Magnesium is a very important mineral for the human body, in fact it is involved in OVER 600 enzymatic processes in the body. It’s HUGEly important to say the least.
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So whets the big deal? don’t we get enough in our diets? unfortunately no. this is because our soil has been over farmed for decades without being replenished with magnesium. Since its missing from our soil, its missing from our foods.
Magnesium is important for heart health, bone health, nervous system function, gut health, hormone balance etc. I’m sure you get the point. Magnesium plays a role in every body system.
I talk mostly about magnesium for mental health. Click here to read about why you should be supplementing with magnesium if you have anxiety.
In this post I want to discuss what you need to know before supplementing, especially if you are taking it for anxiety and mental health.
You Might Feel Worse Before you Feel Better
What a bummer right?
I know its not fair and frankly it sucks.
When you have been deficient in magnesium for a long time, and you start adding it back in by supplementation your body can go a little crazy. Why? Because it has been without it for so long. Your body is basically like yay! magnesium, let’s put this to work all over the body and then the body goes into overdrive using the magnesium.
This can cause slower healing, not seeing results as quickly as you had hoped.
That’s what happened to me, but I’m so glad I stuck it out.
Magnesium supplementation can also cause detox symptoms.
Detox Symptoms
Magnesium supplementation can cause detox symptoms. Magnesium is a powerful detoxifier of the body and without it the normal detoxing processes of the body can be disrupted, backing up toxins into the body.
As we increase magnesium we also increase the detoxification processes which can cause detox symptoms that include:
- Headaches
- GI upset
- Flu like symptoms
- insomnia
- body aches
- mood swings
- irritability
Start Out Low and Slow
This is especially important if you are taking magnesium for anxiety. When you are already anxious and you’re taking something that is going to alter how you feel, you could end up being anxious over that.
The slower you start out the better you will feel. The slower you start out the less likely you are to experience the detox symptoms listed above. I reccomend no more than 100mg/day for the first couple a weeks and increase as tolerated.
It’s Going to Take Time
You will gradually feel better as time goes on, but it won’t make all your symptoms go away or heal a deficiency in a week, It can take months to a year. It really depends on how deficient you are.
Stick with it. I promise you won’t regret it. Magnesium has been a major factor in my healing journey. From burnout and adrenal fatigue to my severe anxiety and DPDR. It has helped in all of those areas. It’s now been a year and I feel so much better.
Check out this book, it was life changing for me:
Let me know If you’ve tried magnesium and if its helped you.
I wish you healing my friend.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this post is not meant to diagnose or treat any medical condition. If you have any medical or psychiatric concerns, please seek the advice of a licensed healthcare provider.
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