Magnesium is particularly well known in connection with magnesium deficiency and cramps. This applies to nocturnal calf cramps, but also massive cramps in athletes. But this important role that magnesium takes on for well-functioning muscles, only reflects a tiny aspect of its very broad spectrum of activity with diverse, vital functions.

What is magnesium

Magnesium is a mineral and belongs to the group of metals. This mineral is essential. This means that the body cannot produce magnesium itself, but the mineral is vital and must therefore be supplied with the diet. It is then absorbed through the intestinal walls and gets into the blood. Any excess is excreted through the kidneys with the urine. High fat foods, oxalates and phosphates can slow down the absorption of magnesium in the intestine.

Around 25 grams of magnesium are present in the organism (in a person weighing 70 kilograms). A good half is in the bones, a little less in the muscles and only one percent in the blood. The bones also act as magnesium stores. However, the magnesium content in bones decreases over the course of life.

In addition, minerals are divided into bulk and trace elements. Magnesium is one of the bulk elements because the body needs relatively large amounts of it, unlike trace elements such as iodine and copper.

Why Magnesium is Vital

Magnesium is involved in the activation of over 300 enzymes in the body, including in the protein structure. The mineral takes on decisive tasks for energy and cell metabolism and regulates many vital functions, including:

• Impulse transmission in muscle and nerve cells, magnesium ensures normal conduction of excitation in nerves and muscles. In connection with nerves, magnesium also supports brain functions and via the muscles, for example, the heart muscle. Adequate magnesium intake even seems to reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death, a study suggests.
• Magnesium influences the heart rhythm and blood pressure.
• It relaxes muscles, nerves and blood vessels and can reduce the production of stress hormones. This normalization of the excitability of nerves and the vascular tension is probably responsible for the fact that with an adequate supply of magnesium, among other things, the number of migraine attacks demonstrably decreases, as the analysis of several studies showed.
• Magnesium can reduce the clumping of blood platelets, so it can support normal blood clotting. The risk of having a stroke decreases when the body receives enough magnesium, further research shows .
• It is involved in the utilization of glucose and in blood sugar control. The risk of type 2 diabetes has been shown to decrease if the mineral is taken in sufficiently.
• Magnesium is an important antagonist of calcium, prevents too much calcium from being stored, for example in muscles, but also vessels and organs. Magnesium can prevent the formation of kidney stones, which often consist of calcium oxalate.
• In addition, magnesium can neutralize too much stomach acid somewhat and thus reduce the risk of heartburn.
• In conjunction with calcium and vitamin D, magnesium controls the bone metabolism. Among other things, magnesium supports the activation of vitamin D in the kidneys. Magnesium is therefore an important factor in preventing osteoporosis. Already existing osteoporosis could be slowed down somewhat by adequate intake, as a study suggests.
• The mineral regulates important messenger substances that also play a role in the mental mood. Studies show that magnesium can have a similar effect on mild depression as certain antidepressants , the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). 

Overall, these and similar studies provide strong indications that an adequate supply of magnesium, including through dietary supplements, is associated with a lower risk of numerous common diseases.

It can be the cream you put on your face every morning, the beloved hamburger or a habit at the wheel – behind some everyday behavior lurks a danger that hardly anyone knows: you increase the risk of developing cancer. You should therefore leave the following things in the future:

1. Choose your window seat on the plane

Most people enjoy seeing the landscape from above during take-off and landing. Air travelers also like to look at the clouds of cotton wool under the clear blue sky. But if you fly often and sit by the window, you risk skin damage. The window panes keep out most of the UVB rays that cause sunburn. But they let through 47 percent of UVA rays. They are responsible for skin aging and a risk of skin cancer . Because: UV radiation can damage the genetic material. If damaged cells do not die, skin cancer can develop.

2. Insert all receipts

The receipts on thermal paper come from many cash registers and payment devices. And: bisphenol A (BPA). The substance has been classified by the EU as “of very high concern”. It endangers the brain development of the unborn, has been linked to male infertility, and can cause heart disease and cancer. Every time you touch thermal paper, BPA enters the body through the skin and accumulates there. In 2020, an EU-wide ban on thermal paper containing BPA will come into force.

3. Consume very hot drinks

Many people love their soup or tea steaming hot. But whoever swallows liquids above 65 degrees Celsius is putting his esophagus at risk . Because this irritates the tissue and in the long term cell damage occurs, from which cancer can develop.

4. Drive through the rush hour traffic with the window open

As long as there are no clean cars or driving bans in cities, diesel exhaust poses a specific risk for lung and bladder cancer. The WHO investigated this several years ago . Professional drivers or road construction workers are particularly at risk. But you can also get rid of dangerous diesel residues on daily trips through rush hour traffic with stop-and-go movement.

5. Avoid using condoms during sex

Those who live in a monogamous relationship will no longer be infected with the cancer-causing human papilloma virus. Because the greatest risk of HPV infection is unprotected intercourse with changing partners. The most common type of HPV cancer is cervical cancer, which usually develops many years after first exposure to the virus. Infection with certain HPV types can also lead to malignant tumors in the vagina, labia, anus and penis.

6. Use cosmetics with mineral oils

Oils care for the skin, but they shouldn’t be mineral oils. However, these are found in many cosmetic products, from skin cream to lipstick – for example when the ingredients are paraffin, petrolatum or mineral oil. The group of aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) poses a health risk. They have the potential to change the genetic makeup and cause cancer. They are filtered out of cosmetics – a decent residue remains, as the testers from the Stiftung Warentester found back in 2015.

7. Drink an after-work beer – or two, three …

Those who drink alcohol not only have an increased risk of liver cancer, but also of mouth and throat cancer and breast cancer. Unsurprisingly, this risk increases with the amount of alcohol. But there is no “safe” lower limit, especially for breast and liver cancer. Various substances that are produced when alcohol is broken down in the body probably play a role here.

8. Staring at your smartphone at night

Studies have shown a link between low levels of melatonin and a higher risk of cancer.The release of the sleep hormone is hindered when light breaks through the nighttime darkness . Smartphones and tablets are a common source of the bright glow in the dark bedroom nowadays. They delay falling asleep or wake the user with incoming messages that are immediately responded to. The sleep cycle is constantly interrupted and chronic sleep disorders develop – a risk factor for cancer.

If you don’t see a doctor, you won’t get cancer because of it. The regular check-ups and preventive appointments with the doctor but can ensure that a tumor early discovered no fatal cancer. The colonoscopy and cervical smear can even prevent abnormal cells from becoming cancer in the first place.