The Importance of Magnesium for IBS

Those of us with irritable bowel syndrome are naturally low in magnesium but we do have to be careful about taking magnesium supplements because some have a laxative effect. In this video, I tell you more about this and what foods contain magnesium if you prefer not to take a supplement.

Transcription of “The Importance of Magnesium for IBS”

Today I want to talk about magnesium.

Magnesium has been shown to be low in those of us with IBS. We can get it from food, and I’ll talk about that in a moment, but if you need a supplement, in particular, if you have constipation, then make sure you don’t exceed around about 350 milligrams. And that more or less, covers what we need in a day, especially if we are female. Males need a little bit more – around 400 milligrams. So, if you have constipation, I highly recommend that you take some magnesium citrate up to about 350 milligrams. But do start at a smaller amount around 100 milligrams because it has a laxative effect, and we don’t want you running to the toilet with the opposite problem. So, start with 100 mg and then increase it slowly. Magnesium Aspartate has the least effect on the gut for those without constipation.

Magnesium is essential for our health. It is good for our heart, it helps calcium for our teeth and our bones, and it’s also great for our muscles and our nerves. And as I say, we are low naturally in this. So, if you’ve got constipation, take the supplement and then also make sure that you’re getting plenty in your food. And those of you who are not taking the supplement, need to take note of what foods, in particular, have a lot of magnesium. Overall, the best foods are leafy greens, nuts, and seeds. That’s just to generalize. In fact, if you have half a cup of pumpkin seeds, you’re going to have enough magnesium to cover your daily needs as a woman. You will need just a little bit more if you’re a man. However, there are a lot of other foods that have magnesium in them but you will need to add a few of them together to get your daily dose. Even chocolate has got magnesium in it and definitely fish like mackerel and salmon, and all nuts  like almonds, and brazil nuts, they all have some magnesium. Also, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds, as I mentioned before. Sunflower seeds too. And if you’re vegetarian one thing that’s not too bad as a source of magnesium is tempura. It’s got about 116 milligrams in a serving of that. So, again you would need to have three servings to get to what we need for the full day. But obviously, don’t have three servings of tempura. Have one serving of tempura and then perhaps some seeds and some nuts, and some spinach, some kale, any of those green leafy vegetables, and you’re going to have enough magnesium altogether.

If you get night cramps, magnesium will be super helpful for that because it’s so good for your muscles. It also helps with sleep and that’s why many doctors will recommend you take magnesium at dinner time or after dinner so that it helps you with your sleep. We’re not talking about it being like a sleeping tablet or anything like that, but it’s a little bit like chamomile tea with infants which can help induce sleep. Not that we can have any chamomile tea. That is high FODMAP. But I, especially if you’ve got constipation, recommend that you take your magnesium with your breakfast and that will help you to go to the toilet after breakfast. And that’s always a good thing to have that over and done with for the day. So if your doctor tells you that you need to take magnesium, don’t freak out that it’s just another supplement This is one of the supplements that I do recommend that most of my clients take because we are so low in it, along with vitamin B which is another one that people with IBS have been shown to be low in. So if it’s recommended for you, do go ahead but start low because of the laxative effect. Thank you for watching and goodbye.