In this solo episode of the No Days Off podcast, host Brian Gubernick discusses magnesium, labeling it the "master mineral" due to its involvement in over 300 biochemical reactions. He explains magnesium’s essential roles in nerve transmission, muscle contraction, protein synthesis, blood‑sugar regulation, mood, and sleep. Gubernick notes that modern diets and aging reduce magnesium intake and absorption, leading to an estimated 60 % of Americans being deficient. He outlines common deficiency symptoms—muscle cramps, fatigue, irregular heartbeat, gastrointestinal upset, anxiety, and sleep disturbances—drawing on his own experience of leg twitches and low energy. The episode then details the benefits of adequate magnesium: improved digestion, enhanced exercise performance and recovery, regulated blood sugar, stronger bones, and better sleep quality. Gubernick shares his personal regimen (following the dosage on the supplement label after a naturopath’s recommendation) and urges listeners to get blood work or consult health professionals before supplementing. The core call‑to‑action is to test magnesium levels, consider supplementation if needed, and always involve trusted medical or naturopathic guidance.
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Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. Let's get into it. Today I want to talk about health, and I'll start with referencing an episode that we just did a few episodes ago, actually, about a morning drink, about a morning concoction that, that I have that includes Himalayan salt and lemon and of course water. And I got a lot of feedback from those of you that already in fact have salt water and lemon and have reported just amazing benefits during the time you've been drinking this morning drink. But many of you that have tested it over the past 3, 4, 5 days reporting in that, that you are seeing benefit right away. I'm so excited to hear that. I am by no means a health professional. I am just someone who likes to explore and try new things as it pertains to my health. And, and I'm so glad that you're all doing that now. And if you haven't, uh, you have no idea what I'm talking about, go back just a few episodes and take a look at the, the episode we did about the morning concoction to jumpstart your day. Along those same lines though, today I want to talk about, uh, a supplement that I take that many of us are familiar with. It's included in, in probably all of our diets in some capacity, but over the years, this particular essential mineral has faded from, from our diets. And I'm talking about magnesium. Now, again, I am not a health expert. I am somebody that studies health, that likes to test new things, try new things. And has learned about kind of my body and my health over the years. And magnesium is something that was introduced to me about 6, 7 years ago by a naturopath I was working with when he found that I was deficient in the mineral, and I was also having some symptoms of somebody that in fact was deficient. Let's talk around magnesium in the body, okay? Magnesium in the realm of essential minerals, magnesium reigns supreme. It is, it is the key player in nerve transmission and in muscle contractions and in protein formation and in regulating blood sugar. Beyond these physical aspects, magnesium is also incredibly important for our mental health, and it aids in, in mood regulation and stress management. And I know many that actually take it to aid with sleep. Which makes sense as it pertains to mood regulation and stress management. Now magnesium being this, this master, master mineral, it's needed to help facilitate over 300 reactions in the body. So it's, it's pretty darn clear that this mineral is pretty critical, pretty crucial to our, to our well-being, our well-being. Unfortunately though, due to its decreasing prevalence in farm soil Magnesium deficiency in our diets has become pretty commonplace. This is what happened to me about 6, 7 years ago when I had some blood work done. And I have my blood work done today pretty much every 3, 4 months. But at that time, I was doing it sporadically, and I found that I was deficient in magnesium during this test about 7 years ago. Now, I was training, I was doing some, some more running and endurance-related activity. And I started having some, some symptoms. And that's when I went to have my blood work done and noticed that, you know, magnesium was a major deficiency for me. So it showed up for me. As a matter of fact, around 60% of Americans, from what I've studied, 60% aren't getting adequate magnesium. Now this, this, this lack of magnesium is likely twofold. We're eating fewer magnesium-rich foods. And our bodies are less able to absorb the necessary amount as we age. So how do you know you're not getting enough magnesium? Well, like a lot of things, your body's gonna let you know. Now, some symptoms for magnesium deficiency. First, and this was my experience, muscle cramps and muscle spasms. Persistent muscle cramps or spasms or twitching can signal a lack of magnesium. These, these spasms oftentimes occur in the legs or feet or even in facial muscles. So for me, I was actually having muscle spasms, a lot of twitching in my legs, and I thought it was maybe me overtraining or things of that nature. And that was not the case. The reality was I was deficient in a handful of things, magnesium being the biggest deficiency. So if you're having muscle cramps or spasms, it could be— not necessarily it must be, but it could be— the result of a lack of magnesium in your system. Next, fatigue and weakness. If you're feeling unusually tired or weak or experiencing low energy levels, even though you have a decent amount of rest, there's a chance that you're missing some minerals. There's a chance that you're not hydrated, and there's a really good chance that your magnesium levels are not where they need to be. Other things that I have not experienced, but I do know for some it shows up— a lack of magnesium or magnesium deficiency shows up in an irregular heartbeat. So irregular heartbeats might occur due to magnesium insufficiency, and these irregularities can feel more like fluttering or rapid beats or an irregular rhythm. Last couple symptoms that you might see if you're deficient in magnesium: nausea, loss of appetite, like if you have a decrease in appetite that, that, that's accompanied by feelings of nausea, or just general, you know, GI discomfort could be magnesium related. And then lastly, mental symptoms: anxiety, lack of sleep, restlessness, mood swings could be magnesium related. So What are the benefits then, right? Like, if you've, if you found that you have maybe some of these symptoms, what are the potential benefits of magnesium? As I mentioned earlier, magnesium controls our ability to function, and it stands as, as a very, very critical and crucial ion within our system behind calcium and potassium, right? Calcium, potassium, incredibly important. Magnesium's right up there with them. And so some of these benefits: improved digestive health. You know, I mentioned magnesium helps regulate muscle contractions in the digestive tract. So this, this will help with your digestive health. Enhanced exercise performance. I immediately saw this when I started taking magnesium or supplementing magnesium. If you have the right magnesium levels, they support energy production and muscle function and oxygen uptake. During physical activity. And so for me, I did see a bump in my exercise performance and more specifically my recovery. Uh, benefits of magnesium also include, uh, regulated blood sugar levels. We kind of touched on that. And then better bone health, um, better bone formation and density. Uh, magnesium works right alongside calcium and vitamin D to support bone strength. And lastly, uh, I touched on this just a moment ago, But magnesium is a great support for sleep quality. It can promote relaxation and calmness, and that may contribute to better sleep quality. And so for many that I know, they actually take magnesium for improving sleep. Now, again, I have not, you know, I don't know how to tell you the amount or what amount you should take. I can only tell you that I've gone to a naturopath who encouraged me to take magnesium, and I've been taking it ever since. The dosage that I'm taking is essentially what's on the package, though many will tell you to take even more than that. That's a question for you and your health provider. But the focusing question for you today, if in fact you are feeling any of the symptoms I mentioned, which could be due to so many other things, so let's not isolate it just to magnesium, but if you are feeling some of these things, it might be worth you testing out magnesium. I'm going to encourage everybody to have your blood drawn every, every so often and drop that blood work off at a, at a doc or a naturopath or whoever you see and let them analyze if you are in fact deficient in any area. But even if you're not deficient, supplementing certain things like magnesium, it may be beneficial to you. So the focusing question Are you experiencing any of these things? And if so, can you go just straight test magnesium, see how you feel, or also get blood work, you know, to see where you, where you, you know, kind of land? On that note though, of course, I'm going to say it one last time, because I've already said it a dozen times, but I can't help but say it one more time. If you're going to go down this path, if you're going to go down the health journey, right, and go deep like I have, you need to have trusted professionals alongside you. So You know, I've referenced many of the doctors I work with or the naturopaths I work with. I would encourage you to go find somebody that, that works for you, works with you, and kind of compare your notes and see what the right direction may be for you. That's all I have for you today. The No Days Off Podcast. Thank you so much for listening. And remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it. [MUSIC] [MUSIC]
