Are You Suffering from Magnesium Deficiency?
Magnesium deficiency is more common than you think. If you’re looking to boost your magnesium levels, you’ve likely considered dietary changes and supplements. But what if that’s not enough?
If you want to improve your magnesium levels, then addressing your diet is certainly one important part of the equation. However, some people may find it difficult to improve their cellular magnesium levels through diet and supplements alone.
They may have absorption issues that limit how much they can extract from oral sources, or they may experience unusually high levels of stress that may affect how rapidly magnesium is used up. If this sounds like you, then consider using a secondary form of supplementation through magnesium bath flakes.
Why Magnesium Flakes Could Be Your Solution
Magnesium bath flakes are a great way to top up magnesium levels through the skin, sometimes called the transdermal route.
In a 2017 review in the journal nutrients, the authors hypothesized that Magnesium might be able to get into the lymphatic system beneath the dermis and enter the circulatory system, bypassing the regulation through the GI tract and hereby increasing serum magnesium.
However, the authors concluded that due to mixed findings, more robust and longer-term clinical trials with more subjects are required before we can say whether transdermal magnesium supplementation definitively improves cellular concentrations of magnesium.
Epsom salts are naturally occurring mineral salts made from a complex of magnesium and sulphate. The suplhate refers to the fact that the magnesium is bonded to sulphur, which is a unique mineral in its own right and associated with detoxification. Sulphur is used to protect cells from damage and repair DNA; it also helps the body metabolise food and contributes to the health of skin, tendons and ligaments. A deficiency in sulphur can lead to inflammatory conditions, gastrointestinal issues, slow wound healing and diabetes, amongst others.
Epsom Salts vs. Magnesium Flakes
Although Epsom salts can be sourced naturally from open water such as the Great Lakes in northern Midwest America, or from naturally occurring springs, generally speaking most Epsom salts are synthesised in a lab to avoid pollutants, heavy metals and other contaminants.
Magnesium flakes are simply another form of magnesium that the body can use for improved energy, sleep, metabolism, heart health, mood and exercise recovery.
Magnesium flakes are made from a solution of magnesium chloride that has been heated up and then cooled down to create a solid sheet of magnesium, which can then be crumbled into ‘flakes’. OSI uses magnesium chloride for their other products too, such as their lotions and creams.
The magnesium chloride is mined from deep within the Zechstein sea in the Netherlands. This sea bed has remained untouched and unpolluted for over 250 million years and is a naturally rich source of magnesium chloride. Both magnesium chloride and sulphate contain a similar proportion of elemental magnesium
Dead Sea salts are natural mineral-rich salts that come from the Dead Sea that borders Israel, Jordan and the West Bank. The banks of this ‘sea’ or salt lakes are 400 m beneath sea level, and the sea itself is beloved by people the world over who come to float and get the benefit of the mineral-dense waters. The Egyptian ruler Cleopatra was renowned for bathing in the waters to keep her skin soft and youthful!
The waters of the Dead Sea contain over 20 minerals and are 15 times more concentrated than normal sea water. In fact they are so mineral dense that minerals make up a third of its weight!
making them a great source of electrolytes and a useful treatment for problem skin, even sensitive skin prone to itching and dryness. Whereas epsom salts and magnesium flakes only contain magnesium, Dead Sea salts have magnesium levels of around 30-35% as well as significant levels of potassium, sodium, calcium, chloride and bromide.
The general guidelines for using Dead Sea salt is to put 1-2 cups into the bath water and soak for 20 minutes to gain the full benefits.
