Detoxification is one of those things that can feel like an “extra” on your health journey. Is it really necessary to detoxify, especially when parts of our body, like our liver, are actually made to do that for us?
But detoxification is a critical part of a healthy lifestyle routine, and supplements + routines that support detoxification have other benefits too!
One supplement that supports detoxification is magnesium. This blog is all about how this incredible supplement can help detoxify your body and support your brain health at the same time!
The Importance of Magnesium
Magnesium is often overlooked, but it is important in so many parts of our normal body functioning.
A lack of magnesium can result in symptoms like:
Trouble sleeping
Muscle cramps
Nausea
Anxiety
Weight loss resistance
Asthma
Over 60% of the population is deficient in magnesium in their daily diets. (1)
Magnesium plays a variety of roles in everything from helping control your weight to pain management, which means it’s an absolutely critical mineral. (2,3)
But those aren’t the only functions magnesium can help with; it can help you detoxify too!
Signs You May Need to Detoxify
We’re exposed to toxins through our everyday life. Even if you eat the best food and have removed toxins from your home, you may still be exposed during your commute, at your job, shopping, and anywhere else you go. You can even be exposed through the water you drink!
We can reduce exposure to toxins through the parts of our environment that we can control, but removing toxins that have built up inside our bodies is paramount to making sure we aren’t suffering the consequences from exposure to toxins out of our control.
Signs you might need to detox include:
Chronic fatigue
Depression
Brain fog
Joint pain
Increased illness
Headaches
If you’re experiencing these symptoms, and especially if you’re experiencing more than one, it could be a good indication that it’s time to make detoxing part of your health routine.
What Causes Toxins to Build in Your System?
Our bodies remove toxins naturally through our liver and kidneys. However, our world today has more toxins than ever -- many of them man-made, such as pesticides, which can lead to chronic disease! (4)
If our livers and kidneys can’t keep up with cleaning all the toxins we’re exposed to, some toxins are stored in our bodies with fat cells, which leads to toxin buildup over time.
How Magnesium Supports Detoxification
Magnesium is one of our weapons in the fight against toxins. It can help with detoxification in multiple areas.
1. Magnesium Supports Liver Detox
Magnesium levels have been linked with liver functioning. (5) As you know, the liver is an important detoxifier, which makes keeping it healthy an even more important part of detoxification.
There are two phases in the liver detox process. In phase 1, toxins are made more toxic so that they can be unpaired from fats and flushed from the body. Magnesium helps with phase 2 of the detoxification process, where toxins are attached to other nutrients so they can be flushed from the body.
2. Magnesium Promotes Brain Functioning
While there are several steps you can take to detox your brain, magnesium also supports brain functioning and prevents brain inflammation. In fact, it’s so powerful that researchers are looking at the effectiveness of using magnesium for treating depression and ADHD! (6)
Magnesium has been shown to improve brain function as well as memory. (7) It also reduces excitotoxicity by protecting neural pathways which can help prevent neural disorders, some of which can even lead to death.
3. Magnesium Displaces Heavy Metals
Heavy metals like lead and cadmium build up over time, and magnesium specifically has been shown to reduce these types of metals.(8) Minerals compete for receptor sites, so getting enough ‘good minerals’ can displace harmful ones.
While some heavy metals, such as iron, are needed at moderate levels, other types of metals, including lead and cadmium, are completely unnecessary for any body system and their accumulation can cause serious harm. (9)
How Much Magnesium Should You Take?
The FDA recommends a daily dose of 320 mg of magnesium for females over age 30 (360 mg for those who are pregnant), and a dose of 420 mg for males over 30. (10)
As with many types of supplements, magnesium comes in several forms. While you can get it through food, due to modern circumstances with soil quality, etc., it’s not as readily available or as easily absorbed. That’s why I always recommend magnesium supplementation.
The best magnesium supplement I’ve found is these Chelated Magnesium Capsules. Each serving (2 capsules) contains 300mg of magnesium, and it’s formulated specially to increase absorption and avoid gastrointestinal problems often associated with other magnesium supplements.
Adding magnesium to your detox regimen, or adding it to your regular supplements if you haven’t already, will help support your liver and your brain and keep you moving forward on your health journey!
Get Your Magnesium!
You can grab my brand-new Winter Wellness Bundle. This bundle includes chelated magnesium, along with other crucial nutrients to keep you healthy!
Bridgit Danner, LAc, FDNP, is trained in functional health coaching and has worked with thousands of women over her career since 2004. She is the founder of Women’s Wellness Collaborative llc and functionaldetoxproducts.com .
Check out her easy 5-Day DIY Detox Guide here!
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