of the palms. Absorbability of cream is less on palms due to a deficiency of oil pores. The majority of pores on the palms are sweat pores, which have the role of excretion rather than absorption. The pores are also denser and more tightly packed on the palms compared to sweat pores in other types of skin, as on the top of the hand. If the palms dry out too much due to use of detergent soaps and alcohol based sanitizers, they tend to lose grip, and the sense of touch is also diminished.
The amount of melanin produced by skin also affects resilience, as it is an antioxidant hormone that protects against photo radiation. This is why UV radiation causing redness triggers melanin production as a defence mechanism. However, too much sun exposure can cause excessive burn and damage at deeper levels. An interesting fact is that people with a genetically higher concentration of melanin and therefore darker skin, do not suffer the same level of skin deterioration or sensitivity as those with white skin, and neither do they suffer the ravages of eczema and psoriasis.
A compromised skin barrier which doesn’t hold enough protective fats, or contains enough antioxidants, including melanin, therefore allows too much moisture to evaporate, which leads to dryness and irritation, as well as conditions like eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis. With enough skin damage and free radicals that are not neutralised by antioxidants, the immune system can become overloaded and unable to cope, leading to formation of rogue skin cancer cells.
Magnesium for skin barrier integrity and homeostasis
Magnesium influences the formation of the natural lipid transport system occupying spaces around the scaffolds of skin cells in the stratum corneum (the outermost layer), and creating a watertight seal that prevents both excessive water loss, as well as the penetration of irritants. Formation of collagen proteins are also dependent on magnesium.
- Keratinocyte Regulation: Magnesium levels influence the differentiation and transformation of keratinocytes into their drier flatter form - ‘corneocytes’, which form the harder protective outside layer of the barrier. An optimal balance in the calcium/magnesium ratio is beneficial for the recovery of epidermal homeostasis. Too much calcium and not enough magnesium in this ratio leads to excessive hardening and dryness.
- Wound Healing: Magnesium promotes cutaneous wound healing by several mechanisms:
- Promoting Cell Migration: It enhances the migration of keratinocytes and fibroblasts from the dermis through pathways like the MEK/ERK/MMP7 pathway, which is essential for the early stages of wound repair. “Preclinical and clinical evidence suggests potential benefits in atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, acne, wound healing, and photoprotection.” 1 But remember not to apply salts directly to open wounds, as they sting the exposed nerves. Magnesium chloride salt solutions can be absorbed from anywhere on the body without broken skin, and the body can transport the available magnesium to wherever it is needed most.
- Increasing Proliferation and Neovascularization: Magnesium increases basal cell proliferation and the formation of new blood vessels, accelerating the healing process because of access of more blood with oxygen and nutrients to supply cells.
- Collagen Synthesis: It supports fibroblast activity and collagen production, which are important for tissue repair and strength. If the collagen structures of the skin have become too thin and weak they cannot hold enough protective fats and tend to lose too much moisture. This is also associated with excessive skin sensitivity as the nerves under the epidermis have less protection. Fats are protective and numbing so that nerves do not become over-stimulated and hypersensitive.
- Anti-inflammatory Effects: Magnesium possesses calming anti-inflammatory properties. By enhancing the efficiency of the immune system, magnesium influences the decrease of pro-inflammatory cytokines like TNF-α (tumor necrosis factor) and IL-6 (interleukin 6), making it a helpful treatment for conditions such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. 1
- Hydration – Magnesium makes us ‘juicier’! Magnesium chloride salts are hygroscopic, and by attracting and structuring water molecules, can increase the expression of aquaporin-3 (AQP3) in keratinocytes, a protein involved in transporting water and glycerol, and thus supporting skin hydration. Magnesium ions are also essential for hydration in the plasma of cells, and for mitochondrial metabolic function.
- Antioxidant and Anti-ageing Properties: In addition to having its own antioxidant effect by donating two spare electrons (Mg2+) to neutralise free radicals, magnesium also acts as a cofactor for many antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, vitamins and trace minerals, helping to protect epidermal cells from oxidative stress or damage caused by UV radiation and environmental stressors, and thereby contributing to photoprotection and anti-aging effects. 2
Fats (lipids): An important partner together with magnesium
Just as cell membranes are comprised of a lipid bilayer, the skin barrier also relies on adequate fats. Natural skin oils are made up of ceramides, which are a bit more solid and waxy, and form a lipid matrix around the keratinocyte cells and water pockets, like the mortar around bricks in a wall. Cholesterol and ceramides are crucial skin barrier lipids, working together with fatty acids in a roughly 1:2:1 ratio (cholesterol : ceramides : fatty acids) to keep moisture in and irritants out. The skin microbiome relies heavily on this balance, which then influences immune system function, as the soldiers and police force of the skin.
Sebum is more fluid and excreted by sebaceous glands. It consists mainly of triglycerides, wax esters, squalene, and free fatty acids, with minor amounts of cholesterol and cholesterol esters. Sebum moisturizes the skin and hair, contributes to the skin's antimicrobial barrier (via certain fatty acids), and helps form the overall surface lipid film.
If there is a deficiency in production of natural skin oils, then it helps immensely to supplement with natural oils for skin care and barrier protection.
The body uses fats to help hold moisture in, to work as an insulator protecting nerves, and to cleanse. Liver cells also use fats to cleanse. Fats can absorb toxins and free radicals very efficiently, but can become oxidised (lipid peroxidation) in the process. Lipid peroxidation is the oxidative degradation of lipids, especially polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in cell membranes, caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) like free radicals, which damage cells and tissues. It involves membrane dysfunction, cell death (like ferroptosis), and the production of harmful byproducts that contribute to aging and diseases such atherosclerosis, cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders. These used up fats need to be removed or else they will clog up tubes and vessels in the body, causing disease with circulation problems, low oxygen environments and metabolic syndromes.
In the skin it’s the pores or hair follicles that can get clogged with excessive sebum and wastes. Magnesium works with certain enzymes and sulphates to break down the fat molecules so they can be transported and excreted. Old lipids are replaced by new ones after cleansing.
Magnesium supports cleansing and detoxification
When the skin barrier channels become clogged with excessive oils and waste products, pores can become enlarged and inflamed, causing acne vulgaris. Other skin abnormalities can also result from lack of waste clearance, like keratosis pilaris, which causes dry, rough patches and tiny bumps often on the upper arms, thighs, cheeks or buttocks; or milia, white bumps that are essentially small cysts of trapped keratin that form under the skin. In all these variations, the common element is dysfunction of the skin’s detoxification system.
Much of the skin’s lymph waste disposal happens via glands under the skin, in the armpits and groin areas etc. The lymph wastes coming to the liver are usually packaged and dumped into the colon for elimination. If this system is compromised by digestive disorders and slow motility, the lymph takes the overload via extra skin excretion.
This is why sweating in exercise or via bathing or sauna treatment, can help to lift the load from the liver in dealing with all the waste processing. Sweat can also become smellier for a while until the toxins are cleansed out because the wastes attract microbes that like to ferment what you excrete.
If you have a high metabolic rate and produce a lot of hormones, the waste proteins of the oxidised hormones can also become a smelly problem. However, you can support the detox system to help excrete wastes via sweating, as well as soaking in magnesium baths, and hydrating better by drinking more magnesium water. Applying Magnesium Creams or Charge Lotion also helps to deodorise and top up with more magnesium to power your system.
Magnesium bathing or foot-soaking is a very effective way to allow the body to cleanse transdermally. This has been done traditionally for millennia when people travelled to mineral spas and hot springs periodically to cleanse, detox, relieve aches and pains, relax from stress, and rejuvenate. In addition, people learned to enhance the process by fasting, or receiving enemas if they were constipated. 
The goal is to cleanse thoroughly inside and out.
Studies over decades, such as this one, have confirmed the benefits of magnesium salt bathing: “Roughness and redness of the skin as a marker for inflammation were significantly reduced after bathing in the salt solution. [It] was well tolerated, improved skin barrier function, enhanced stratum corneum hydration, and reduced skin roughness and inflammation…Magnesium salts are known to bind water, influence epidermal proliferation and differentiation, and enhance permeability barrier repair.” 3
MAIN POINTS FOR MAGNESIUM SKIN CARE
- Magnesium helps bring in moisture to cells for skin softening;
- Acts as an antioxidant to neutralize free radicals and slow down skin ageing;
- Empowers enzymes that help cleanse and detox the skin barrier;
- Provides pH and electrolyte balance (regulation);
- Energises mitochondria to strengthen immune function and healing processes;
- Calms stressed skin by counteracting oxidative stress;
- Provides anti-inflammatory and anti-ageing benefits.
- Natural magnesium chloride salt is easily absorbed once dissolved and can be taken up by skin via bathing, or incorporation into lipids that can be massaged into skin as Magnesium Cream, Magnesium Charge Lotion and Magnesium Oil Spritz. Elektra Magnesium products are made only with natural and organic ingredients (chem-free), ensuring the highest quality. Use any combination to suit individual skin type and needs. More information about how to use is on our FAQ page, with Magnesium Dose Guide.
- The skin is lipophilic: It hungrily absorbs oils for skin barrier protection. Magnesium ions that are infused with the plant oils and butters gain easier access to the epidermal reservoir, providing an excellent natural magnesium supplement, as well as a high performance skin care product.
Another article about HOW MAGNESIUM GETS IN VIA SKIN is here (link).
By Sandy Sanderson © 2025
REFERENCES:
(1) Chalupczak, N. V.; Lipner, S. R. The Role of Magnesium in Dermatology. JAAD Reviews 2026, 7, 24–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdrv.2025.10.004.
(2) Fujita, K.; Shindo, Y.; Katsuta, Y.; Goto, M.; Hotta, K.; Oka, K. Intracellular Mg2+ Protects Mitochondria from Oxidative Stress in Human Keratinocytes. Commun Biol 2023, 6 (1), 868. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-05247-6.
(3) Bathing in a magnesium-rich Dead Sea salt solution improves skin barrier function, enhances skin hydration, and reduces inflammation in atopic dry skin. - Abstract - Europe PMC. https://europepmc.org/article/med/15689218 (accessed 2025-12-19).
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Anxiety has become the most common mental health challenge affecting Australians, with 1 in 4 of us experiencing it at some point in our lives. That's over 3 million people dealing with racing thoughts, physical tension, difficulty settling, and sleep disturbances.
There's often an expectation that we should be able to simply "think our way through" anxiety, that it's purely a mental issue we should have control over. But this overlooks a fundamental truth: anxiety doesn't just live in your mind. It lives in your tight shoulders, your shallow breathing, your racing heart, and your tense jaw. It's a whole-body experience.
What if instead of trying to think your way out of anxiety, you learned to work with your body to create an internal environment that allowed the mind to settle? In this article, you’ll learn a simple and practical approach to start supporting yourself this way: an acupressure massage routine using topical magnesium.
Understanding Anxiety From A Chinese Medicine Perspective
In Chinese medicine, we don't separate the mind from the body. They're two sides of the same coin, inseparable aspects of a whole. The quality of your thoughts and mind are profoundly influenced by your physiology and how well your body is functioning. This is why you can't just "think positive" your way out of anxiety. Your body is stuck in a state of imbalance that creates the internal environment for anxiety to thrive.
When I see someone struggling with anxiety in my clinic, there’s several common patterns that come up (individually or in combinations of the following):
● There's often an unsettled, restless quality - like the mind can't settle in the body or find stillness. Thoughts race from one worry to the next without resolution. There may be dream disturbed sleep or frequent wakings at night. This reflects a deeper disturbance in the body's ability to rest and settle.
● Many people are running too hot and revved up - stuck in overdrive with no off switch. The body is constantly in a stress response, even when there's no real threat. It's like having your foot on the accelerator all the time. These people may have trouble falling asleep or waking early, unable to return to sleep. They may not even be aware of this because it’s just become “normal”.
● Others experience the exhaustion of being simultaneously wired AND tired. Chronic stress has depleted their reserves, but the nervous system won't let them truly rest. This can look like burn out or certain forms of chronic fatigue where sleep does not recharge you like it should. You're running on empty but can't stop running.
● Physical tension is almost universal with anxiety. Tight neck and shoulders, clenched jaw, restricted breathing. This tension doesn't just result from anxiety—it actually perpetuates it by restricting healthy circulation through the body.
The solution from a Chinese medicine perspective is to cultivate more stillness, coolness, and grounding in the body. We need to nourish the body's capacity for rest, restoring its natural rhythms. Making sure that we have sufficient magnesium is one way that supports this, and when we combine this with targeted acupressure, we have some powerful ways to help our mental health.
Magnesium's Role In Calming Anxiety
Magnesium levels can play a major role in managing anxiety. Think of magnesium as like a brake pedal for your nervous systems. When you have adequate magnesium reserves, it helps manage the release of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol.
When you're magnesium deficient, you lose that brake pedal. Your body can get stuck in "fight or flight" mode, constantly primed for threats that aren't really there. Without adequate magnesium, calcium floods into your cells unchecked, causing excessive firing of neurons, muscle tension, and the release of more stress hormones. It becomes a vicious cycle: stress depletes your magnesium, and low magnesium makes you more reactive to stress.
To make matters worse, excessive stress hormones also cause dehydration at the cellular level. When calcium floods into cells, it causes water loss, and your body essentially panics when hydration drops too low. This physiological panic can manifest as feelings of anxiety. Magnesium helps to bring the water back into the cells, pushing calcium back out to restore balance and calm.
Unfortunately, magnesium deficiency is incredibly widespread. Our modern diets tend to be magnesium depleted for a variety of reasons, and many people suffer from poor magnesium absorption or increased loss through urine.
Here's where the gut connection becomes crucial: chronic stress damages your gut lining and disrupts your microbiome, impairing your ability to absorb magnesium from food or oral supplements. Many people taking magnesium tablets experience digestive upset or simply don't absorb much at all. It's yet another frustrating cycle - the anxiety that depletes your magnesium also makes it harder to replenish through conventional means.
This is precisely why topical magnesium offers such an elegant solution.
Why Transdermal Magnesium?
A main key benefit of applying magnesium directly to your skin is that it bypasses the digestive system entirely. It is absorbed through the skin straight into your muscles, fascia, and bloodstream, delivering the mineral exactly where your body needs it.
You also won’t have to worry about overdosing or experiencing digestive issues that can come with oral magnesium supplements. Your body is remarkably intelligent and will only absorb what it needs through the skin, leaving the rest.
But there's another profound benefit that goes beyond simple absorption: the ritual of massage and intentional touch itself is deeply calming to the nervous system. When you slow down, breathe, and gently work with your body in this way, you're signaling safety. You're moving out of sympathetic fight-or-flight and into parasympathetic rest-and-digest mode.
Even better, when you apply magnesium with the understanding of the acupuncture channels in the body, moving through specific acupuncture points, you're working WITH your body's natural patterns, rather than just generically supplementing. You can target pathways that help with calming, restoration, and emotional balance to amplify your benefits.
The Yin Channel Acupressure Routine
The routine I'll share with you involves massaging Magnesium Cream (for those with dry skin conditions), or the stronger Charge Lotion (my favourite) along the inner surfaces of your arms and legs, into the hands and feet. These are where the acupuncture "yin" channels pass through and are most accessible.
Think of channels as the rivers and water ways of the ecosystem of your body. We want good flow through the channels to nourish the health of our body. The yin channels run deeper and are more associated with rest and relaxation, while the yang channels are more external, protective and stimulating.
In anxiety, there is often too much yang activity in the mind, and so we want to help move things deeper into the body, promoting more calm, relaxation and rest.
We'll be working with six specific channels:
On the arms: Heart, Pericardium, and Lung channels
On the legs: Pancreas (Spleen), Liver, and Kidney channels
By massaging along them with magnesium, you're achieving multiple benefits simultaneously: mineral absorption over a large surface area, stimulation of the channels' regulatory effects, activation of specific calming points, and the grounding ritual of self-care.
The routine is very simple and can be made as long or short as you like. It’s perfect in the evening as part of your wind-down routine before bed.
Step-By-Step Routine
Arm Yin ChannelStart by applying your magnesium cream to your hands and the inside of your forearms. Then looking at your forearm with your palm facing you, you’ll work along three paths between your elbow and wrist (see arm yin channels image). Pass through these channels as many times as you like, spending more time on any areas that feel particularly tight or sore. Only use as much pressure as is comfortable for you, this is not a “no pain no gain” situation. We’re trying to cultivate a feeling of relaxation.
Once you’ve worked through the forearm on one side, move into the palm of your hand. Pay close attention to the thumb pad, the centre of the palm and the area of the palm below the space between the 4th and 5th fingers (see arm yin channels image). Repeat this on both sides.
Leg Yin ChannelsAgain begin by applying the magnesium cream to the inside of your legs below your knees and into the feet. Massage along three paths between the knee and ankle. The first just next to the inner shin bone, the next two roughly a finger width apart each (see the leg yin channels image). If you come across any particularly sore or tight areas, spend more time there to help open up the channel more.
Move onto the foot, paying particular attention to the sole, the inside of the big toe and the area below the space between the big toe and second toe (see the leg yin channels image). Be sure to repeat on both sides.
Making It Part of Your Daily Routine
For best results, practice this routine daily. I recommend doing this in the hour before bed to support more restful sleep. Your nervous system thrives on consistency and ritual—over time, just beginning the routine will signal to your body that it's time to wind down.
Consider pairing this routine with magnesium foot soaks 2-3 times per week for an even deeper effect. Simply dissolve 1-2 tablespoons of Elektra’s magnesium flakes in warm water and soak your feet (submerged to just above ankles for best effect) for 15-20 minutes. The soak will act to stimulate and open up the channels around the feet and ankles.
Anxiety can also be a symptom of dehydration, so make sure to drink enough spring water containing magnesium (or filtered water with added magnesium) for enhanced hydration to support the electrical conductivity along the Yin (river and waterway) channels.
Give this daily practice 2-4 weeks of consistent use before evaluating its effectiveness. Pay attention to if you notice things like better, deeper sleep, less anxiety, reduced muscle tension throughout the day, improved resilience to stress (things that would normally trigger you don't hit as hard), and a calmer baseline emotional state.
Wrapping Up
Anxiety isn’t something to be managed purely in your mind. By working with your body, your nervous system, your circulation, your muscles, you’re creating a more ideal environment for your mind to settle for improved mental health.
The beauty of this approach is that it puts powerful tools directly in your hands. You don't need special equipment or expertise. You just need a few minutes, some magnesium cream, and a willingness to slow down and care for yourself.
I encourage you to incorporate Elektra Magnesium's range of products into your daily self-care practice. Their products are specifically designed for topical use and absorb beautifully. Their magnesium flakes are also perfect for those deeper, more restorative foot soaks.
It's important to note that while self-care practices like this can be genuinely powerful, persistent or severe anxiety deserves professional assessment and treatment. Everyone's anxiety has unique root causes—it might stem from inflammation, gut imbalances, unprocessed trauma, hormonal issues, or a combination of factors.
If you'd like a personalised holistic approach tailored to YOUR specific anxiety pattern, I invite you to consider acupuncture for anxiety. In my practice at Acupuncture Grove in Bondi Junction, I take the time to understand the underlying imbalances contributing to your anxiety and create a treatment plan that addresses your whole system, not just symptoms.
I hope you found some value from what I’ve shared in this article. Remember, it’s the small daily rituals that create the most profound change over time. Start taking care of yourself today.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Gavin Martin-Rentz is a registered acupuncturist and Chinese medicine practitioner at Acupuncture Grove in Bondi Junction, Sydney, where he focuses on helping those with complex health conditions and chronic pain to regain their lives and start feeling like themselves again.
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Did you know heavy metals disrupt your body’s mineral balance causing many negative side effects? People who are chronically ill may not realise that it can be the harmful accumulated toxic metals in their tissue cells that are a big part of their problem..
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It is now well-known that dogs need all the essential vitamins and minerals that humans do. One of these key nutrients is magnesium because it’s needed for energy production at the cellular level. Magnesium deficiency in dogs can lead to a diverse set of symptoms. Every time your pet moves a muscle, experiences a heartbeat or has a thought, magnesium is needed to help them achieve this.
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Increasing your magnesium levels also supercharges the cleansing process. This is because magnesium supports detoxification by energising the detox enzymes such as glutathione and superoxide dismutase. These are powerful antioxidants, which neutralise free radicals and help to restore pH balance and energy production. This will give your metabolism a great boost - especially if you have been feeling sluggish and foggy, if the weight is piling on when it shouldn't be, or if you are battling with IBS and debilitating gut issues.
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Without the relaxation and antioxidant support of magnesium, the stress and tension increases acidity, weakens the immune system and microbiome balance, which promotes inflammation and headache. These symptoms are common during influenza or coronavirus infections because they increase the stress and toxic load, thereby depleting more magnesium.
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When the body is dehydrated it can also cause oedema, a pooling of fluids around the ankles or puffiness around the eyes. The reason for fluid retention is usually because the body cannot properly eliminate wastes when there is not enough free water flowing through the system. In order to protect the vital organs the body holds back and pools water in regions where the toxicity needs to be diluted most (eg. sites of inflammation or acidity). Waste products can also pool up and cause swelling in the lymph system - the body's protein waste disposal system. This is another case where toxic residues need to be diluted with more water.
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The microbial balance of our gut directly influences our Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis, the production of hormones and neurotransmitters, and our immune system's regulation. Stress is very debilitating and causes depletion of magnesium because of excessive magnesium loss via the kidneys. Magnesium deficiency causes energy depletion and acidosis, which triggers inflammatory states, resulting in moods swings, hormone imbalance, mental illnesses, fatigue, irritability, pain symptoms, and a weaker immune system. Magnesium deficiency also directly affects the beneficial bacteria, which thus leads to depressive-like behaviours.
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Magnesium is an essential mineral which performs some very important functions when you're pregnant. It’s used to maintain healthy blood sugar levels in the body (see study) and it helps build healthy teeth and bones by working in partnership with calcium. It also regulates cholesterol and irregular heartbeat.
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Magnesium deficiency or antagonism (blockage) can cause any one of these steps to malfunction, causing overdose of stress hormones and inability to relax enough to sleep deeply.
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It's almost impossible for you to get a toxic magnesium dose or overdose, unless magnesium is given at high dose intravenously, where there is no magnesium deficiency or the person has kidney problems and can’t excrete excess salts.
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We can become addicted to more than just pharmaceutical drugs or alcohol. Researchers are now noticing symptoms of addiction also to excessive exercise. Does excessive exercise or over-training have negative side effects? Could it harm health and cause premature ageing? The research indicates yes, mainly because of increasing magnesium deficiency.
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Magnesium deficiency weakens performance, stamina and increases risk of injury
When you push your muscles hard your brain is telling your body to ‘squeeze’ and act. Adrenalin and cortisol increase, and that helps push the calcium into the calcium channels of the muscle fibre cells, which makes them contract. Magnesium is temporarily pushed out of these channels during the contractions. When we relax, calcium comes out and magnesium moves back into the channels to relax the muscles again.
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I was over 50 when menopause set in, accompanied by an autoimmune disorder called Hashimotos Hypothyroidism, severe heart arrhythmia, and the emerging white patches on my skin. This form of autoimmune hypothyroidism is thought to be prevalent in about 5% of the world’s population, however I believe the numbers are growing as people become more chemically sensitive to pollutants that stress the thyroid.
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The haemoglobin of red blood cells requires magnesium to help it take up oxygen from lungs and deliver that oxygen to tissue cells in other parts of the body. Researchers believe this is because, as part of the ATP energy currency, magnesium is vital to membrane integrity of red blood cells. The heme protein (containing iron) in these cells needs to ‘attract’ oxygen molecules from lung sacs as blood passes by. The oxygen molecules need to pass through the red blood cell (RBC) membrane – to get ‘onboard’ the train so to speak.
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Note that dehydrated states can cause feelings of anxiety where we just don’t know the reason for our fear or agitation, but the feeling persists. Re-hydrating the body with ample water and magnesium can calm down these sensations because magnesium has a dampening effect on adrenaline and cortisol. When the brain has ample water and magnesium we can think more clearly and make better decisions. This is especially important during crises because our magnesium reserves can become dangerously low.
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Magnesium is so important to cardiovascular function, its scarcity being correlated with the development of cardiovascular disease, that it has become the focus of intense scientific study and review over recent years. A meta-analysis review of epidemiological studies published in 2017 concluded that magnesium intake is associated with lower risk of major cardiovascular risk factors such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes and hypertension, as well as incidence of stroke and total cardiovascular disease. Higher levels of circulating magnesium are also associated with lower risk of heart disease, mainly ischemic and coronary heart disease.
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You may not realise it, but cramps and restless legs are quite easy to fix and you can do it without drugs. All you need is enough magnesium (and water) to get to where it is needed in the muscles for recovery and performance.
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As magnesium drops lower from excessive stress, there is less control over adrenaline and cortisol release, so that these catecholamines (stress hormones) escalate and chronically flood the system in a fight or flight (sympathetic) mode. We can get stuck in that mode, unable to relax and move back to rest and recover grazing (parasympathetic) mode. The stress hormones prompt glutamine to overstimulate neurons causing rapid and incessant calcium firing. Without enough magnesium to control the calcium and switch off the catecholamine release, we can’t relax.
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It’s been coined the master mineral and deemed as critical as water. But how exactly does it correlate to the process of ageing? The ways are numerous, but we’ll highlight a few of our standouts. From menopause to migraines, bone health to beautiful skin, you’ll be eager to lather up in magnesium cream by the time you’ve finished reading this. And remember, even if you’ve had a blood test that did not show up a deficiency in magnesium, only a small portion of magnesium stores actually sit in the blood. There are other areas more likely to be depleted that won’t be detected so simply.
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Optimal nutrition for our children means they will have the best opportunity to realise their fullest genetic potential to be well balanced, healthy and happy into adulthood. We all want our children to be ‘upgrades’ from ourselves. We want to pass on our seeds to future generations, but what about the quality of those seeds when magnesium is low? Can ‘magnesium kids’ offer a better hope for optimal health over a lifetime?
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Healthy cells need lipid protection, magnesium charge and ample hydration to support mitochondrial energy metabolism of Mg-ATP ‘batteries’. This energy is then used to assemble amino acids into the various proteins we need to build collagen structures. It is also used to manufacture hormones, enzymes, neurotransmitters and other chemical messengers.
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The review goes on to explain glyphosate’s mechanism of toxic action. Firstly, it is a strong chelating agent, creating complexes that immobilize the mineral micronutrients of the soil, such as magnesium, calcium, iron, manganese, nickel and zinc, making them unavailable to plants. This means that the food supply is robbed of vital mineral nutrients. We eat the food, it fills a void, but it doesn’t supply valuable nutrition. The end result is that we keep eating more and more empty carbs until obesity and other metabolic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, senile dementia, inflammatory bowel disease, renal failure, thyroid or liver cancer develop.