Reducing Stress Naturally

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is basically a negative emotional state about something specific (and sometimes unspecific). It can affect some people and cause them to become extremely stressed, something that is very detrimental to a person’s health. Chronic anxiety, when a person has anxiety all the time, can lead to reduced concentration, an increased risk for illnesses like cancer and heart problems, and a rise in the hormone cortisol to dangerous levels.

Chronic anxiety also leads to a chronic state of stress that can take a devastating physical and emotional toll on a person and cause them great depression. It’s a bit of a vicious circle to be sure.  A person is anxious and then their cortisol rises and then they become depressed.  It’s certainly an unhealthy situation for many reasons.

The worst part of anxiety, besides the outward uncomfortable feelings that it produces, is that the hormone cortisol is increased greatly and can be very damaging. Elevated cortisol levels have been linked to diabetes (and other ailments) because it causes major fluctuations in the blood sugar levels.

It can also depress the immune system and open a person up to the risk of many diseases and infections. Worst of all for some people is that a chronically high cortisol level can increase the body fat around the torso, a harbinger of heart problems, and something that certainly isn’t very appealing.

Magnesium to the rescue.

Magnesium, a macromineral that is vital to good overall health, can be taken in supplemental doses to counter the effects of cortisol due to high anxiety. Magnesium is a natural calcium channel blocker which can be very helpful for muscle relaxation and also as a way to lower high blood pressure.

For anxiety, magnesium is a natural inhibitor and tells the receptors in the brain to inhibit the NMDA receptor lowering the feelings of anxiety and stress greatly according to research that’s being done.

If you’re suffering from chronic anxiety taking 400 mg of Magnesium from magnesium citrate a day is probably a good amount to start with. If you’re severely deficient, which is likely if you’ve had anxiety for a long time, you may need to start with 600 to 800 mg.  Magnesium citrate is cheap and effective, most health stores carry this important supplement.

Where did all the Magnesium go?

Unfortunately, the amount of magnesium in a natural form has been slowly but surely being reduced in our natural foods due to the leaching of soil and over-farming, causing many people to be deficient in magnesium. Way back in 1984, a study was done to see what would happen if people took a magnesium supplement and then exercised. They found that indeed the levels remained closer to normal if a person was supplementing.

Anxious? Take your magnesium.

The research is still a bit vague, frankly, but enough of it points to magnesium as a big help in lowering anxiety and stress, plus the accompanying problems they cause, to highly recommend it as a supplement if you have chronic anxiety. It’s natural, you need it anyway, and it may just be the help you need to get out from under that cloud of stress and anxiety you have and put a smile back in your face.