Magnesium: Benefits for Menopause
How does magnesium help menopause symptoms?
Registered Nutritional Therapist, Jackie Lynch, is a big fan of magnesium. Here, she shares why this magnificent mineral is a useful tool to have in your menopause symptom management toolbox.
Why magnesium is a menopause must!
If magnesium was a person, she’d be a very busy woman because it does hundreds of different jobs in the body.
It’s one of my favourite minerals because it can make a tangible difference to health and well-being in midlife in a short space of time. Leafy green vegetables like rocket, watercress or kale and whole grains like brown or wholemeal bread are all great sources of magnesium. Or, you could treat yourself to an Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) bath or foot bath for about 20 minutes because the magnesium will absorb through the skin.
How does magnesium help your health and well-being in menopause?
Magnesium is the key to your ignition!
It has a crucial role in energy production in the body, acting as our ignition key and activating the whole chain reaction. If you’re low in magnesium, you’re likely to be feeling permanently tired and just operating on sheer willpower.
Here are 6 reasons why you should top up your magnesium levels in menopause:
Helps regulate stress
It helps to calm the nervous system and regulate the body’s response to stress. Mild anxiety and struggling to switch off are classic signs of magnesium depletion. Optimum levels of magnesium will help you to manage stress and equip you to deal more confidently with the challenges of daily life.
Eases the aches
Magnesium regulates muscle function and can help to ease tired and aching muscles, supporting recovery from intense exercise or injury. If you’ve ever experienced a twitching muscle in your eyelid, the chances are that you’re low in magnesium.
Regulates heart & blood pressure
Important for heart health, magnesium supports nerve impulses and muscle contractions that ensure a regular heartbeat. It also helps to regulate blood pressure levels.
Healthy digestion
Sluggish digestion and other menopause digestive disorders might be linked to low levels of magnesium because it supports peristalsis. This is the contraction and relaxation of the bowel as it pushes the stool along, helping to promote a healthy gut transit time.
A natural painkiller!
The calming properties of magnesium along with the role it plays in relieving vascular and muscle tension may make it a natural painkiller. Research suggests that there could be a link between magnesium deficiency and migraines. Pre-menstrual headaches are also often associated with low levels of magnesium.
Benefits bone health
Magnesium plays a crucial role in bone health because we need it to metabolise calcium and vitamin C and to convert vitamin D to the active form, which is required for calcium absorption, and crucial for strengthening bones to prevent osteoporosis.
September 2020
Jackie Lynch, founder of the WellWellWell nutrition clinic, and author of The Happy Menopause: Smart Nutrition to Help You Flourish, also the host of the popular diet and lifestyle podcast The Happy Menopause.
Follow her at @WellWellWellUK.