Magnesium is the one mineral we lose most of under stressful conditions and will directly affect our longevity if we don’t have enough of it. It’s also the mineral we need a lot of in order to relax and recover from stress. Magnesium is used by mitochondria to make ATP (adenosine triphosphate), our cellular energy currency. It is therefore absolutely essential to all electrical function in the body. Every message sent by our nervous system, every detoxification event, every action of our immune system and all building of new cells relies on magnesium to give it power.
How Does Magnesium Affect Longevity?
As we age, our magnesium reserves become depleted due to the gradual loss of more magnesium than can be replaced by foods and drinking water. Some people can also lose excessive amounts of magnesium via kidney excretion, or they may have problems with digesting food so that not all the magnesium nutrients they need can be extracted and absorbed in to cells. Some people have a bad diet of processed foods, or they may ingest drugs and medications that steal magnesium from the body. There are many possible reasons why some people have chronic magnesium deficiency and age faster than others. However the biggest contributor to loss of magnesium with most people is stress level, traumas or lack of sleep.
The older we get, the lower our magnesium reserves become. As magnesium is often referred to as ‘the anti-ageing mineral’, magnesium status is a gauge that determines our longevity and how we age: gracefully and slowly, or prematurely and degeneratively.
Staying younger and more ‘juicier’ longer – with plenty of magnesium
Magnesium is water-attractive and helps cells hydrate better. Better hydration means we have better blood circulation, better capillary action and supply of nutrients to extremities. Better hydration means our cells can detoxify more efficiently and we can clean out the rubbish. If your cells are not filling up with garbage they will have better electrical energy conductivity and our nervous system can work better – including our brain!
Magnesium helps your gut microbiome make neurotransmitters which end up in the brain for mood balancing, eating, sleeping and feeling the joy of life. If you don’t want to end up with ‘a sandwich short of a picnic’ then extra magnesium needs to be incorporated into your healthy lifestyle regime.
Magnesium also helps to normalise blood pressure and heart rhythm, balance cholesterol in the body and counteract symptoms of metabolic syndrome and diabetes.
Magnesium is also essential to help control calcium. When magnesium gets too low, calcium escapes from bone and deposits in the soft tissue and joints, making ligaments, muscles, membranes and arterial linings stiffer and less flexible. This can cause osteoporosis as well as a lot of aches, pains and pressures!
We also need magnesium to make collagen, the fibrous structures that provide our body’s scaffolding. Magnesium is also essential to make elastin, the elastic element necessary to help our collagen matrix expand and contract as needed. Let’s not forget about the importance of Synovial fluid, the lubricant in our joints which is made of hyaluronic acid and lubricin, proteinases, and collagenases – all dependent on magnesium!
Studies have even shown magnesium deficiency itself to be carcinogenic. That’s right. If magnesium drops low enough chronically, you can become more at risk of cancer.
Longevity, health and wellness definitely depend on magnesium.