Good morning and welcome to Dishing Up Nutrition's midweek segment called Ask the Nutritionist.

On today's show, we will be answering a nutrition question we've received from our Dishing Up Nutrition

Listeners. The question today is, how do you decide which magnesium to take? You mentioned

magnesium glycinate is the most absorbable form. What about magnesium chloride? Wonderful question,

because we talk about magnesium and its benefits so often.

And it is a little bit confusing to know which form is best for you. So first let me tell you

a little bit about magnesium and the functions in the body. It's an extremely important mineral involved

in hundreds of different biochemical reactions. Think of it as your relaxation mineral. And the major

function of magnesium is helping to relax our muscles and promoting regular muscle contraction.

And many people are deficient in magnesium for multiple reasons.

The nutrients in our soil have been depleted a lot over the years.

You know, many people aren't eating enough magnesium-rich foods to begin

with. Sugar, alcohol, and coffee all deplete magnesium from our body. And here's a big one,

stress depletes magnesium from our body. Basically, everybody has some stress in their life, right?

The majority of individuals are deficient in magnesium for that reason.

And because it's involved in so many different reactions in the body, there's a huge

demand for it and it gets used up very quickly.

I want to run through some symptoms of magnesium deficiency so you can identify if you're deficient or not. Muscle cramps, spasms, or twitching,

insomnia, anxiety, irritability, heart palpitations, constipation, headaches, migraines,

fatigue. High blood pressure, PMS, and menstrual cramps. You know, basically anything that's tight

or cramping can be related to a magnesium deficiency.

I think the majority of people can identify with at least one of those symptoms.

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