#087 The Science of Magnesium and Its Role in Aging and Disease | Dr. Rhonda Patrick
FoundMyFitness
Rhonda Patrick, Ph.D.
4.8 • 5.5K Ratings
🗓️ 19 March 2024
⏱️ 77 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Download the 9-Page "Cognitive Enhancement Blueprint"
Discover my premium podcast, The Aliquot
Join over 300,000 people and sign up for my newsletter
In this solo episode, I'm taking an in-depth look at magnesium – a critical yet frequently underestimated mineral in our health. Magnesium stands tall among vital nutrients for its significant role in multiple aspects of human physiology. During this podcast, we'll delve into the widespread negative health effects caused by a lack of magnesium and discuss why increasing your magnesium intake might be key to achieving optimal health.
In this episode, I discuss:
- (00:04:27) Why the effects of magnesium are far-reaching
- (00:06:47) Why athletes need at least 10-20% more magnesium than the RDA
- (00:10:54) Why magnesium deficiency & insufficiency are common
- (00:12:19) How to determine if you're getting enough magnesium
- (00:12:23) The problem with magnesium blood tests
- (00:15:14) Magnesium supplements
- (00:18:17) Is magnesium threonate better at crossing the blood-brain barrier?
- (00:25:08) Why magnesium threonate shouldn't count toward your RDA goal
- (00:17:50) The effectiveness of epsom salt baths (see also 01:12:41)
- (00:26:04) What magnesium supplement do I take?
- (00:26:31) The effect of stress on magnesium balance
- (00:30:15) Why the energy demands of workouts affect magnesium balance
- (00:32:56) Does magnesium supplementation improve sleep?
- (00:34:04) Why trials in the field of nutrition are often misleading
- (00:37:26) Does higher magnesium intake improve cognition?
- (00:39:07) Does magnesium have a role in preventing Alzheimer's disease?
- (00:42:09) The effect of creatine on the brain (and its relationship to magnesium)
- (00:42:42) Why magnesium may prevent excitotoxicity in the brain
- (00:43:32) Magnesium's potential for managing migraines
- (00:46:41) The role of magnesium in aging
- (00:47:39) Why magnesium deficiency impairs DNA repair
- (00:49:13) Magnesium's role in cancer prevention
- (00:51:14) Why magnesium is intertwined in genomic stability
- (00:54:04) Why we shouldn't disregard observational data in nutrition
- (00:54:52) How magnesium intake affects mortality risk and cancer
- (00:57:49) Magnesium in osteoporosis prevention
- (00:59:21) Why magnesium intake in early life affects bone accretion
- (01:01:06) The effect of magnesium on vitamin D metabolism
- (01:06:36) Does magnesium treat high blood pressure?
- (01:10:12) Does magnesium help manage muscle cramps?
- (01:12:41) Is transdermal absorption of magnesium effective?
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hello friends. Today's episode is a deep dive into the science of magnesium, |
| 0:04.9 | an essential mineral that we need to get from our diet because it is required for 300 |
| 0:09.8 | different metabolic reactions inside the body, and yet almost half of the U.S. population |
| 0:15.2 | does not have adequate intake. |
| 0:17.3 | This topic is near and dear to my heart. |
| 0:19.4 | Why, you may ask, it takes me back to the early days of my postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. Bruce Ames. |
| 0:25.4 | Bruce you see imparted upon me his passion, or should I say love for all things micronutrients. |
| 0:31.6 | Bruce's Pet Theory, the triage theory of aging, argues that when |
| 0:36.4 | we have suboptimal dietary micronutrient intake, for example not getting enough magnesium, |
| 0:42.4 | our body sacrifices the long term for the short term. |
| 0:45.9 | That essentially by having a diet that is inadequate in one or many micronutrients, even without |
| 0:51.3 | the presentation of clinically overt disease, we produce a sort of insidious |
| 0:55.8 | damage that accumulates over time that leads to an accelerated pattern of aging. |
| 1:01.7 | Because of the diverse role magnesium plays in metabolism and the human body |
| 1:05.0 | and also because of the pervasive inadequacy of its intake |
| 1:09.0 | magnesium was ultimately a key focal point of his theories and our research. |
| 1:14.8 | Learn more about Dr Bruce Ames now 95 years old and his extremely prolific scientific career |
| 1:21.8 | producing literally thousands of papers |
| 1:24.3 | by searching Google Scholar for his name or simply the words triage theory. You can |
| 1:30.0 | also check out our throwback old episode together on the triage theory of aging. |
| 1:36.3 | Episode number four. |
| 1:37.7 | In this episode we go deep on magnesium. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Rhonda Patrick, Ph.D., and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Rhonda Patrick, Ph.D. and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.