A growing body of research suggests that magnesium may be a miracle-worker for heart health. This is important news for men in particular, as heart disease is the leading cause of death in men in the US, and a leading cause of death globally.

Magnesium works to maintain a long list of biochemical and physiological processes required for your heart to function, but magnesium’s direct link to heart disease is particularly interesting: studies are finding magnesium plays a crucial role in preventing the most common — and the most deadly — cardiovascular-related conditions.

One decade-long study found that magnesium deficiency may be more harmful to cardiovascular health than both cholesterol and saturated fat. Multiple research studies have found the risk factors most commonly associated with cardiovascular disease — including low HDL cholesterol, high LDL cholesterol, metabolic syndrome, arrhythmia, and high blood pressure are all linked to low magnesium status in the body.

Magnesium and Heart Health

One way magnesium works to keep your heart functioning is through the sodium-potassium pump — an enzyme that generates electrical impulses throughout the body, playing an imperative role in your heart’s ability to beat. Magnesium is required to activate this pump, making it a critical component in your heart’s electrical system.

Another key role magnesium plays in heart function is through its naturally competitive relationship with calcium — a relationship that stimulates movement between the two minerals to generate the heart. Calcium stimulates the muscle cells in the heart to contract, while magnesium stimulates the cells to relax. The movement between contraction and relaxation is critical in keeping your heart beating. It’s important to note, however, that without an adequate amount of magnesium in your body to usher calcium back out of the cells, calcium takes over and leads to overstimulation of the muscle cells. This can lead to angina and even heart attack.

Magnesium Supplementation and Heart Disease Prevention

Research studies have found a link between cardiovascular disease and low magnesium levels, and many have concluded that ensuring adequate magnesium intake is a good preventative measure in the fight against heart disease.

Regular Heart Beat:

Low magnesium levels have been linked with one of the most common heart disorders: atrial fibrillation (a type of arrhythmia). Atrial fibrillation occurs when a malfunction in the heart's electrical system (where magnesium plays a key role) causes the upper chambers of the heart to quiver, which results in an irregular heartbeat. But here’s the good news: Recent research has found that heart arrhythmia — and even sudden death related to arrhythmia may be prevented with adequate magnesium intake.

Angina:

Increasing magnesium intake is especially beneficial for those who suffer from chest pain, as research has found that magnesium deficiency is one of the leading causes of angina. In fact, magnesium supplementation has been found to significantly reduce coronary vasospasm and reduce chest pain.

Blood Pressure:

Magnesium plays a role in reducing blood pressure by relaxing the blood vessels and preventing them from constricting, improving overall blood flow. Here’s where good news becomes great: Recent research has found magnesium supplementation works quite well to reduce high blood pressure in those who suffer from prediabetes, insulin resistance, and other conditions often linked to cardiovascular disease.

Stress:

People with low magnesium levels are at a higher risk for the coronary artery to spasm — a condition which is linked with angina and heart attack. Here’s where this is especially concerning: stress can exacerbate coronary artery spasm. Magnesium works to help regulate the body’s stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline), and it also aids the body’s cells in fighting the effects of stress, leading to a healthier heart.

Diabetes:

Magnesium has a role in blood sugar regulation, and studies are finding that low magnesium intake is a contributing factor in prediabetes and in both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Here’s where it gets tricky: People with insulin resistance tend to lose more magnesium through their urine than those who don’t have this condition, which increases their likelihood of being deficient in magnesium; so it is especially important for those with insulin resistance to ensure they are getting an adequate amount of magnesium on a daily basis. 

There are promising findings that magnesium supplementation may play a preventative role in prediabetes, and it may reduce the severity of Type 2 diabetes by increasing insulin sensitivity.

Best Magnesium Supplement for Men

There are many magnesium benefits for men and we created a magnesium supplement to help. We created MAG365BF as an ionic magnesium supplement that contains cofactors for healthy bones, but these cofactors are also imperative for heart health. Excessive calcium intake has been linked to an increased risk for cardiovascular diseases, as well as other serious health conditions. Why? When calcium is consumed (particularly in excess), it begins to collect in the arteries and organs. The nutrient cofactors in MAG365BF work together to usher calcium to where it is needed in the body, such as the bones and teeth, while simultaneously preventing calcium buildup in dangerous places, including the heart and arteries. Furthermore, the nutrients in our MAG365BF formula — including vitamins C, D & K, boron, potassium, and zinc — each hold their own weight in heart disease prevention, making it a winning supplement for the promotion of optimal heart health.