Are you low in vitamin D? Sunshine and vitamin D supplements can help raise your level of this critical nutrient. Despite this, many of our patients continue to experience vitamin D deficiency. Blood tests show a low level despite supplementation and regular sunshine. Did you know that magnesium deficiency could be to blame?

If you are magnesium deficient, you cannot utilize the vitamin D in your body. It remains trapped in storage, and unavailable in your bloodstream. It is estimated that at least 50 percent of Americans are magnesium deficient. That means they’re missing out on the amazing health benefits of vitamin D.

This research comes from a review published in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. According to study co-author Mohammed S. Razzaque, MBBS, PhD, a professor of pathology at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, "People are taking Vitamin D supplements but don't realize how it gets metabolized. Without magnesium, Vitamin D is not really useful or safe”.

Taking a vitamin D supplement can raise a person's blood calcium and phosphate level even if they remain vitamin D deficient. This is a potential problem because people can suffer from vascular calcification if their magnesium levels aren't high enough to prevent this occurring. Patients with sufficient blood magnesium levels require less Vitamin D supplementation to achieve optimum Vitamin D levels. Magnesium has other benefits; it reduces osteoporosis, helping to mitigate the risk of low bone density that can occur due to low levels of Vitamin D. Deficiency of vitamin D or magnesium is associated with numerous health problems, including skeletal deformities, cardiovascular diseases, poor sleep and insulin resistance.

It’s quite difficult to get sufficient magnesium through diet. The majority of my patients are deficient and this contributes to many different health problems. Many factors deplete your body of this amazing mineral. A large number of medications reduce your magnesium level; the biggest offenders are antacids, acid blockers, hormonal contraception and diuretics. Taking a magnesium supplement should help; however, a lot of poor quality supplements are hard on the stomach and can cause a digestive upset. Magnesium Complete tablets and Magnesium Ultra Potent powder are gentle on the digestive system.

Please also remember that stress and anxiety deplete your body of magnesium, as the stress hormone cortisol causes urinary loss of this mineral. Alcohol increases magnesium loss in the urine. Digestive problems such as celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease and leaky gut reduce magnesium absorption, therefore a supplement is essential in those cases.

Reference: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180226122548.htm