Both zinc and magnesium are essential minerals, which means you must meet your body’s daily needs by consuming food and/or supplements, because the body can’t make them on its own, according to Mind Your Body Green.
While zinc and magnesium are equally important, there is a misconception that you shouldn’t take the two together. The secret is that when taken in the correct doses, it can actually be beneficial to take them both simultaneously.
Zinc supplement benefits
Zinc has a number of benefits, including promoting healthy skin, healing, and supporting eye health, as well as being an anti-inflammatory.
Zinc also plays a huge role in immune function, says Ashley Jordan Ferreira, MD, a dietitian, as it’s vital for the production of immune cells, such as neutrophils, macrophages, B cells and T cells, and boosts the functioning of the innate immune system.
Magnesium supplement benefits
Magnesium is involved in more than 600 chemical reactions in the body, and like zinc, it is extremely important for optimal health. “The ability of human nerves to transmit signals throughout the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord, etc.) depends on magnesium,” Ferreira says. “The metabolism of carbohydrates and fats for energy requires the availability of magnesium ATP, as well as its benefits in regulating blood pressure and heart rate directly. Magnesium is essential for the production of DNA, RNA, and proteins.
Magnesium also promotes healthy sleep, as it helps regulate the circadian rhythm and plays a role in the production of GABA, a neurotransmitter that modulates the sympathetic nervous system and promotes relaxation. It is believed to directly and positively affect relaxation and sleep quality.
The reason for the lack of minerals
The lack of zinc and magnesium in the traditional diet is due to a variety of factors, including lack of nutrients in crops, increased appetite for processed foods, which are stripped of nutrients, and other health factors that interfere with magnesium absorption. Magnesium deficiency becomes more common with age.
Advantages of combining zinc and magnesium
All nutrients interact with each other in some way. They can work together and enhance absorption or sometimes work against each other and compete for absorption.
Zinc and magnesium are synergistic minerals that work together when taken in the correct doses. As cardiologist Prof. Vimal Ramji says, “These minerals are often combined due to their overlapping benefits,” so it is only natural that they are frequently available as a dietary supplement that combines zinc, magnesium and vitamin B6.
correct doses
When zinc and magnesium are taken together, it’s all about the dose. Research shows that taking too much zinc, or about 50 milligrams per day, can reduce the amount of magnesium your body absorbs and negatively affect your magnesium balance. But it should be borne in mind that the recommended upper limit is 40 milligrams of zinc per day.
For daily magnesium needs, the medical academies recommend that women consume 310 to 320 milligrams of magnesium each day, men need 400 to 420 milligrams, and daily zinc needs are no more than 8 milligrams for women and 11 milligrams for men, respectively.
Perfect Options
According to integrative physician Robert Rowntree, magnesium becomes more bioavailable when it binds to certain organic compounds since “Magnesium absorbs water, so when you take magnesium directly, like magnesium oxide, it forms these clusters of water, and that basically speeds things up along in the channel.” digestive system”. While this form can help with digestion and regularity, it doesn’t do much to increase magnesium levels in the blood.
To really get the most out of the supplement, experts advise, have the magnesium bound to an organic compound that essentially helps transport it through the lining of the gut.” So, experts recommend choosing magnesium glycinate. A study, comparing different forms of magnesium, found that magnesium glycinate has better absorption. Higher vs. inorganic magnesium oxide.Other forms like magnesium citrate, chloride, lactate and aspartate are good and bioavailable as well.
Ferreira recommends that when it comes to zinc supplements, choose zinc bisglycinate, as research shows that this specific form of zinc is 43% more bioavailable than another popular form, zinc gluconate.