Can I Get my Magnesium From Water?
I’m fascinated by magnesium. I started taking different magnesium supplements before bed several years ago and the impact on the depth and quality of my sleep was quick and lasting. Simply keeping a sleep log, I’ve also noticed that I tend to remember more vivid dreams when taking certain types of magnesium before bed, especially when I pair it with glycine. I don’t share this as a recommendation…only a note of what first piqued my interest in the mineral/supplement.
Reading up, I came across sources noting the possibility of magnesium serving as part of keeping migraines at bay, improving the quality of sleep, and just keeping muscles and organs functioning well.
On the flip side sources noted that persistent deficiencies related to magnesium sometimes show up in the form of nausea, fatigue, heart rhythm abnormalities, muscle cramps, and even seizures and changes in personality. While there are competing views, there are others who point to studies suggesting that getting enough magnesium is an important part of long-term heart health.
The recommended daily amount is about 400 mg for a man and 310-320 for a woman, the last I checked, although my understanding is that a healthy body is pretty good at expelling excess if it is coming from food or drink. It is just with the supplements that one is cautioned not to overdo it.
It is not particularly difficult to get ample magnesium in the diet. You can get 120 mg from a single cup of black beans or quinoa, 150+ for a cup of cooked spinach (1 cup of raw would be far less), and a similar amount from an ounce of roasted pumpkin seeds. Other good sources include almonds, lentils, dark chocolate (yes, one more reason to keep chocolate in your diet!), avocados, peanut butter, yogurt, and much more.
Yet, amid my ongoing quest to learn about the benefits, features, and stories of waters around the world, I learned that good mineral waters can be a wonderful source of magnesium as well. For example, one of my favorite waters on the planet, Adobe Mountain, coming from the Diablo Mountains of California includes close to 100 mg of magnesium per liter. For people like me in the US, there are few waters with that much of a magnesium punch, but if we look across the pond to European waters, we see some powerhouses on this front. ROI from Slovenia might cost $35 a liter, but it also brings with it about 1300mg of magnesium, the same amount that you would get from 11 cups (or upwards of 4 pounds!) of black beans. That is about the most potent water source of magnesium that I’ve seen so far. Yet, another Slovenian water, Donat Mg is much more affordable and still clocks in over 1000 mg. From there, the majority are back down to somewhere around 100 mg or less, ones like the widely available German mineral water, Gerolsteiner.
All this to say that there are indeed waters that are capable of helping meet our daily dose of magnesium. Most describe the taste of a magnesium-forward water as “bitter” which is not what most seek from a refreshing beverage. It is true that, when combined with all the other mineral content in many strong European mineral waters, it can be an acquired taste. Yet, ones like Adobe Mountain that I mentioned do not have an overall high mineral content, leaving what I register as a pleasant carbonation combined with a mildly bitter taste that makes for a wonderfully refreshing water.
How does magnesium find its way into water? The answer is how most minerals show up in waters. It all has to do with the rock types through which the water was filtered, often over years, decades, or even centuries. Water traveling through dolomite deposits often includes a larger dose of calcium and magnesium. If traveling through evaporite, we will see magnesium plus sulfate. Yet, to the best of my knowledge, one of the rarest sources of magnesium in bottled mineral water comes from serpentinite, producing a magnesium forward water that may not have a particularly high amount of other minerals, giving magnesium a chance to be the lead singer and not just one of the backup singers to bicarbonate, calcium, or sulfate.
Yet, my journey of exploring the world of magnesium-rich waters is new, and I’ve only begun to scratch the surface. I’ll be sure to share more as I learn about it.