As I sit here researching and writing about the relationship between magnesium status and menopause symptoms I am rubbing my chin at one particularly annoying spot… The one with that pesky single hair that grows out of the same spot ever since menopause. At least there are no more pimples!
The new chin hairs that plague menopausal women are a result of dropping estrogen levels. When estrogen drops, the bit of testosterone that had been submerged becomes more prominent in that new hormone balance. This is why, when you observe older couples, the woman seems to have become more dominant, confident and outspoken in the relationship, whereas the man, having dropped a bit of his testosterone level, has become slightly more submissive to his partner’s new-found bravery and confidence. It’s kind of cute to watch as their partnership evolves into the comfort zone of the golden years.
The quality of life in these years will be directly related to the quality of their diet and lifestyle – including the presence of optimal magnesium.
Magnesium is critical to several processes including:
“hormone receptor binding;
gating of calcium channels;
transmembrane ion flux and regulation of adenylate cyclase;
muscle contraction;
neuronal activity;
control of vasomotor tone;
cardiac excitability;
and neurotransmitter release.”
(Fawcett, Haxby, & Male, 1999)
Peri menopause can start in the thirties or forties and is marked by intermittent ovulation and menses. It’s not until you have a cessation of periods for more than a year that you are deemed to be in full menopause. However, magnesium deficiency can occur at any age. Many researchers have called it the miracle mineral or the anti-aging mineral because its effects are so widespread. Adequate magnesium supply gives you the best chance of staying younger longer with a better quality of life and health in your senior years.
Magnesium is the single most important mineral to the body, supporting and fueling enzyme activity and co-factoring with other essential nutrients like calcium, iron, zinc and vitamin D. It is also the one most likely to be in short supply in modern industrialized societies. This is because soils and our food supply have become magnesium depleted and we suffer way more from a multitude of stresses than ever before – particularly chemical stressors. Stress causes excessive magnesium loss. Generally, the older we get the lower the body’s magnesium ‘bank account’ gets.
If you are getting cramps and restless legs despite your blood tests not showing magnesium deficiency, here is why: Measuring magnesium in the blood serum is not indicative of tissue magnesium levels, as plasma contains less than one percent of magnesium ions, whereas bone and muscle tissue cells contain most of the other 99%. You can have a normal magnesium plasma result, whilst muscle and bone tissue levels are deficient.
Postmenopausal women tend to experience a deterioration in bone strength and skeletal integrity. “Magnesium deficiency contributes to osteoporosis directly by acting on crystal formation and on bone cells and indirectly by impacting on the secretion and the activity of parathyroid hormone and by promoting low grade inflammation.” (Castiglioni, Cazzaniga, Albisetti, & Maier, 2013)
Calcium leaches out of the bones and settles in the soft tissue and joints. Low magnesium can lead to free calcium in the blood which settles and deposits on the endothelial arterial lining, hardening the arteries and causing cardiovascular disease. Magnesium is a NATURAL calcium controller and calcium channel blocker. (Fawcett et al., 1999)
We also need magnesium for healthy blood fluidity and blood pressure as it helps to balance electrolytes. When your electrolytes (magnesium, calcium, sodium, potassium) are in the right relationship to one another it means that you can hold the right amount of water in your cells and avoid dehydration. It means that your detoxification pathways can work better and you can eliminate waste products and toxins better.