Magnesium has been well known for its health benefits and ability to promote good healthy biochemistry in your body. It is a mineral that is found in every cell in your body and is needed for over 300 enzymatic reactions.
Optimizing your magnesium levels can have positive effects on many aspects of your body, particularly your muscles and skin.
Some of the ways that it can help us is due to its effects at a cellular level.
1. Energy Creation for muscle and skin cells:
Magnesium assists the conversion of organic compounds such as glucose sugars, to be converted into a usable form of energy- a molecule called ATP. This is needed for healthy muscle and skin cells.
2. Protein formation:
Magnesium helps ribosome stitch amino acids together to form proteins. Having good protein formation in skin cells allows for a strong epidermis layer to be formed in your skin.
Magnesium also helps to regulate your muscle contractions:
It acts as a natural calcium blocker to help muscles relax- including the muscles in your body and your face. Low magnesium can result in muscular tension and potentially cramps and frowning of your face creating wrinkles.
Protein formation is also essential for muscle cells.
Proteins are the building blocks of muscle cells and poor protein formation results in impaired muscle cells and recovery. Optimizing magnesium levels for muscles may improve recovery time and reduce post-exercise soreness. This is why magnesium is a great muscle relaxant.
Stress as a precursor of acne and wrinkles
Stress is a physiological response that causes an alteration in hormones, in an attempt to ‘fight’ or flight’ a particular situation. At this time, one of the hormones you produce is cortisol. This stressful state can be short lived or it can be chronic and ongoing.
When you are stressed, an increase amount of stress hormones are released into your blood stream. The skin cells that produce sebum (the oily, waxey substance produced by your skin cells to moisterize and protect your skin), respond to the increase in stress hormones by increasing their production of sebum. This leads to clogging of pores, allowing for an environment for bacteria to grow. Our body naturally attacks this bacteria growth with an inflammatory response, resulting in the appearance of acne.
Stress also has an effect on your skin, enhancing wrinkles. When you are stressed, cortisol circulating in your blood causes changes to the skin cells. Cortisol has the ability to damage the extracellular matrix proteins in the skin, including collagen and elastin. This causes the skin to reduce its elasticity, plumpness and firmness.
Stress and your muscles
Being stressed also plays havoc on your muscular system. Tightness and tension are common complaints associated with stress as we can see and even feel tight spots in the muscles, particularly around the neck and shoulder regions. This can result in headaches, migraines or an overall feeling of tension.
Magnesium and Stress
Magnesium helps to calm the nervous system. It reduces the overstimulation and excitation of the nerves, reducing the fight or flight response of the nervous system. This, in turn, reduces the amount of cortisol being produced, helping to reduce the negative impacts that cortisol has on your body.
It also is a potent muscular relaxant. As magnesium is a natural calcium blocker, it promotes muscles to relax. This is helpful in preventing migraines, headaches and cluster headaches. Along with relaxing muscles, it also helps to convert glucose to a usable form of energy- ATP, so that the skin and muscle cells are able to function optimally.
How to get your Magnesium
There are 2 ways to get your magnesium. Nutrition and supplements.
Nutrition is the preferred method to get the majority of your magnesium needs.
Foods rich in magnesium include:
- almonds, 30g (80mg of magnesium)
- spinach, boiled, ½ cup (78mg)
- cashews, 30g (74mg)
- peanuts, ¼ (63mg)
- soymilk, 1 cup (61mg)
- oatmeal, 1 cup cooked (6 mg)
- bread, whole wheat, 2 slices (46mg)
- avocado, cubed, 1 cup (44mg)
- rice, brown, cooked, ½ cup (42mg)
- milk, 1 cup (24mg)
How much magnesium do we need each day?
Men need 420 milligrams (mg) of magnesium per day and women need 320mg each day. Pregnant and breastfeeding women, however, need more than that.
The recommended daily intake for children, in mg is:
- 1-3 years: 80mg
- 4-8 years: 130mg
- 9-13 years: 240mg
- boys 14-18 years: 410mg
- girls 14-18 years: 360mg
How to use The Wild Flora Dispensary Magnesium Range for your skin and muscle health
- Our Mg2+ Magnesium Cream is an ideal way to deliver transdermal magnesium to the regions of your body that need it most. Gently massage the Magnesium Cream into your shoulders, neck, back or region of tension. It is perfect for all skin types.
- Our Mg2+ Magnesium Spray is an easy and quick way to deliver magnesium to your skin quickly. Our handle travel size allows you to take it in your bag without taking up to much room. Ready for application when you need it.
- Our Magnesium Bath Soak is the best way to unwind! Add ½ a cup to your warm bath and soak your tensions away while supporting your nervous system and promoting your rest and digest part of your nervous system.
So, which one would you like to try?!?
:) Bec