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Dr. Darrin Starkey has been a board-certified naturopathic physician since 2000 and is a member of the American Alternative Medical Association (AAMA). He has worked for Trace Minerals since 1991 and is their vice president of training and education. Starkey is considered an expert in the field of mineral and trace mineral nutrition, balance and deficiency, and focuses his training and education on the building blocks of a healthy diet and the important role trace minerals play in health and nutrition.
Question: What is the latest scientific research regarding magnesium?
Answer: Some of the most recent research on magnesium delves into its role in immunity. We are also seeing more ongoing research on the impact of magnesium on stress, diabetes and heart health.
Question: How should magnesium be used and taken by consumers?
Answer: There are two major considerations for consumers taking magnesium: 1) what form of magnesium they want/need to take and 2) what type of delivery is preferable to them (i.e., liquid, capsules, powder, gummies, etc.). However, keep in mind that solubility and absorption of magnesium products should also factor into a consumer’s choice.
A good option for addressing general magnesium deficiency is the liquid form of magnesium by Trace Minerals, Mega-Mag. The Mega-Mag magnesium comes in a similar form to what is found in food and is readily bioavailable for the body to absorb and utilize.
Question: Who needs to take magnesium? How do you know that you may be deficient?
Answer: Identifying magnesium deficiency is not as simple as it sounds. While blood tests can show magnesium serum levels, using them as a guide to determine whether an individual is deficient is not necessarily reliable since the body will do everything it can to maintain the proper homeostasis of the blood. This means that you can be deficient in magnesium long before your blood actually shows that deficiency. Some of the symptoms of magnesium deficiency that can be helpful to watch for are muscle cramps or twitches, a decreased appetite, nausea and vomiting, muscle weakness and fatigue (both physical and mental) and irregular heart rhythms.
Ideally, we should get magnesium from our food. However, we are only as healthy as our soil is fertile—if magnesium is not in the soil then it won’t be in our food. This can apply even to organic foods, which are often looked to as a nutritionally better option. While organic foods might be the cleanest available, they are not always the most nutritionally sound. Additionally, many times we eliminate magnesium rich foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains, from our diets due to food preferences or diet choices (think keto or diets that focus on low carbs/high fats). As a result, supplementation is recommended.
Others that should consider supplementation are people with digestive issues that impact the body’s ability to properly absorb magnesium. We are seeing a growing population of people who have digestive disorders, such as Crohn’s and celiac disease, who find themselves needing more magnesium.
Additional factors, such as intensive physical activity, stress, medication use, sleep disorders, the consumption of refined sugar and alcohol use can also deplete magnesium and necessitate supplementation.
Question: What should retailers know about the mineral and how should they choose what they carry in their stores?
Answer: Magnesium is involved in more than 300 enzymatic reactions within the body, and deficiency has been associated with diseases connected to immunity, bone health, diabetes, high blood pressure, emotional well-being and heart health. Since there are so many different magnesium options, I recommend retailers carry brands that stand by their products with a money back guarantee to ensure neither retailers nor customers are “stuck” with a product that doesn’t work for them.
Question: How should retailers discuss the mineral with their customers?
Answer: I believe the responsibility to educate falls on all levels, meaning manufacturers need to better educate retailers on their magnesium products so retailers can, in turn, help customers understand the various forms and delivery options available to them. Additionally, retailers can sponsor community lectures or hold individual one-on-one conversations about research and information regarding magnesium deficiency and the impact it can have on the body.
Also, consumers should do their homework by considering what their magnesium needs are and what sources would best meet those needs.
Question: Other comments?
Answer: The challenge with identifying a magnesium deficiency is that its symptoms are often the very same ones you would see with a deficiency in other elements. This is precisely why we need to be proactive in addressing all our mineral needs long before we find ourselves facing a deficiency.
With this, Trace Minerals’ ConcenTrace Trace Mineral Drops are an asset to our health. The ConcenTrace is a full-spectrum, naturally balanced ionic trace mineral product that is naturally high in magnesium. I like to refer to ionic trace minerals as the building blocks for our health because they are involved in every process/system within the body. Not only do they assist in hormone and pH balances, but they are also essential in aiding in the absorption and assimilation of vitamins and nutrients and more. Since trace minerals work synergistically to ensure they remain in balance with one another, a deficiency, no matter how small, in any one element (including magnesium), can have a rippling effect on our well-being.
Dr. Darrin Starkey has been a board-certified naturopathic physician since 2000 and is a member of the American Alternative Medical Association (AAMA). He has worked for Trace Minerals since 1991 and is their vice president of training and education. Starkey is considered an expert in the field of mineral and trace mineral nutrition, balance and deficiency, and focuses his training and education on the building blocks of a healthy diet and the important role trace minerals play in health and nutrition.
Question: What is the latest scientific research regarding magnesium?
Answer: Some of the most recent research on magnesium delves into its role in immunity. We are also seeing more ongoing research on the impact of magnesium on stress, diabetes and heart health.
Question: How should magnesium be used and taken by consumers?
Answer: There are two major considerations for consumers taking magnesium: 1) what form of magnesium they want/need to take and 2) what type of delivery is preferable to them (i.e., liquid, capsules, powder, gummies, etc.). However, keep in mind that solubility and absorption of magnesium products should also factor into a consumer’s choice.
A good option for addressing general magnesium deficiency is the liquid form of magnesium by Trace Minerals, Mega-Mag. The Mega-Mag magnesium comes in a similar form to what is found in food and is readily bioavailable for the body to absorb and utilize.
Question: Who needs to take magnesium? How do you know that you may be deficient?
Answer: Identifying magnesium deficiency is not as simple as it sounds. While blood tests can show magnesium serum levels, using them as a guide to determine whether an individual is deficient is not necessarily reliable since the body will do everything it can to maintain the proper homeostasis of the blood. This means that you can be deficient in magnesium long before your blood actually shows that deficiency. Some of the symptoms of magnesium deficiency that can be helpful to watch for are muscle cramps or twitches, a decreased appetite, nausea and vomiting, muscle weakness and fatigue (both physical and mental) and irregular heart rhythms.
Ideally, we should get magnesium from our food. However, we are only as healthy as our soil is fertile—if magnesium is not in the soil then it won’t be in our food. This can apply even to organic foods, which are often looked to as a nutritionally better option. While organic foods might be the cleanest available, they are not always the most nutritionally sound. Additionally, many times we eliminate magnesium rich foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains, from our diets due to food preferences or diet choices (think keto or diets that focus on low carbs/high fats). As a result, supplementation is recommended.
Others that should consider supplementation are people with digestive issues that impact the body’s ability to properly absorb magnesium. We are seeing a growing population of people who have digestive disorders, such as Crohn’s and celiac disease, who find themselves needing more magnesium.
Additional factors, such as intensive physical activity, stress, medication use, sleep disorders, the consumption of refined sugar and alcohol use can also deplete magnesium and necessitate supplementation.
Question: What should retailers know about the mineral and how should they choose what they carry in their stores?
Answer: Magnesium is involved in more than 300 enzymatic reactions within the body, and deficiency has been associated with diseases connected to immunity, bone health, diabetes, high blood pressure, emotional well-being and heart health. Since there are so many different magnesium options, I recommend retailers carry brands that stand by their products with a money back guarantee to ensure neither retailers nor customers are “stuck” with a product that doesn’t work for them.
Question: How should retailers discuss the mineral with their customers?
Answer: I believe the responsibility to educate falls on all levels, meaning manufacturers need to better educate retailers on their magnesium products so retailers can, in turn, help customers understand the various forms and delivery options available to them. Additionally, retailers can sponsor community lectures or hold individual one-on-one conversations about research and information regarding magnesium deficiency and the impact it can have on the body.
Also, consumers should do their homework by considering what their magnesium needs are and what sources would best meet those needs.
Question: Other comments?
Answer: The challenge with identifying a magnesium deficiency is that its symptoms are often the very same ones you would see with a deficiency in other elements. This is precisely why we need to be proactive in addressing all our mineral needs long before we find ourselves facing a deficiency.
With this, Trace Minerals’ ConcenTrace Trace Mineral Drops are an asset to our health. The ConcenTrace is a full-spectrum, naturally balanced ionic trace mineral product that is naturally high in magnesium. I like to refer to ionic trace minerals as the building blocks for our health because they are involved in every process/system within the body. Not only do they assist in hormone and pH balances, but they are also essential in aiding in the absorption and assimilation of vitamins and nutrients and more. Since trace minerals work synergistically to ensure they remain in balance with one another, a deficiency, no matter how small, in any one element (including magnesium), can have a rippling effect on our well-being.
