Why take Magnesium ?

Magnesium calms the nervous system and helps to transmit messages through it.

Magnesium relaxes the mind and the body. In the body, magnesium is necessary for the relaxation of muscle fibres and nerves and so helps muscles relax and functioning well. A calm body helps a hyperactive person to feel calm. Feelings of unease cause children to become fidgety, one of the key characteristics of a hyperactive child.

Hyperactivity, inattention, aggressive behavior and sleep problems are associated with low magnesium levels. Low magnesium levels have also been shown to cause reduced blood flow to the brain. This is a pattern frequently seen in brain scans of people with ADHD.

For ADD and ADHD, magnesium should be taken together with vitamin B-6. Zinc is also usually low in hyperactive people, and a supplement like the product ZMA from NOW is ideal as it contains these elements and vitamin in the right quantities for attention deficit and hyperactivity and is designed to maximize absorption. It is a synergistic combination of zinc and magnesium with vitamin B6 without sugar, yeast, gluten, soy, milk, egg, shellfish or preservatives.

For treating ADD and ADHD the recommended doses vary, but is in the region of:

Magnesium: 3 mg to 6 mg per pound bodyweight and day.

Vitamin B-6: 0.3 mg per pound bodyweight and day.

You can experiment, starting with these dosages, as your need is very individual depending on your metabolism. There is no risk of overdosing vitamin B6 at this level of dosage in healthy people. (See !!! NOTE below on magnesium overdosage.)

Other Health Benefits from Magnesium

Research shows that magnesium plays a preventive role in hypertension and cardiovascular disease, as well as a positive effect in the treatment of diabetes, osteoporosis, and depression.

Our bodies use magnesium to make body tissues, especially bone. The majority of the magnesium in the body is in the bones muscles and soft tissues. It is a crucial part of the bones and teeth. Magnesium binds the calcium in the teeth to make teeth more resistant to cavities.

This essential mineral plays a role in the functioning of muscle and the nervous system, activates over 300 enzymes and helps calcium and potassium uptake, aiding many biosynthetic processes as well as being needed for maintaining cell membranes and connective tissue.

Magnesium is also required to maintain an adequate supply of nucleotides required for DNA and RNA synthesis. There are hundreds of metabolic reactions and hundreds of enzyme systems that rely on magnesium.

Every cell in your body needs magnesium to produce energy. ATP (adenosine triphosphate) the main energy transfer molecule in the cells energy production, which forms a complex with magnesium, where the magnesium stabilizes the phosphates in the ATP molecule.

Bananas and avocados are good sources of magnesium as are many dark green vegetables (magnesium is part of the green pigment in plants), spinach is especially rich in magnesium, whole wheat bread, sunflower seeds, nuts (even chunky peanut butter), beans, and grains.

Recommended Daily Intake for Magnesium:

Men: 420 mg

Women: 320 mg

Pregnant Women: 350 – 400 mg

Nursing Women: 320 – 350 mg

Of course, there are dozens of other health benefits that come with getting plenty of magnesium, and here are just a few examples:

Magnesium is essential in regulating blood sugar, preventing highs and lows.

Magnesium helps to absorb and utilize other important minerals and nutrients.

Magnesium activates enzymes that manage energy production, nutrient absorption and hormone production.

Magnesium is a powerful antioxidant that protects your body from damage by free radicals.

All of these factors improve our overall health and help manage conditions like attention deficit and hyperactivity.