I want to know more about magnesium and mental health! How does magnesium have positive effects on anxiety and depression?

It is time that magnesium receives the recognition and value it deserves, especially when it comes to brain health and mental wellbeing. 

I am sure we are familiar with Magnesium, and we may have a vague idea of magnesium’s importance in our health. Starting in the early 1900s, magnesium has been a widely used element and chemical compound in antacids, poison antidote, and laxative.

Highlighting the benefits of Magnesium in the brain

Magnesium is the fourth most abundant compound in our body and it is an essential nutrient in the function of every cell in the body. However, it is only in recent years that research on the benefits of magnesium in our brain is emerging. 

• Magnesium plays a key role in the energy production of cells. Our brain, a relatively small organ in the body, requires 20% of the total energy that our cells produce. 

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the body’s energy currency, needs magnesium to be activated! If there is a deficiency in magnesium or magnesium does not enter the cells, energy production is impaired, therefore affecting the performance of the brain. 

• Nurturing the Brain’s 2017 report showed that magnesium is an important regulator of different chemicals produced in the brain that allows one brain cell to communicate with one another. Without the presence of magnesium, brain signals in the form of glutamate and GABA.

Why are glutamate and GABA important? While glutamate causes excitement in the brain cell, GABA serves to block the excitement. There should be a proper balance between these two for the brain to function typically. Magnesium is the one that regulates and maintains balance. 

An imbalance often results in symptoms of hyperactive and asocial behavior, or symptoms like in autism spectrum disorder. 

• Other research also has found that there are low levels of magnesium in people with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and dementia. With enough magnesium, researchers see that there is lowered risk for development of these diseases, especially among women! 

One exciting result of research also shows that magnesium is an element that can cross the blood-brain-barrier, with high absorption rate in the brain. 

• Magnesium and anxiety and depression. As an important regulator of different hormones, magnesium has the ability to block stress hormones like cortisol, especially during stressful situations, which usually happen during anxiety and depression. 

Is the US population getting their required daily intake of magnesium? 

 Sadly, reports across the US show that magnesium is one of the “shortfall nutrients.” This means that the American diet is deficient in nutritional magnesium, from not eating enough food rich in magnesium. 

In fact, reports say that 1 in 2 people in the US do not meet the daily requirement for magnesium. 

Foods high in magnesium include whole grains, green leafy vegetables, beans like red and black beans, soy milk and tofu and nuts. A diet high in processed food like processed meat, salty food, and sweets seems to be linked with a low magnesium diet. 

It is recommended that men should have a daily intake of 420 grams, and women of 320 grams to meet the minimum level needed by the body. 

It would seem that the saying, “we are what we eat” is becoming pronounced in our modern society. Let us be intentional in including different food groups with magnesium into our daily diet, so that we not only enjoy better physical health, but get the full benefits of magnesium to our mental wellbeing! 

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