Magnesium constipation, the superpower for colon blues

Magnesium Constipation Relief

A magnesium constipation solution

If someone asked you to name the most important minerals our bodies need, you’d say iron for blood, calcium for bones and iodine for the thyroid hormones.

Correct, but like most people who are ignorant of its value, you haven’t mentioned another mineral that’s equally important – Magnesium.

Why magnesium is important

Magnesium helps cells stay healthy
It plays a major role in more than 300 metabolic reactions
It regulates blood pressure
It relaxes muscles for a better night’s sleep

To be able to perform all these functions, magnesium needs to be absorbed into the body.

The best way to get your daily magnesium is to include almonds, greens, bran cereal, brown rice and sea weeds in your diet.

But that’s not all there is to magnesium. Even when it’s not absorbed into the body, it is a very helpful mineral, because it’s presence in the gut can help to normalize bowel movements.

Magnesium is an osmotic laxative

Constipation is a painful condition that may be a combination of several factors:

Less water in the gastrointestinal tract creating hard and compacted stool
Friction when the stool is in the process of passing out of the anus
Insufficient stimulation of the gut to move the stool out

A laxative is an agent that changes one or more of the above factors to allow easier elimination.

If a magnesium salt is consumed, like magnesium chloride or magnesium sulfate, and this magnesium is not absorbed by the intestines, it tends to draw water in from the intestinal linings by a process called osmosis.

This water:

Helps to make the stool softer
Increases the volume of intestinal contents which helps stimulate bowel movements

In other words, magnesium salts are good for people who suffer from constipation.

Magnesium salts are good for constipation, but…

Some popular brands of magnesium-containing products for constipation are Epsom Salt and Milk of Magnesia.

These products work.

The problem is, these products are not recommended for long term use.

This is because:

These products can cause diarrhea or other complications.
A single serving contains a large amount of magnesium. With extended use, a heavy demand is placed on the kidneys to flush excess magnesium from the body.

A single tablespoon of Epsom salt contributes about 3.4 g of magnesium to the body.

The minimum dose of Milk of Magnesia is 2 tablespoons, which contains approximately 2.4 g of magnesium hydroxide. When either of these products are taken, the resulting intake of magnesium is well over the recommended daily allowance that ranges between 300 and 400 mg.

When you take these osmotic laxatives, you expose your body to huge concentrations of magnesium.

Although all of it will not be absorbed, there is a chance that with long-term use, magnesium levels may build up over time.

Danger of magnesium toxicity

If a person suffers from kidney problems, the kidneys may not be able to excrete excess magnesium through the urine. This can result in dangerous magnesium toxicity.

By now, you’re probably wondering if taking magnesium for constipation is really worth the trouble. But hold that thought a minute. There is an alternative way to take magnesium for constipation.

There’s something special about sea minerals

In sharp contrast, the one teaspoon recommended dose of concentrated sea minerals contributes a mere 422 mg of magnesium – which is almost one-ninth the dose of conventional magnesium containing laxatives.

When you take it daily, you are not pumping an excessive amount of magnesium into the body; and that’s great news. A daily dose of this amount of magnesium may help to produce regular bowel movements.