Magnesium is a winter wonder
SEASONAL burnout leaving you feeling exhausted? For many of us, the real culprit of winter tiredness could be a magnesium deficiency.
At first, Annie Evans thought that her lack of energy was a depressing sign of getting older.
Yet even getting washed and dressed in the morning was leaving her too worn out to do much else.
‘It was more than just tiredness,’ says Annie. ‘I was exhausted all the time. But at 74, I was just putting it down to old age.’
By the time winter arrived, Annie was left with ‘no energy at all’.
So when her husband heard that a magnesium supplement could help, she knew she had to give it a try. Annie says she found the difference remarkable.
‘After just two weeks, I was like a new woman,’ she adds.
Like Annie, more and more British people are discovering a link between a deficiency of magnesium in their diet and a lack of energy that can get worse with age.
That’s because magnesium is an essential mineral that contributes to our normal psychological and muscle functions.
Low levels of it in our bodies can lead to tiredness that affects both our muscles and mood.
It helps our muscles and nervous system function correctly, keeps our bones and teeth strong and is important for brain functions such as concentration and memory. But the latest National Diet & Nutrition Survey has shown that only half of us in the UK are getting our recommended daily intake of magnesium, and it gets harder as we get older.
Magnesium is naturally present in foods such as kale and spinach, black beans, nuts, bananas and whole grains.
Our bodies need to absorb magnesium to take advantage of its benefits.
The ease with which a mineral is absorbed by the body is called ‘bioavailability’. But magnesium isn’t always so ‘bioavailable’.
‘Some magnesium salts may contain a high concentration of magnesium, but it’s not easily released into the body because it’s not so soluble,’ explains Miriam Ferrer PhD, head of product development at a leading nutritional supplement company, based in Cambridge.
To address this, the company’s scientists set out to develop a magnesium supplement specially designed to maximise the body’s magnesium uptake.
It works by using a bioavailable formulation called magnesium lactate, a highly soluble organic form that’s easy for the body to absorb.
After a few months on the supplement, Annie found she was able to maintain her energy levels.
‘I can enjoy gardening again without getting very tired,’ she says. ‘Since then, I have taken magnesium religiously every day.’