Settle Down with Magnesium

Let's admit something right here and now. People with autoimmune disease tend to be on the uptight/OCD side of the mood spectrum. I can say that because I'm in that category and I see this all the time with my patients. The question being asked now is much like the chicken/egg conundrum, did stress and anxiety welcome bad gut bacteria (dysbiosis) or did the bacteria lead to anxious personalities?

Either way, we know severe, prolonged stress does not help autoimmune disease. My own ulcerative colitis (UC) flares are provoked by particularly difficult days at work, for example. Also, let it be known that living with autoimmune disease and the threat of a pending flareup is stressful all on its own.

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A product I like to use to combat stress and anxiety is called Natural Calm. It comes in powder form and I add it to my cup of tea. I was skeptical of this at first because, really, it's just magnesium, but since I needed to battle constipation and magnesium is a common stool softener I gave it a go. (Note that many or most people with UC actually struggle with diarrhea instead. - Though I believe they almost all started with hard, dry stools.) The results were apparent with respect to stool consistency (think soft serve ice cream), but as for mood enhancement it's hard to say. Aside from asking my husband if he notices a change - careful there! - all I can tell you is that at the very least I sleep better on days when I'm not dealing with constipation.

The literature does have this to add:

• Magnesium has mood stabilizing activities not unlike lithium. In fact, a study by Heiden in 1999 showed that if magnesium was given to manic bipolars at the same time as their usual psych medications they required less drugs. 
• Also like lithium, magnesium acts on multiple layers of the endocrine system and alters an excitatory messenger called glutamate for a more balanced mood. See here and here. 
• It could be that part of the reason psych medications are considered helpful is because they increase magnesium in the blood (Nechifor 2008).

Mood stuff aside, there are additional benefits to taking supplemental magnesium, especially as it is believed that about half of all Americans are deficient in this mineral:

• Low magnesium is linked to high blood pressure. Reference.
• Magnesium intake is part of osteoporosis prevention. 
• Without adequate levels of magnesium, it appears one is vulnerable to migraines. References here and here.