One of the supporting nutrients of The Iodine Protocol is magnesium. Magnesium is a rather common nutrient with a lot of information surrounding its benefits. As long as we don’t take way too much of it, it’s rather safe. The most confusing aspect to magnesium is probably the fact there are almost a dozen different forms.
- Over 300 enzymes require magnesium 1
- May boost exercise performance 2
- Fight depression 3
- Benefits against type 2 diabetes 4
- Lower blood pressure 5
- Anti-inflammatory benefits 6
- Help prevent migraines 7
- Reduce insulin resistance 8 9
Dr. Brownstein’s Iodine Protocol suggests we should get about 200-400mg per day of magnesium while taking iodine. I have a feeling this is due to iodine allowing more biological processes to be carried out, which each depend on and use magnesium, and also because iodine may allow us to kill off old defunct cells, so they can be replaced, which also takes a ton of magnesium. Magnesium is part of everything mentioned above because it’s such an integral part of our body’s construction system.
I did not notice any benefits from magnesium when I started taking it. But after several months of small amounts of iodine, and the other supporting nutrients, I tried some magnesium for the first time in a while and felt a rush of energy. Then over time, as I tried other forms, I would notice the same thing from several of those.
Magnesium can get a little complex
There are about 11 types of commonly supplemented magnesium, some better than others, some more cost effective than others. Some people only use one form of magnesium, some use several, some use all of them. I started with Malate and slowly branched out trying more and more. I eventually tried some magnesium hydroxide and felt so much energy when I took one, that realized I need to get in the habit of trying small amounts of all types of magnesium. If I were still confused about which magnesium to take, I would probably just stick with malate like I did when I started, or use something like Magnesium Breakthrough which has 7 common forms.
Several memes, pages and people around the net claim that various forms of magnesium are not good, or not as good as others. This may be true to some degree, but it has a lot to do with how our body is setup, so it may be a lot different for each of us. My personal view is to get as many different forms as I can as I am re-balancing my body. Then once I know my magnesium levels have been replenished a good bit, I’ll work on refining with the ‘proper’ forms of magnesium. But if I can take various forms, and feel energy that I didn’t notice with a form I’ve taken for months, I’m not going to avoid that form, I’m just not going to take it long term.
The common nutrients recommended with iodine are doses that consider taking 50mg of iodine. But since most of us are at very low amounts of iodine and slowly working up, 200mg-400mg of magnesium might be more than we need for a while. So what I do now, is take breaks from supplements and pay attention when I restart them. If I don’t feel any benefits when I restart them, and I don’t feel and negatives when I go with out them for a few days, I probably don’t need them. So I take less and less of them while still trying them every once in a while to see if they have started working with my body.
How I handle Magnesium
I started with malate that had small amounts of a few B vitamins. I didn’t feel anything from it at first, til I got some iodine and the rest of the nutrients of the protocol for a few months. Here is a link to Magnesium Malate
Then I tried Magnesium Oxide
Then I tried this combo of Magnesium Oxide, Citrate and Aspertate
Then I tried Magnesium Gylcinate
Then I tried some L-Threonate which is good for the brain
Then I tried and really liked Magnesium Hydroxide
Then I started using Chelated Magnesium which is now my base form I use regularly
I also add a pinch of Magnesium Sulfate to water sometimes, which is epsom salt.
Magnesium Breakthrough
I have been using several forms of magnesium over the past few years, and a few of them are finally running low. I was not looking forward to re-ordering because it’s several bottles and they are $20-50 each.
This bottle has 7 forms, which includes a few of the forms I was about to replace. I’m going to try a bottle of it, and if it works out, use their deal on several bottles, which makes ordering magnesium for my wife and myself cost much less.
I would have to assume starting with small amounts of this vs a single form of magnesium, would be much more efficient at getting our body running again.
Learn More about Magnesium Breakthrough
- Magnesium in biology – From Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnesium_in_biology
- Can Magnesium Enhance Exercise Performance? – Nutrients. 2017 Sep; 9(9): 946. Published online 2017 Aug 28. doi: 10.3390/nu9090946 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5622706
- Magnesium and major depression – Magnesium in the Central Nervous System [Internet]. – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507265/
- Magnesium and type 2 diabetes – World J Diabetes. 2015 Aug 25; 6(10): 1152–1157. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4549665/
- The role of magnesium in hypertension and cardiovascular disease – Review J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2011 Nov;13(11):843-7. – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22051430/
- Magnesium deficiency and increased inflammation: current perspectives – J Inflamm Res. 2018; 11: 25–34.Published online 2018 Jan 18. – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5783146/
- Magnesium in headache – Magnesium in the Central Nervous System [Internet]. – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507271/
- Association of Serum Magnesium Deficiency with Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus – J Lab Physicians. 2015 Jul-Dec; 7(2): 75–78. – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4559632/
- Effects of Magnesium Deficiency on Mechanisms of Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetes: Focusing on the Processes of Insulin Secretion and Signaling – Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Mar; 20(6): 1351.Published online 2019 Mar 18. – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6470576/
