Mass market multivitamins often fall short on magnesium dosing, but personalized vitamin brands are rectifying this shortcoming with tailored supplements that deliver reasonable magnesium loads. Have you ever looked at the back of a multivitamin bottle? Those all-in-one vitamins built for “all men,” “all women,” or sometimes crossed with age brackets, like seniors or over 50+? The ingredient label typically features 30+ “A to Z” ingredients, including magnesium, but in ultra-low doses tied to the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) scale. You might get 20% of RDA for magnesium. What is that going to do for you? Probably nothing. It is like drinking a watered-down cocktail and then expecting the alcohol to make a difference. And, do we all need the same exact amount of magnesium within a gender or age bracket? Absolutely not. We each have different diets, fitness routines, health statuses, and lifestyles that dictate variable dosing levels. Magnesium can be an impactful nutrient, but not in uniformly low doses.
Fortunately, there is an emerging class of vitamin brands that are taking a personalized approach. These personalized vitamin companies ask a consumer to complete an upfront assessment, which in turn, drives the recommended values of magnesium and other supplements. Some companies are even manufacturing custom all-in-one multivitamins that make it easy to stick to a personalized routine. It is much easier to swallow a single pill as compared to a handful of pills. There are quite a few personalized pill pack companies that will claim that consumer needs to take 10+ daily pills at a cost of $100 or more per month, and this is not feasible for most consumers. A tailored supplement will often result in greater compliance and sustainability of the routine.
The Benefits of Magnesium in the Right Amounts
One of the optimal daily vitamins is magnesium. In this case, magnesium–classified as a mineral– is such a crucial component to the function of almost every cell in the body. Its role in making each cell work optimally may be why it is so incredibly useful as a supplement. Magnesium is what makes nerve cells fire, muscle cells contract and much more.
Therefore, it is not surprising that low levels of magnesium can take an eventual toll on the body. But how to know if we need more magnesium? This can be a challenge because as it turns out that serum magnesium levels are not always accurate in helping us decide if we need more of the mineral. A high serum magnesium is probably a good indication that we do not need to take more, but this is exceedingly rare. More frequently, people receive normal or low-normal readings, and this is often not useful in telling physicians that we can use more magnesium to feel our best and help address certain issues.
Can taking magnesium help us feel better? Often, it can bolster a person’s daily function and outlook. Its key role in cellular function leads to improved function of muscle cells throughout the body. This can result in improvement in muscle function, body aches, fatigue and more. Several studies show improved migraines and relief from IBS with taking magnesium supplements. Furthermore, there is data to suggest increasing magnesium in take can improve blood pressure and this may have to do with optimizing the heart’s pumping and/or improving the function of cells in the artery walls.
Taking magnesium to treat and prevent migraines is becoming common medical practice. It likely helps these debilitating headaches by preventing the spasm of certain blood vessels in the brain or by helping brain cells stay better hydrated. Regardless of the mechanism, taking magnesium can help migraines and most migraine sufferers should try taking magnesium as a part of a comprehensive personalized vitamin approach.
Magnesium may also help with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) by helping the gut work better. Due to its role in cell function, it may aid the GI tract in muscular contractions and proper digestion of foods. Overdosing on magnesium can result in diarrhea, but if combined in the right formulation with other appropriate nutrients, this is rare. The one group of people who should avoid magnesium are those with moderate or severe kidney disease. Most others can benefit from magnesium as a part of a vitamin regimen. People who are especially likely to be deficient in magnesium are those who take acid blocking medicines for GERD (reflux, or heart burn), those with celiac disease or other chronic illnesses that impair absorption of nutrients.
A personalized vitamin assessment can help determine the amount of magnesium by asking the right questions. Evaluating some of the conditions previously described is critical to know how much magnesium might benefit an individual. Often times, the dosing will far exceed levels commonly seen in an off-the-shelf multivitamin and have a greater impact on correcting deficiencies.
Selecting Your Personalized Vitamin
Since personalized vitamins are a new and emerging category of supplements and not carried in mass market, there is far less knowledge of the brands or recognized names. You need to do your homework. Figure out if the brand is reputable and has physicians as part of the process. You should determine if the brand has published academic research that has been recognized, or media recognition of the company’s performance over time. It is also important to understand the cost of the service, and how much it affects your daily spend on vitamins. There are personalized pill packs that can get quite pricey when compared to off-the-shelf multivitamins. Alternatively, there are personalized all-in-one vitamins that will be more comparable from a pill load and cost perspective.
Many consumers are more concerned about finding premium approaches to wellness that are tailored to their needs. The rise of personalized vitamin brands creates this opportunity in the dietary supplement category. Consumers no longer need to settle for fitting into broad classifications of gender or age or else relying on their own experimentation in the vitamin aisles. The tools exist for good navigation of the industry. Ultimately, if consumers are matched with a magnesium amount that more closely approximates their individualized needs, this innovation will push consumer health in a positive direction.
/GettyImages-952036388-5d53fc88ceb74d649bef5d5083bf93fb.jpg "Auto Draft")
