Magnesium is an essential mineral that plays a vital role in many bodily functions, including muscle and nerve function, blood sugar regulation, and heart health. Unfortunately, many people do not get enough magnesium in their diets, leading to deficiencies that can result in a variety of health problems.

How much magnesium do we really need?

There are at least two answers to this question: The RDA (Ridiculous Daily Allowance) and the science. The RDA hovers somewhere between 300 and 420 mg daily, depending on age and gender. The number is based on faulty science from a long time ago, but has never been revised.

The estimates of required daily magnesium intake were based on how much magnesium adults lost in their urine daily. In other words, if you lose 400 mg in your urine daily, you need 400 mg in your food, right? That would have been a fair assumption, had we not had other routes of losing magnesium. Sweat, for example, or stool. Both these routes are also major players in magnesium excretion, but were never properly considered when daily intakes were calculated.

Also, the assumption was made that all ingested magnesium is absorbed into the body. In reality, a third or less is absorbed by the gut.

How much magnesium did the ancients get?

Magnesium forms part of our bones (along with calcium, boron and some other minerals). That means we can measure magnesium in the bones of ancient humans, to find out how much magnesium was in their diet. Archaeologists compared the magnesium content of ancient bones to modern bones. Based on this, they estimate that our distant forebears got about 600+ mg elemental magnesium on a daily basis.

Insult to injury…

Compare this historic intake to the South African government's limitation of NO MORE than 250 mg of elemental Magnesium per person per day by means of supplementation. As you can see, they are really, really concerned about your well-being. They don't want you to die from too much good health.

Elemental, my dear Watson

What is "elemental" magnesium?

Before we go on, let me explain what I mean by "elemental" magnesium. Magnesium in food is always bound to other substances. The weight of these substances must be deducted in order to figure out how much "magnesium only" is in that nutrient or supplement. "Magnesium only" is called "elemental magnesium".

For example, Magnesium glycinate contains only 14% elemental magnesium. In other words, if you take 1,000 mg of Magnesium glycinate (a very big pill), this translates to a mere 140 mg of elemental magnesium (a tiny amount). You'd need four of these bombs to get even close to 600 mg of elemental magnesium.

Magnesium confusion

Manufacturers of magnesium supplements confuse clients to make their products look good. The label may say "Magnesium citrate 200 mg", but that translates to a mere 22 mg of elemental magnesium. In fact, the world's top selling magnesium supplement (Who Must Not Be Named) contains a mere 135 mg of elemental magnesium. And it is in a poorly absorbed form, too, so your body gets much less than what you pay for.

And just when you thought it can't get worse…

Most magnesium supplements are combined with calcium. The idea is to boost bone density. But study after study shows that calcium supplementation does not boost bone density, while magnesium supplementation does. In fact, studies show that if you take more than about 200 mg of elemental calcium daily via supplements, your risk of dying early (from any cause) increases significantly. The more calcium you take, the higher your risk of dying prematurely.

Knight in shining armour

In the case of magnesium, the curve climbs the other way. Study after study shows that, the more magnesium you take daily, the longer (and healthier) you can expect to live. The highest dose studied in this regard was 500 mg elemental Magnesium daily. But the trend at that dose was still pointing strongly upward. Yet nobody bothered to study what happens to mortality when we supplement with even higher doses. We have every reason to believe the trend to a longer life continues upward for quite some more (but we don't know, sadly).

Where do I find magnesium?

Let's go back to our ancestors.

If their bones show 600 mg daily elemental magnesium intake, where did that magnesium come from?

• Ten medium-sized avocadoes?
• One cup of cashews?
• 3.5 cups of black beans?
• Four cups of cooked spinach?

I think you get the picture. It is pretty impossible to get that much magnesium EVERY DAY out of food. So where did it come from?

The well that makes you well

Until the fairly recent arrival of purified tap water, everyone got drinking water from wells. These wells provided many minerals, including (especially) magnesium. In fact, all natural spas have water high in magnesium. The more magnesium, the more "miraculous" healing claims are made for that spa. Coincidence?

So, do I need magnesium?

Measuring magnesium deficiency is not so easy, and quite expensive. A study among US adults found that four out of five (~80%) of them were magnesium deficient. Remember that "sufficient" refers to 300-400 mg magnesium daily. If we take the ancient average of 600 mg magnesium daily, that figure will be even higher.

This means that in all likelihood: Yes, you do need Magnesium. Unless you’re swallowing more spinach than Pop-Eye did.

Conclusion

• Most adults have too little magnesium in their bodies.
• The Recommended Daily Intakes for magnesium are based on poor science.
• You have to take magnesium daily, since your body absorbs little and excretes lots.
• It is almost impossible to get enough magnesium from food alone.
• Our water supplies are not helping us get magnesium any more.

In other words, to get enough magnesium every day, your only option is … supplement.

That's where it gets tricky and somewhat icky. Everyone will tell you THEIR magnesium is the best. Of course.

Which Magnesium is Best?

So I trawled the research. Magnesium oxide (MgO), one of the cheapest forms of magnesium, is generally reviled for its low bioavailability (about 8% of what you take ends up in your body). But… it dissolves fairly well in stomach acid, which increases the availability. A 1994 study explains what this means. Where MgO was presented in capsule form (instead of compacted, tablet form), availability rose to 22.8%. Capsules rapidly dissolve in stomach acid, tablets don't.

In that same study, magnesium glycinate (commonly regarded as the best absorbed form of magnesium), scored an availability of 23.5%. In other words, for all practical purposes, MgO in capsule form is as good as the best absorbed form of magnesium out there.

Taking it up a notch

But we at Integrow Health went a step further. We added D-Ribose to our MgO. D-Ribose is known to significantly boost the absorption of magnesium from the gut. The result is that even one capsule of our MgO gives you a noticeable lift in energy within hours of taking the first dose.

Who needs magnesium?

• Everybody.
• But especially athletes, the elderly, pregnant women, postmenopausal women, teenage children

What is magnesium good for?

• Muscles: Improves strength, endurance, acceleration, reduces cramping
• Bones: Anti-osteoporosis, faster fracture healing
• Brain: Sleep, calm, attention span, memory, happy mood
• Stress: Lowers cortisol (stress hormone), increases GABA (calming hormone)
• Immune system: Improved immune response, "balances" immune system Magnesium is beneficial in many conditions, including cancer, auto-immune disease, asthma, depression, insomnia, ADHD, nerve injury, bone fractures, etc.

Frequently asked questions

How much magnesium do I need?

Each of our MgO capsules provides 240 mg elemental magnesium. Taking one a day already makes a big difference to most people, but higher doses can safely be taken. Some high performance athletes take 5 of our MgO capsules daily, with no ill effects. In fact, they mostly end up finishing first in their events.

Can you take too much Magnesium?

Humans happen to have a nifty magnesium regulating mechanism. It is called diarrhoea (scientific term: jippo guts). If you take in too much magnesium, you get the runs and the excess is excreted. This mechanism is so effective, it is virtually impossible to get a magnesium overdose via oral intake.

Click on this button to order your MgO now!