Magnesium & Brain Volume... more impressive in WOMEN!!!

Great Study in the European Journal of Nutrition published in August 2023!

Overall takeaways from the study:

1) Dietary magnesium intake = larger brain volumes & LOWER white matter lesions!

2)Larger brain volumes noted in the gray matter (where the cells are!), left and right hippocampus (memory structures)!

3)These correlations were notably more significant in WOMEN… and greater even in post-menopausal women than pre-menopausal women.

My takeaways & why this is important:

1- Magnesium is imperative for overall brain & body health… I’d even say emotional & spiritual health.

2- I see “white matter lesions” broadly in multiple different populations…. anyone with history of migraines, people with untreated sleep apnea, people with high blood pressure or family history of high blood pressure, and in people with concern for demyelinating disease like Multiple Sclerosis…. RBC magnesium levels can be checked (these are DIFFERENT than cerebrospinal fluid magnesium levels which we don’t check)…. ALL of these populations can benefit from Magnesium supplementation

3- Magnesium is important in melatonin production…. you sleep better…. you will have better ability to establish a normal circadian rhythm.

4- Magnesium is a smooth muscle relaxer- think headaches, stress, vessel spasm, migraines, muscle tightness, anxiety, constipation

5- Take it orally (my fav is magnesium glycinate 400mg by mouth twice a day for best absorption through gut… can use magnesium citrate for bowel help (try CALM!)… and magnesium L-threonate 1200mg by mouth at night for improving central nervous system levels and sleep!)