Serenity and Fire with Krista

The Magnesium Wrap-Up: Science, Safety & Serenity

• Krista Guagenti

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Over the last few weeks, I’ve taken you deep into the world of magnesium—what it is, the myths and truths, and how we can make it part of our daily rituals. But today, I want to wrap it all up with the big question: what does the science really say?

In this final episode of the magnesium series, I’m breaking down where magnesium shines in research and where the evidence feels a little gray. From blood pressure and migraines to mood, sleep, and recovery—I’ll show you how the subtle shifts magnesium creates may not look dramatic on paper, but they can change how you feel in powerful ways.

Here’s what I cover:
 ✨ The real, research-backed benefits of magnesium
 ✨ Why the studies don’t always tell the full story
 ✨ The difference between oral, topical, and liposomal magnesium
 ✨ Who should be careful when using magnesium
 ✨ How I bring it all together—science plus rituals—for balance and ease

The truth? Magnesium isn’t a magic bullet. But like sleep, hydration, and movement, it’s foundational. And when you bring it into your life with intention, those small shifts add up to something pretty remarkable.

As a thank you for tuning in, you can use code Serenity10 to save 10% on your first hyperbaric oxygen therapy or whole-body LED light bed session at Panacea.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Serenity and Fire, the podcast where wellness meets grit. I'm your host, krista Guadenti, founder of Panacea Luxury Spa Boutique. Join me as we dive into the intriguing world of biohacking, clean living, cutting edge spa trends and the hustle, grind and grit of entrepreneurship. From my personal battles with weight management, infertility and a 30-year journey to create and launch my dream business to building a sanctuary for those who have been touched by cancer, I'm here to share real talk, inspire big dreams and spark a passion for holistic living inside each and every one of you. So let's dive in. Welcome back to Serenity and Fire. So I want to just first say that I'm still struggling with this raspy, ragweed voice, but we're going to keep rolling with it and wrap up this conversation about magnesium and why people are rubbing it all over their bodies. Over the last three weeks, we've talked about what magnesium is, the myths and truths about different forms and how to create rituals with sprays, butters and even liposomal massage therapy. Today, as we wrap up our segment on magnesium, I'm going to bring it all home with the science what magnesium really can and can't do and who should use it with caution. First, let's look at where magnesium shines in the research. Let's begin with blood pressure. A meta-analysis of clinical trials show that magnesium supplementation can actually lower systolic blood pressure by about three to four points and diastolic by two to three points. It's not a magic bullet and those are not huge numbers, but those can be meaningful when it comes to heart health. And when we look at migraines, the American Academy of Neurology actually labels magnesium as probably effective for prevention. That's big. The typical study doses are around 400 to 500 milligrams per day, often in the magnesium oxide form. And for mood and depression in a randomized controlled trial, 248 milligrams per day of magnesium chloride improved depression scores in as little as six weeks. Newer reviews also suggest magnesium plays a role in calming the nervous system and supporting resilience. And when we look at sleep in older adults with insomnia, magnesium shortened the time it took to fall asleep by about 17 minutes. It doesn't knock you out, but it does help regulate neurotransmitters and calm the nervous system for better overall sleep quality. And when we're looking at glucose and insulin in people with prediabetes or insulin resistance, magnesium improved fasting, glucose and insulin sensitivity.

Speaker 1:

I will say that not every study agrees on this point, so more research definitely needs to be conducted. And finally, when we look at muscle cramps, the evidence here is a little mixed. Some studies say, yes, that it benefits them, and others say that it doesn't. For pregnancy-related cramps, results are especially inconclusive. So here's where we get into the gray area and where we really need to be transparent.

Speaker 1:

Topical magnesiums like sprays, butters and baths absolutely do feel good and people do report calmer legs, reduced cramping and deeper relaxation. But large-scale clinical trials proving that topical magnesiums can raise systemic levels, well, that's another question and the evidence is definitely limited. Small pilot studies are promising, but more research is definitely needed in this area, and as I was researching all of the science behind magnesium, I was starting to feel a little bit underwhelmed and wondering if there's really any scientific evidence out there that backs up all of the hype that I've been talking about in the last few episodes. But as I dug deeper into this, I realized a few things that I wanted to unpack with you here, and the first thing is is that magnesium is too basic to attract funding. It's not a new pharmaceutical, it's a cheap, naturally occurring mineral. There's not a lot of profit motive for big companies like Big Pharma to fund large, expensive, randomized clinical controlled trials, and most studies are small, short-term and underpowered. That makes results look mixed, even when there may be real benefits. Second, magnesium is everywhere in the body and that definitely complicates the research. So again, magnesium is a co-factor in over 300 bioenzymatic processes in our bodies. That means it influences sleep, mood, blood sugar, blood pressure, bone health, muscle contraction, digestion, nerve signaling and so much more. And because it touches so many systems it's hard to design a study that isolates magnesium's role without confounding factors.

Speaker 1:

And third, measuring magnesium status is difficult. So remember again, only one percent of magnesium is found in the blood serum and serum levels are tightly regulated. A person can have normal labs but still be low in their tissues, muscles, bone, brain, etc. That means clinical trials often misclassify people's magnesium status, which further dilutes the results. Also, the outcomes are modest but they are meaningful.

Speaker 1:

Magnesium doesn't usually create dramatic drug-like changes. Instead it produces small, steady improvements, so like we talked about two to four millimeters of mercury when it comes to lowering your blood pressure, falling asleep about 17 minutes faster, slight reductions in migraine frequency, improvements in constipation. On paper that looks like not so impressive, but at the population level even a few points off of your blood pressure reduces heart attack and stroke risk, and if you can fall asleep easier, that can affect a multitude of other health factors. And imagine if your migraines are more manageable what kind of differences that would make in your work productivity. So small changes do add up in big ways.

Speaker 1:

And the fifth thing we want to take into factor are the forms of magnesium that are being used and the doses. Some trials use magnesium oxide, which, if you remember, is poorly absorbed. Others use citrate, glycinate or chloride, which are much better absorbed, and the doses range from 200 milligrams to over 600 milligrams. Study lengths can also vary from two weeks to six months, so naturally the results are going to be very inconsistent. So another reason why we find that the evidence and science around magnesium's benefits is a little underwhelming is because topical magnesium is especially under-researched. Oral magnesium has decades of small randomized clinical trials, but topicals like the sprays and the butters and the baths have very limited newer research, partly because it's hard to measure tissue uptake and partly because of skepticism in the academic community and we see that a lot with holistic therapies. So this is not a surprise. But user-reported outcomes like less leg cramping, better sleep, calmer legs, less cramping overall, less constipation, are all strong, which is why it thrives in the spa and wellness settings.

Speaker 1:

So the bottom line is that the evidence looks glim because magnesium is cheap. In other words, there's little incentive for big studies. It's everywhere in our physiology, so it's very hard to isolate. It's poorly measured when we look at serums versus the levels in our physiology, so it's very hard to isolate. It's poorly measured when we look at serums versus the levels in our tissues and it produces subtle shifts. So the benefits we see aren't dramatic, but over time they really add up and are extremely valuable for most people. So think of magnesium less as a drug with dramatic results and more as a foundational mineral like good sleep or hydration. The science shows modest reproducible improvements, but the clinical experience plus the real-world use, especially in sleep, stress cramps, recovery, all the things we talked about adds weight to its value.

Speaker 1:

So let's look at the safety and who should use caution when it comes to magnesium. Like most things in wellness, magnesium is safe for most people, but not everyone. If you have kidney disease, your body may not clear magnesium properly, raising the risk of dangerous levels. People with myasthenia gravis, which I had mentioned in a previous episode this is a neuromuscular condition and those people should avoid magnesium unless they're directed to take it by their neurologist. And when we look at cancer patients, they often need magnesium because chemotherapy treatments like cisplatin can deplete your magnesium levels. But dosing should always be managed by their oncology team. And you also want to avoid topical magnesium on radiation-treated skin unless advised by your oncologist. And when we look at children and pregnancy, these are safe but within limits, of course. For kids, the upper limit ranges from 65 milligrams per day in toddlers to 350 milligrams for teens. For pregnancy and breastfeeding, the safe upper limit and again that's after the food you eat the supplement recommendation is 350 milligrams a day unless medically prescribed otherwise. And if you're on certain medications like antibiotics, bisphosphonates or proton pump inhibitors, you'll need to time magnesium carefully or check with your provider on when you should take them.

Speaker 1:

So here's the balance takeaway. Oral magnesium is going to be best for correcting deficiencies and getting measurable systemic benefits. Topical magnesium is going to be best for rituals like calming, soothing, hydrating and making wellness a sensory experience. And liposomal magnesium is the new frontier, offering higher absorption, especially when combined with botanicals like calendula and frankincense. And the magic really happens when you start combining them intentionally Oral for systemic support, topical for comfort and ritual baths for recovery, butters for skin and sleep, and then massage service add-ons for deep relaxation and muscle recovery, manis and pedis for soothing, healing and hydration. Together they can create both the science and the serenity.

Speaker 1:

So that wraps up our magnesium series, from the basics of deficiency to myths and forms, to rituals and therapies and finally to the science. I hope this gave you both clarity and inspiration and everything you need to know that magnesium isn't just hype. It's essential, and when you bring it into your life with intention, it can be one of the simplest, most effective ways to feel calmer, stronger and more balanced. If you love this series on magnesium, please share these episodes with those that you love most in your life and help bring them balance back into their lives too. And before we wrap up today, please remember that everything shared on Serenity and Fire is meant for general information and inspiration purposes only.

Speaker 1:

The topics we discuss are not intended to diagnose, treat or replace personalized medical care, so please always consult with your healthcare provider before trying anything we talk about. Your health is unique and your care should be too. Okay, that's it for today's episode. Remember, if you want to start biohacking your way to better health, start at Panacea Luxury Spa Boutique. You'll save 10% on a hyperbaric oxygen therapy or whole body LED light bed therapy session when you book your first treatment using the code serenity10. Please also leave us a review and hit subscribe to the Serenity and Fire show wherever you get your podcasts. This helps us reach more people like you so we can spread the word of health and wellness to the masses. Until next time, keep balancing serenity with fire. I'm Krista Guageni and I'll talk with you more in our next episode.