Magnesium and Fibromyalgia

I have long touted the benefits of magnesium (read past posts here and here) for pain relief and sleep. Dr. Roger Murphree calls it “the most important mineral you can take if you have fibromyalgia.” People with fibromyalgia tend to be deficient in this mineral, and when under stress your magnesium is used up. A fibro body tends to be under stress every day, especially during a flare, so it stands to reason supplementing magnesium can have great benefits.

“Relief is a wonderful emotion, highly underrated. In fact I prefer it to elation or joy. Relief lets the air out of the Tire of Pain.” ~ Adriana Trigiani

Benefits

Magnesium plays a role in over 300 bodily processes, so here are just a few of the benefits you can get from increasing your magnesium intake:

• Natural muscle relaxer easing tight, achy muscles
• Relaxes you for bed
• Helps with restless leg syndrome
• Relaxes tight colon for normal bowel function
• Aids IBS/constipation
• Allows neurotransmitters (happy hormones like Serotonin and dopamine) to counter anxiety
• Regulates cellular energy
• Aids in calcium absorption
• Helps bone health
• Eases PMS symptoms
• Helps metabolize carbs and glucose – helps with diabetes risks
• Maintains healthy muscles, including the heart
• May help ease or prevent headaches

Signs of Deficiency

Here are 16 signs of a magnesium deficiency:

• Calcium deficiency
• Poor heart health
• Weakness
• Muscle cramps
• Tremors
• Nausea
• Anxiety
• High blood pressure
• Type II diabetes
• Respiratory issues
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Potassium deficiency
• Difficulty swallowing
• Poor memory
• Confusion

Magnesium-rich foods:

• Pumpkin seeds
• Sunflower seeds
• Soybeans
• Black beans
• Cashews
• Spinach
• Squash
• Sesame seeds
• Almonds
• Okra

My Favorite Magnesium Hacks

I prefer to get my nutrients the natural way through food. My favorite way to get magnesium is with a healthy smoothie. Orgain’s Protein and Superfoods protein powder in Chocolate contains 24mg Magnesium (not to mention tons of other great nutrients!) and their ready-to-drink shakes are loaded too! I take these with me when I travel and keep them in my desk at work for easy nutrition on the go. Oh, they are a great swap for those very unhealthy coffee creamers!! You can shop my Ambassador link here and save 30% on your first order! Use code PHOTOBAUGH at check out.

And then check out some of my favorite smoothie recipes here, which include some magnesium-rich foods like spinach, almond milk, chia seeds, and pumpkin seeds.

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Another cheap and easy way to get magnesium is to soak in an Epsom Salts bath. One of my favorite bath salts is Dr. Teal’s Epsom Salts (regular, pink Himalayan, or lavender). Great way to relax before bed.

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I take this supplement (1-2) every night at bedtime. (It does not cause me the diarrhea issues that some supplements can cause.)

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Magnesium lotion is great for those achy muscles. There are several on the market, but this is the one I use.

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Those are some of my favorite ways to increase this vital mineral to help me combat the fatigue and pain from fibromyalgia and chronic back pain.

What is your favorite magnesium product?

Cheers!

Cynthia