Magnesium for men’s health

This is the first in a three-part series of articles on magnesium.

I had some blood work last year that showed I was deficient in magnesium. I had never thought much about this mineral, as I assumed I was getting enough from my diet. My test result prompted me to make sure I was getting enough magnesium going forward and to also share what I’ve found out about this mineral — and why we need it — with other guys

What is magnesium?

The media generally lead us to believe that the main function of magnesium is to support heart health and bone strength. Although these are both important activities, this mineral is involved in much more, especially in relation to men’s health.

Every organ in your body needs magnesium to some degree. Those in most need are your heart, kidneys and muscles. In fact, your heart has the highest amount of magnesium of any organ in the body (bones and teeth are also significant reservoirs for this mineral). Magnesium is also classified as an electrolyte, which means it, along with fellow electrolytes (calcium, potassium, sodium), help keep the body’s fluids in balance and maintain normal functions.

Magnesium is necessary for more than 300 biochemical reactions in your body, so it’s impossible to list them all here.................

...................One more caution concerns fluoride, which is found in fluorinated water and in many medications and supplements. According to Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D., fluoride “interferes with the biological activity of magnesium ion,” and that fluoride reduces absorption of magnesium in the intestines. Overall, “the toxic effect of fluoride ion plays a key role in acute Mg deficiency.” So avoid fluorinated water and other sources of fluoride whenever possible.

–Craig Cooper