Magnesium is critically necessary to treat all hormonal imbalance issues – including PMS, PCOS, thyroid conditions, perimenopause, anxiety, and adrenal fatigue. It is the one sure-fire supplement I will always recommend to every single client that works with me here at FLO Living. There is not one woman I have met who has not needed a boost to her magnesium levels, and not one woman who is likely deficient in this mineral.
Magnesium is magic for your hormones. It is a foundational support to all hormone functions in the body – without it you will not produce hormones at levels you need, and ovulation will become irregular. If you’ve just arrived at this website and you know you have a hormonal imbalance (even if you don’t yet know), and you want someplace to start, I suggest you start with magnesium. I cannot sing its praises enough!
Why you are definitely magnesium deficient
Our bodies literally get rid of magnesium when we are stressed because magnesium is a stress-preventer (evolutionarily, this makes sense – if you were stressed as a cave woman it was usually because of an immediate threat to your life – your body doesn’t want you chilled out in those moments so it gets rid of this chill-out, relaxing, sleep-aiding mineral).
As I’m sure you know very well, we are all too stressed, too much of the time these days. With busy schedules, demands, perceived and real concerns – we live in a state of chronic stress. If you’re a regular woman leading a pretty regular life – that is, you work, you juggle jobs, you worry about your finances, you worry about your kids, and you have trouble sleeping – then you do not have enough magnesium, plain and simple.
There are other reasons you’re likely magnesium deficient – aside from stress – including your intake of sugar (sugar requires magnesium to be processed in the body, so every time you eat sugar, your body is wasting magnesium), and how much coffee you drink (studies have shown that caffeinated drinks force your body to excrete magnesium). Basically a lot of the things many of us do every single day – get stressed out, drink coffee, eat sugar, stress some more, sleep little – cause us to have a deficiency in magnesium.
The benefits of magnesium
These are some of the ways in which magnesium is vital for your hormonal balance and overall health and why it is critical to supplement when dealing with PMS, PCOS, adrenal fatigue, anxiety, thyroid disorder, perimenopause symptoms, and really any issue relating to your hormone cycle.
- Cortisol regulation – magnesium calms your nervous system and prevents the creation of excess cortisol, the stress hormone. When your stress hormonal system is in balance your levels of progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, FSH and LH will be too.
- Blood sugar balance – magnesium helps to control insulin production and reduces sugar cravings, as such preventing blood sugar spikes. This is vital when it comes to healing hormonal issues like PCOS.
- Thyroid support – magnesium helps the production of the thyroid hormone and, as an anti-inflammatory, prevents thyroid disease.
- Sleep aid – magnesium will make sure you get to sleep and stay asleep through the night. It also prevents the chronic urination that can be a sleep interruptor.
- Hormone creation – magnesium actually makes your hormones progesterone, estrogen and testosterone, so if you’re getting into peri-menopause or just off the Pill and your levels are low, it’s a great help to your body.
How to boost your magnesium
There are many foods that contain magnesium, including good quality dark chocolate and sunflower seeds (which is why I have a bit of both every single day), but I do suggest supplementing with a more direct approach to make sure you’re getting the levels of magnesium you need. You can do this by using either:
- Epsom salts – add two cups of epsom salts to a bath a couple of times a week and you will receive sufficient magnesium (and a nice relaxing bath, preventing magnesium-zapping stress!).
- Topical oil – I recommend Ancient Minerals that you apply directly to your skin. Applying magnesium to the skin helps with absorption as you avoid the gut, which can compromise absorption if your gut health isn’t great.
Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this – the science of your body is on your side!
to your FLO,
Alisa
Good things come in threes:
I want to hear from you!
First, do you have anxiety?
Second, do you have trouble sleeping?
Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social 😉
Is Your Period Healthy?
How do you know if your hormones are healthy? The answer is in your 5th vital sign – your period.
The color of your flow, frequency of your period, and symptoms you have each month can tell you a lot about your health. There are 5 different V-SIGN TYPES, and knowing which one you have will help you get healthy now and prevent disease in the future.
Great information! Thank you. I was diagnoised with utetine fibroids. I have changed what I eat and have lost over 40lbs.
What else can I do to help me in my journey? Does magnesium, or the lack there of, have an effect on utetine fibroids?
Also, can stabilizing magnesium and horomone levels help with regulating my period?
Hi Alisa,
Thanks for this great advice about Magnesium.
Would you also reccomend taking a magnesium supplement and if so, is there anything we should be looking for or anything to avoid? Also how many milograms are optimal if we are taking a supplement?
Thanks!
Jacqui
Love your site. I always find something helpful. I have so much stress lately and though I eat healthy, my blood pressure goes a bit high. Anything we can drink for supplement? Thanks in advance and more power.
Hi,
For about 12 weeks now I have been suffering from numbness to my arms and my fingers are literally curled up when I wake up it takes at least 3 minutes to uncurl them. I have not been to the doctor because in my mind I thought that this has something to do with a lack of Magnesium. I remember my mum used to bath us in Magnesium when we were small girls, Then a few weeks after I started experiencing the numbness I saw both Epsom Salts & Magnesiumin in TK Maxx, I have been pondering wether to buy it to see if it helps relieve my numbness, It looks like God is guiding me as now here comes the email from flo living. So not one to miss out on Gods guidance or his signs I’m heading off To my local TK Maxx. I’ll get back to you in a few weeks to let you know how things are going.
Thank you Flo Living for waking me up about this.???
Should magnesium only be used through one phase of your menstrual cycle or throughout the entire cycle?
Will magnesium affect blood pressure if you are sensitive to salt? (I’m asking about using it through the skin.)
Hi, just wondering if there is a recommended ‘dosage’ for magnesium oil? I have read that you can’t use too much oil however can’t seem to find a suggested minimum amount. Thank you!
I second your comment about absorption from the skin – I took supplements for 6 months only to discover my magnesium level was still too law because my gut bacteria were completely imbalanced….
What do you recommend for Magnesium supplements? I found some on Thrive with Calcium D but you have to take 4 capsules… I also just bought the powdered version and I keep forgetting to mix with hot water. Any help is appreciate for a good absorption and company? Thank you!!!
What a great article on magnesium!!! I have read that magnesium boost testosterone. Im just wondering if its a good supplement to take when you have PCOS and have more than enough testosterone floating around in your body!
Thank you so much!!
Hello, thanks for all your info. I think you have a typo above……. “There is not one woman I have met who has not needed a boost to her magnesium levels, and not one woman who is likely deficient in this mineral”. I think you mean NOT deficient in this mineral. 🙂
I have been experiencing spotting between my periods for 10 months roughly mid cycle that can be on and off for up to 5 days. Ultrasound investigations haven’t shown anything. Will magnesium supplementation help if this is a hormonal imbalance issue?Age 36.
Hi, wondering the dosage of the oil for PCOS and also how it works considering its applied on the skin
Hi Wendy,
Use as directed on the bottle, unless you are working with a doctor who can test you and decide on a dosage that would better suit you.
Alisa
Yes! 100%.
I am 47. This past year my natural, like clockwork periods, that started at age 14, changed. For the first time ever. I have never taken birth control or hormones. Never had menstrual cramps or pain. Ive been blessed!
When the change came, I just assumed it was nature. I had no “hot flashes”. No mood shifts. No other impacts. My periods just started to come every 6-8 weeks instead of every 4, and lasted 4 days instead of 7. I thought, I guess its starting. I knew Id never seek hormone therapy. I dont believe in it. I thought it just must be my time to change.
But no!
It wasnt. And here is what happened!
I randomly went for a massage. The therapist used a magnesium cream on me. It absorbed into my skin and into my muscles. My tension let go. My skin warmed.
Three days after this, a period came! Full and bright red! Heavy. I immediately connected the period to the Mg cream. I researched Mg and hormones and a womens cycle. I bought Mg supplements.
I now am having strong full periods again! All from Magnesium.
The wisdom?
Do not assume age means anything.
Do not go to a doctor and accept hormones.
Try Magnesium first : ) so grateful~