Why Magnesium Deserves More Attention Than Calcium

When it comes to minerals, calcium gets all the headlines. Milk ads, bone health campaigns, osteoporosis prevention — calcium is everywhere.

But here’s the truth: magnesium may be even more important.

And if you're not thinking about your magnesium levels, your heart, blood pressure, energy, and hormones might be paying the price.

As a holistic nutritionist, I often see clients tracking calories… but not tracking nutrients. And magnesium is one of the most overlooked nutrients in modern diets.

Let’s change that.

Where Magnesium Lives in Your Body

Magnesium isn’t just “floating around.” It’s deeply embedded in your tissues:

• 60% is stored in your bones

• 26% lives in your muscle cells

• The rest is in your soft tissues and body fluids

This mineral plays a critical role in:

• Protein formation

• Cellular replication

• Energy production (especially for your brain, liver, kidneys, and heart)

• Proper nerve conduction

• Healthy muscle contractions

If you’re tired, foggy, crampy, or wired-but-exhausted… magnesium could be part of the picture.

Magnesium: Nature’s Calcium Channel Blocker

Here’s something fascinating. Magnesium is often referred to as “nature’s calcium channel blocker.”

Why does that matter? Magnesium helps regulate the sodium-potassium pump — pushing sodium out of cells and bringing potassium in. This mechanism is essential for stabilizing blood pressure and maintaining proper heart rhythm.

Even more importantly, magnesium helps block excess calcium from entering heart muscle cells and vascular smooth muscle. When too much calcium accumulates in those tissues, it can contribute to hardening of fatty plaque — a process called atherosclerosis.

Over time, this increases the risk of:

• High blood pressure

• Vascular resistance

• Heart disease

• Heart attack

Adequate magnesium intake supports:

• Healthy blood pressure

• Improved heart function

• Reduced vascular resistance

In other words — magnesium helps keep calcium in its proper place.

The Magnesium Gap: Most People Don’t Get Enough

Daily magnesium requirements are approximately:

• Men: 350 mg

• Women: 280 mg

The problem? Most people don’t come close.

Modern food choices are part of the issue. Many common fruits and meats are surprisingly low in magnesium:

Fruit (low in magnesium):

• Apple (medium): 9 mg

• Banana (medium): 31 mg

• Orange (large): 18 mg

• Strawberries (1 cup): 18 mg

• Raspberries (1 cup): 27 mg

• Blueberries (1 cup): 9 mg

Meat (also low):

• Chicken (3.5 oz): 23 mg

• Beef (3.5 oz): 21 mg

• Pork (3.5 oz): 28 mg

So where do we find it?

Magnesium-Rich Foods to Add Today

If you want to naturally boost magnesium, focus on:

Nuts & Seeds

• Raw almonds (1 oz): 80 mg

• Brazil nuts (1 oz): 107 mg

• Coconut meat (1 oz): 25 mg

Dried Fruit

• Dried apricots (1 oz): 17 mg

Grains

• Wheat bran (1 oz): 174 mg

• Wheat germ (1 oz): 104 mg

• Brown rice (½ cup): 43 mg

If you're eating white rice regularly, consider switching to brown rice — your magnesium intake will thank you.

You can also:

• Add wheat germ or bran to oatmeal

• Sprinkle brewer’s yeast (1 oz = 66 mg) on vegetables for a cheesy flavor

• Add shrimp (3.5 oz = 51 mg) alongside your BBQ steak

Small upgrades make a big difference.

Conditions Linked to Low Magnesium

Magnesium supplementation has been used in supportive care for a variety of health concerns, including:

• Asthma

• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

• Congestive Heart Failure

• High blood pressure

• Diabetes and hypoglycemia

• Low HDL (good cholesterol)

• Fatigue

• Fibromyalgia

• Glaucoma

• Kidney stones

• Osteoporosis

• Hearing loss

• Premenstrual Syndrome

Low magnesium levels are also associated with increased susceptibility to:

• Insomnia

• PMS

• Heart disease

• High blood pressure

• Kidney stones

• Certain cancers

Common signs of deficiency include:

• Fatigue

• Mental confusion

• Muscle cramps

• Weakness

• Insomnia

• Poor nerve conduction

• Poor muscle contractions

Sound familiar?

Should You Supplement?

Food first — always.

But if your diet is low in whole grains, nuts, seeds, and leafy greens, supplementation may be helpful. The right form and dosage matter, especially if you have underlying health conditions.

This is where personalized guidance makes all the difference.

Count Nutrients, Not Just Calories

If you truly want balanced hormones, stable blood pressure, strong bones, and a healthy heart — stop obsessing over calories and start looking at micronutrients. Magnesium is not flashy.
It doesn’t have a marketing campaign. But it is foundational.

If you're wondering whether magnesium deficiency could be affecting your energy, sleep, heart health, or hormones — let’s look at your intake properly.

Visit www.youniqueholisticnutrition.com to book a personalized nutrition assessment and discover what your body is truly missing. Did you know that there is more than one type of magnesium? I can help you uncover which one your body truly needs, and get access to a good quality supplement.

Your body doesn’t just need less food.
It needs the right nutrients.

Written by - Janette deVries RHN, B.ed, H.BA

Sources:

Murray, Michael T, N.D. Encylopedia of Nutritional Supplements: The Essential Guide for Improving Your Health Naturally. Three Rivers Press. New York: 1996.

Welton PK and Klag, Magnesium and blood pressure: Review of the epidemiologic and clinical trial experience. Am J Cardiol 63, 26G-30G, 1989.

Friedlander HS, Fatigue as a presenting symptom: Management in general practice. Curr Ther Res 4, 441-449, 1962.

Piesse JW, Nutritional factors in the premenstrual syndrome. Int Clin Nutr Rev 4, 54-81, 1984.

Hicks JT, Treatment of fatigue in general practice: A double blind study. Clin Med Jan, 85-90, 1964

Lindberg JS, et al., Magnesium bioavailability from magnesium citrate and magnesium oxide. J Am Coll Nutr 9, 48-55, 1990.

Altura BM, Ischemic heart disease and magnesium. Magnesium 7 57-67, 1988.